Local search marketing helps small businesses reach nearby customers, boost conversions, and generate revenue by showing up in search results for people in their area. The main channels are Google My Business, online listings, reviews, event pages, and a mobile-friendly website.
What is the most important local search tool for a small business?
Google My Business is one of the key local search marketing tools. It enables more prospective customers to discover your business while improving your site’s local search ranking.
Google My Business makes listing your business easy: sign up, verify your listing, then add information and media to your profile, including a business cover photo, address, hours of operation, and attributes such as “wheelchair accessible.”
Adding products and services to your Google My Business profile can help your business rank for more relevant searches. Google considers several factors when ranking local businesses, including relevance and distance.
How do local listings and reviews affect rankings?
Local SEO should be part of every small business’s online marketing plan, as it helps improve search engine results page (SERP) rankings so more potential customers can discover, connect with, and purchase from your business.
Start by optimizing your Google My Business listing to include relevant keywords for both your industry and local area. Your GMB profile should contain your business name, address, phone number, and website link.
Online reviews are also key for drawing in customers; several studies have revealed that consumers rely heavily on reviews when making purchasing decisions.
Why should small businesses participate in local events?
Event participation can help businesses increase brand recognition or strengthen their position in a local market, and gives business development teams an opportunity to connect with current customers while building up potential leads.
Optimize event listings and make sure the web page is indexed so search engines can crawl, index, and show it on relevant local searches and in SERPs callout boxes.
Include the event’s location (such as Los Angeles) and use keyword research tools to find relevant search queries. This will help your event appear for both “Events Near Me” searches and searches for events “in Los Angeles,” raising its rank among local search results.
Does a mobile-friendly website matter for local search?
As more people use mobile devices to search for information, a website designed for mobile can increase customer reach and lead to more conversions.
Mobile-friendly websites also tend to improve the opinions of more than 60% of visitors who find your business online, helping prevent people from developing an adverse opinion of it or leaving your pages without visiting further, which could impact your ranking.
A good mobile-friendly website should load quickly on mobile devices and avoid intrusive ads that block the user experience, as Google penalizes sites with intrusive advertisements that hinder the user’s experience.
What are the basics of local SEO?
Local SEO helps any local business reach more of its local customers through location-based searches.
One of the first steps is claiming and editing all your listings, removing duplicates, and making sure each business has accurate NAP (name, address, phone number). Any discrepancies could mislead customers and hurt search rankings.
Content creation and publication is another crucial aspect of local SEO, from blog posts and videos to podcasts and beyond. Strong content helps generate inbound links, which play an essential part in local search rankings.
Related coverage
- How Local Search Engine Optimization Can Increase Your Visibility and Generate More Leads
- Local SEO Marketing