The days of local visibility online as a marketing strategy for local businesses are long gone.
Local businesses that fail to invest in online visibility run the risk of being ignored by Google’s customers, who are more likely to recommend local service providers than they are. It has become a necessity for all local businesses.
Why?
Because people are using the internet to find local service providers, there is more of it than ever. Social Media Today claims that 97% of Google search engine users used to search for local businesses in 2019.
You don’t have to wait too long to reap the rewards of local SEO.
This article will provide information on local SEO and explain why it is important. We’ll also discuss five pillars to local visibility which can help you gain more site visitors and customers.
What is local optimization and why should you use it?
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a marketing strategy that allows your business to appear in local search results on Google.
The following are examples of results if I search for “local landscaping business near me”.
Based on these results, I will pick one of the following businesses and either visit or call them for their services.
The customer is now theirs, and it was all without advertising.
This is the power and potential of local SEO.
Local SEO can be a great way to increase sales and customers
- Building trust with customers
- Increase your online presence.
- In your industry, build authority
- Spend less on advertising
- More and better reviews will result
- Increase your customer base
- Your ROI will increase
5 pillars that increase local visibility
These are the most important steps you can do to boost your business’s visibility within your local area.
Pillar 1: Google My Business
Google is the largest search engine worldwide, accounting for 83% of the global search marketplace. It makes perfect sense to direct your efforts here.
Set up a Google My Business(GMB) page as your first step. This page will act as a Google My Business (GMB) page. Google will use the information from this page in order to show your business on local searches.
To set up this page, head to https://business.google.com/create and follow the steps.
After you create your business profile add all necessary information including contact details, photos and a list of services.
In order to increase your Google customer reach, you’ll want to engage in a number of weekly activities.
Pillar 2: NAP
NAP is the second pillar for local SEO. Don’t forget to get a pillow!
NAP stands for “Name. Address. and Phone Number.“
You must ensure that your NAP information is consistent across all internet marketing channels (including your website, Google My Business page or social media profiles)
NAP has the great benefit of proving to Google that you are a trustworthy company (which increases your online visibility) and also enhancing your customers’ user experience. They can contact you directly and visit your website with no hassle.
Pillar 3 is Citations
Citations can be used online to refer to your NAP information. These can be either:
- Full Citations: Where all the information, including business name, address and telephone number (NAP), is present.
- Partial citations: When only a small portion of your NAP information appears. You might see your business name or location, but not your phone number.
Both of these will aid your site’s local SEO. Google sees full citations as much more valuable.
Google will consider your business more credible if it has more citations.
These citations can also be seen by humans. This means that the more details you have about your company, there are more chances for traffic to your site.
Pillar 4: Reviews
Did you realize that nine in ten customers globally read reviews before purchasing products?
Local marketing is becoming more important as customers make more informed buying decisions.
More reviews (preferably 5-star) for your business means more potential customers will click on it over your competitors.
Google will assess your Google My Business listing as the primary review source. It will also consider other authoritative sites, such as Facebook when determining your local ranking.
Google allows users to leave feedback in two ways.
- It only deserves a 5-star rating
- A testimonial with a star rating
The first will raise your average rating. The second will do the exact same thing and help your listing show up more often for the correct keywords.
Pillar 5: Website Content
Your website’s contents are the last pillar of local SEO. This includes:
- Google needs to have a complete list of your services so it can determine exactly which services you offer.
- Customer testimonials include details of the customer such as their name and location.
- These featured projects include before and after photos which show what customers can expect from working with you. This will establish your expertise and convince customers to choose you over the competition.
- Google can create a list of your service areas, so it knows where you live and can send customers who live near or in those areas.
- Provide useful information about your services that is of value to the reader. An example of this is “5 Things to Consider When Choosing Paint for Your Roof.” This article will be extremely useful and readers will begin to trust your business.
- This FAQ section answers the most common questions customers have about your services, how they work, and any other questions that you are asked.
The more relevant and useful content you include the better.
It’s a simple concept, but it is worth thinking about.
Imagine two plumbing companies having websites. Let’s name them Joe’s Plumbers and Pro Plumbing.
- Joe’s Plumbers doesn’t provide a complete list or testimonials for its services.
- Pro Plumbing offers all of this on its website.
Which business do YOU think will get more Google customers?
Answer: Pro Plumbers
Are you looking to increase your local customer base?
Local visibility is a key component of your SEO strategy that can help you get more traffic to your website from Google. What does this mean to your business?
Increased phone calls from potential clients who are actively seeking your services.
For more information on the 5 pillars and their impact on clients, please read “How local companies are getting 40+ phone calls per month from Google“.
You can increase local visibility by implementing all five pillars into your SEO strategy. This will lead to more website traffic and higher sales.