When it comes to targeting the right customers on the web, service companies, small business owners, and locally-focused companies must create marketing strategies that fit their needs. If you have a website for your business, you have probably at some point heard about search engine optimization or SEO. The problem is some businesses websites are often left behind, buried on the fourth or fifth pages of Google. Never to see the light of day, let alone get in front of a qualified visitor. That is where local SEO comes into play.

Increased Visibility

So, why does local SEO matter? Local search marketing is highly targeted and timely because local customers rely on the internet to find information about your business. The difference between local SEO and organic SEO is intent, Google can pick out search queries that have “local intent,” meaning the searcher wants search results with local companies. Because local business searches often are based on geographic factors, organic SEO isn’t enough to rank, especially if your competitors are engaging in local SEO. Local SEO increases visibility for businesses interested in ranking for geographically-related searches. For example, if you were to search for something on your smartphone, Google takes the phone’s location into consideration when displaying search results. This gives businesses using local SEO an edge. And nearly half of total Google search queries have local intent.

Local SEO Benefits

Local SEO is taking over because local searches are more people-centric than organic search results, meaning it is more customized for each user. Nowadays, Google searches are all about local “near me” searches. Basically, to increase customer visits to your location, you need to implement local SEO. Not optimizing for local searches can result in significantly fewer web-driven leads and sales, local customers cannot read about you online because they cannot find you, local customers are less likely to call you via search engines, and (most importantly) you make less money. But if you are smart and optimize local SEO it can offer your business many benefits including:

• Putting your small business on equal footing with your biggest competitors
• Reaching the specific target audience you want - nearby prospects
• Grabbing prospects at the exact moment they are looking for what you are selling

If your website is not showing up in local search results, you are missing a big opportunity to grow your local business. There is no better time than now to start working on your local SEO strategy, so don’t hesitate about reaching out to the experts at Red Shark Digital regarding any questions you may have.