Being a small regional business in the USA (in any other country) is difficult. There is high competition in the market of goods and services, no matter what niche you occupy. Many regional companies find it difficult to choose the right marketing or advertising channels to invest in. It is no wonder that every second small company or start-up is faced with the risk of failure.Â
Local SEO Is a Solution
Did you know that about 80% of consumers search for services and products using search engines? But just being online is not enough for getting a customer looking for your services online. Companies create their first website and are waiting for potential customers, which is absolutely wrong. If the site is not at the top of SERP, then the chances that a potential customer finds you are close to zero. It’s a different matter that you take care of local SEO to have your site ranked high.
But what is local SEO; who should resort to this site promotion tactic? Local SEO brings a great opportunity for companies that provide services within the same region. It creates great conditions for small businesses and start-ups to compete with large organizations that operate throughout the country or even several states. What is the essence of this approach?
Distinctive Features of Local SEO
To increase the relevance of search results, Google is constantly working on a personalized search approach for every user. In addition to the interests, the region that the user resides in or is at the time of entering the request determines the search results he gets.
For example, if you want to find a car repair shop while in New York, then the sites of workshops in this city will occupy the highest positions in your search results. This approach is user-friendly and provides excellent opportunities for promoting a regional business. Local SEO allows you to maximize your own position on SERP within your region. And if you manage to find affordable SEO services for small business, you can boost your company revenue in the shortest time with minimal efforts on your end. Let’s take a look at how this approach works.
What you need to pay attention to when running local SEO projects? In addition to the general ranking criteria, the following factors are of great importance:
- The physical address of the organization (city, district, and even street)
- Presence in various Google services (Google My Business, Google Maps, etc.)
- Reference profile
- User reviews and ratings with the connection to the maps feature
- Semantic core
- Domain zone
How does it all work together? All the above increases the likelihood of your appearance at the top of search results. Your business information must be the same no matter where it appears. Thus, you will build a trusting relationship with your customers.Â
A local SEO strategy performs better as part of an overall optimization strategy as the two complement each other. Many of the tactics mentioned above are quite standard SEO actions that you probably already use in your practice. However, it is not so easy as it may seem to you. It all depends on the priorities — startups and local businesses may not have the time and resources to optimize their existing website, but they may have an amazing Facebook page with a ton of reviews. Large enterprises can consistently occupy high positions in organic search, but lose sight of several local optimization tactics that would complement the overall picture. Find what is right for you, tidy it up, and achieve growth!
Any Findings? Definitely!
Local SEO is a great tool to increase the visibility of small businesses in search results. With such a promotion approach, you can benefit from the most targeted transitions to the site since the vast majority of users are in your city or area. Thus, a small enterprise becomes a serious competitor to any large organization in the city. Check it out yourself!
