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Imagine selling the most innovative product in your industry. However, you can’t seem to get sales no matter what you do. Regardless of what your company provides, it won’t mean much if you don’t get your brand in front of the right people.
Issues like these are why approximately 20% of small businesses fail during their first year. Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the greatest ways to maximize your reach. This is especially true for local SEO.
We’ve created a brief guide on the benefits of local SEO you can leverage to take your brand to the next level. Let’s explore the key information you should know.
One of the most notable benefits of local SEO is obtaining a higher Google ranking. People often search for companies located near them, something that substantially reduces the number of overall competitors.
For example, imagine someone in San Diego searching “Mexican food” on Google. The top results might not be located anywhere near San Diego.
However, assume this same person narrowed their query by searching for “best Mexican food in San Diego.” The top results would likely be a handful of local businesses.
If you improve your local SEO strategy well enough, your business could be the first result for its relevant keywords. People typically don’t scroll too far down the Google search results page, so it’s imperative that you appear towards the top.
Without local SEO, you’re liable to not appear high on the search results. If you do, you likely won’t be on the first page. This can severely limit the number of people who interact with your brand.
In contrast, leveraging local SEO helps you significantly improve your brand awareness. Keep in mind that brand awareness is a long-term strategy.
Just because somebody sees your brand online doesn’t mean they’ll immediately make a purchase. However, the more often they encounter your brand, the more likely they are to engage with it. Eventually, they’ll feel compelled to learn more about what you have to offer.
A key part of a local SEO strategy is using Google Maps and Google My Business. Both of these provide valuable information to your customers. To clarify, Google Maps offers info about how your business looks from the street and where it’s located.
Your Google My Business profile has your company’s contact information, customer reviews, and website URL. If you don’t have a strong local presence, customers in your area might not find your company when searching online.
To take full advantage of local SEO, you’ll need to optimize your website. This involves minimizing page load times and maximizing navigability.
A byproduct of this strategy is improving your website’s user experience. Consider the last time you found a site on Google that loaded slowly or was impossible to navigate through.
Chances are you quickly returned to the search results and found an alternative website instead. This is a situation you want to avoid at all costs. Users who leave your site are highly unlikely to return.
When configuring your local SEO strategy, ensure you target the appropriate keywords. These typically have the names of cities or states in them to maintain relevance.
Your company’s reputation plays a large role in its future performance. Unfortunately, a single negative incident can have catastrophic consequences.
This is true even if the controversy happened years ago. Local SEO will help you substantially improve your company’s reputation.
You will naturally achieve this by asking customers for reviews and reaching out to websites for features. To clarify, your local SEO strategy will ensure that multiple parties endorse your brand.
When people see that your business has a large amount of feedback from different sources, they’ll inherently trust it more. Distrust can mean the difference between whether a customer converts. Keep this in mind when moving forward so you don’t neglect this opportunity.
High-quality content is the lifeblood of any SEO strategy. After all, the last thing you want is for people to leave your site as soon as they get there.
This increases a metric known as a bounce rate. Having a high bounce rate will tell Google that your content is low-quality, irrelevant, or both.
By extension, this will also lower your Google ranking. A great way to avoid the situation is by creating content that’s both interesting and useful.
Using the aforementioned example, a company that sells Mexican food in San Diego could write blogs about how to prepare your favorite Mexican dishes at home. They could also write content about the nutritional value of traditional Mexican cuisine.
The possibilities are virtually endless. You can assess how effective your content is by checking how long people stay on your content pages.
Handling local SEO on your own is possible, but it’s always recommended to work with a professional. They can help you overcome many issues you would have otherwise struggled with. When looking for someone to hire, explore their past reputation.
See what other clients have to say about the experiences they had. Were they satisfied with their results?
What did they have to say about the company’s professionalism? The answers to questions like these will provide valuable insight.
Ask about their pricing structure, as well. This will prevent you from encountering financial surprises. Don’t be afraid to search elsewhere if you aren’t comfortable with your marketing professional.
They should be easy to get in touch with and enthusiastic about helping you reach your goals. If they miss the mark, keep looking until you find someone ideal for your needs.
The tips in this guide will ensure you take full advantage of the benefits of local SEO. From here, you’ll get the most out of your marketing strategy and catapult your business to new heights.
Ascendance uses cutting-edge tools to help you scale your company quickly without sacrificing quality. Our expert team has the knowledge and resources to assess your needs and develop the best solutions. You can learn more about the benefits we provide when you schedule a call today.
Ascendance is proud to offer a 10% discount for any business owner or entrepreneur who is current or former military or a first responder. This extends to family as well so if you have a family member that is current or former military or a first responder you will still receive the 10% discount for as long as you work with Ascendance!
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