Local search marketing can make or break a local business by driving a steady stream of traffic to its website. Combining it with local SEO means showing up in the map pack, organic results, and directories at the same time. Below are the main tactics local businesses use to pull those channels together.
Why organic traffic matters for local search marketing
Most people use the Internet to find businesses in their area, and the majority of those searches go through a search engine. Organic traffic, the visitors who arrive without a paid click, is the foundation of local search marketing. The goal is to make your site appear in the local group of results so a nearby customer can pick you out from competing businesses.
Word-of-mouth and referrals still feed the funnel
Local search marketing companies pick up new clients through several channels, and word-of-mouth remains one of the strongest. Referral traffic brings in first-time customers and brings back repeat visitors to a business’s website, which reinforces the same signals local SEO depends on.
Search mapping puts your service area on the map
Search mapping is an online map of your service area. A local business can list its address along with the services it offers, which lets potential customers see exactly where the business sits in relation to their own home. Showing up on that map and in the organic results at the same time is where local SEO efforts start to pay off.
Rank for the city your customers actually search
Local SEO rankings often hinge on city-name searches. Someone shopping for car parts will frequently type queries like “Car Parts in New York” or “Car Parts in Los Angeles,” both very popular locations for product searches. Ranking highly for either of these location queries tends to bring more traffic than a page that has not been optimized for the city at all.
Use keyword tools to watch what local searchers type
Online tools built for local SEO marketing let a business owner monitor the keywords potential customers use when looking for businesses in their area. The same tools show the searches competing businesses are running on the same keywords. That visibility tells the owner how well their products and services stack up against the competition: more searches for those terms means more traffic available, and a higher ranking usually follows. Placing the business in a top-ranked spot is what leads to more traffic, more sales, and more profit.
Start a Yelp campaign to reach a built-in audience
Yelp is a strong place to launch a local SEO marketing campaign. The site holds one of the largest collections of business directories, which means its users already have access to hundreds of top-ranked businesses that can benefit from local search marketing methods on their site. By optimizing for the keywords Yelp users search with, a business owner reaches its target market and also reaches other users who may be interested in the same services or products.
Related coverage
- Local SEO Marketing
- How Local Search Engine Optimization Can Increase Your Visibility and Generate More Leads