Local directory marketing (just one of many Local SEO strategies) has a higher conversion rate than other more traditional advertising options - up to 50% conversion on some directories That means that by getting your business accurately listed on as many quality online directory sites as you can, you'll convert 1 in 2 leads into an actual custom.
64% of local customers use search engines and directories as their main way to find local business. It helps businesses promote their products and services to local customers at the exact time they're looking for them. Local SEO marketing is a facet of SEO that focuses on promoting your company to local customers as they search for a local business.
Although they're both inbound marketing strategies, organic search differs from paid search in that organic listings are not paid for and the order of the rankings is determined by search engine algorithms. SEO is an inbound marketing strategy that drives organic search traffic from search engines like Google and Bing. Local search is Google's way of delivering businesses relevant to your query relative to your location.
Businesses that trade in city, town or village or even rural locations should be found when their products, services or information is searched for in Google. If you don't utilise local SEO, your business could end up being buried in the search results underneath your competition, and since people make decisions online very quickly a prominent position is important. Many consumers now do online research before they buy a product or use a service, and will then visit local businesses based on their Google search.
There are lots of elements of local SEO to think about, from using mobile optimisation for customers on the move, to improving your Google reviews, and by combining different methods we can help you climb the ranking. Given that Google have stated that at least 20% of all searches relate to a location, it's really important to pay attention to local SEO. For this reason, in an age where Google is using location identification capabilities to ‘localise' its search results, there is good cause to look for a specialist local SEO service which can develop a strategy with you hand in hand, keeping your overall business objectives in mind.
Companies can register on Google Places for Business, which provides location and contact information as part of search results - this is often seen as a starting point for sound local SEO. Organic search first came into view as a marketing channel nearly 20 years ago when marketers first identified that Google's algorithm and the sheer reach of it's search engine proved to offer a viable opportunity for businesses to drive quality traffic to their site. This data supports a widely accepted conclusion that thousands of local businesses have already begun to adopt - namely, that anytime a person is on the hunt for a solution to a need within their specific locale, there is a very high likelihood that they use Google to do so. Long story short: if your business serves a specific geographic region, yet you're not visible on Google, you're missing out on daily opportunities to attract, convert, close, and delight new customers.
However, recent data trends emphasize that in order to be successful, local businesses must rely much more heavily on search engines to expand their reach. In this article, I'll make a case for why search engine optimization (SEO) - not the paid advertising channels mentioned above - are the most scalable, sustainable marketing initiative for small businesses in 2018. According to an eMarketer report from January 2017, 40% of local businesses planned to increase digital marketing budgets last year.² Safe to say, those businesses followed through on their planning and by June 2017, digital ad spend outpaced television ad spend for the first time in history, ringing in a new era in advertising - one that is primarily Facebook and Google-centric.
Using search engines and local directories promotes your business to local customers at the point they're looking for your business. Claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing is arguably the most important part of local SEO, although Bing Places and Apple Maps listings are important too. Which means that most people are using Google to search for local businesses.
Bing's Local results” for coffee shop in Sheffield” — one of the many places people search for local businesses online. Local SEO refers to the process of ‘optimizing' your online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches. Do you want to rank your local business in Google, Bing, Apple Maps, and other local search engines?
Online Ownership's Local SEO aims to provide businesses with higher exposure to local customers online. Any business with a physical address that has local customers should consider incorporating Local SEO into their online marketing strategy. Local SEO increases online visibility for local consumers - 97 percent of people go online to find local services, and 95 percent of them won't go past the first page of the search results.
97% of consumers go online to find local services, and 82% of smartphone users use a search engine when looking for a local business. A common mistake here is to overuse keywords in your copy thinking that this will let Google know exactly what your website offers, however, this makes it appears your website copy is poorly written and search engines will reflect this when ranking your website as they will think this contributes to a bad user experience. For this reason, it is important that you know exactly the phrasing that potential customers for your business are using as you can then place these keywords within your website for the search engine to pick up on the next time someone search for this.
Are you a local business entering the world of search engines and search engine rankings? 88% of consumers consult online reviews before they purchase local services 7 , plus this is now a very important ranking signal to Google. Though to rank in both the maps and organic listings there are a number of local search engine ranking factors 8 that we will optimise for, these include:
Though with 89% people search for local businesses on their smartphone once a week with 58% searching at least daily 4 , if your business provides a product or service in, or to a local area, it is very likely that there would be suitable searches that you could target. In 93% of local searches the Google Maps listings appear in positions 1-3. 97% of customers search for local businesses online 6.
After your site is listed on local business listing websites such as Google My Business or a Facebook Business Pages then you can start to gain reviews. My specialisation is local Search Engine Optimisation Services and I have helped many local business owners around the UK attain top rankings. Local reviews have a direct impact on local search rankings, so it's incredibly beneficial to spend time asking customers for feedback.
We equate to more than six billion online searches every single day worldwide and data from Net Market Share (from August 2017) shows search engines heavily favour Google as a browser, with more than 81% of all traffic coming from the site.