Did you know if you have a brick-and-mortar store or offer local services, local SEO could be the single most important aspect of your small business website? It’s true. If your website isn’t properly optimized, you could be missing out on one of the biggest benefits that your website has to offer. And what is that? The ability to connect instantly with new customers looking for exactly what you have to offer.
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO is how a website is optimized to rank for specific geographical regions. Suppose your website sells plumbing services in Green Bay. Well then, it certainly won’t do you any good if your website ranks well for searches of “Hales Corners plumbers.” That’s where good local search engine optimization comes in. Using on-site and off-site optimization techniques, search engine specialists work their magic. They will make sure your website ranks well when it’s most likely to be effective.
Because it encompasses so much, local search engine optimization isn’t just one thing. Instead, good geotargeted SEO includes:
- On-site optimization
- Off-site optimization (like directory listings and citations)
- Social media indicators (Twitter/Facebook/Instagram profiles)
- authority indicators (like reviews and Google+ listings)
If good SEO is a recipe, then good local SEO is the special sauce that makes it all come together.
The Many Benefits of Local Optimization
If you have multiple stores or service offices, there’s just no substitute for having a separate webpage for each location. In fact, Google SEO guru Matt Cutts has been saying so for years. Here’s why:
- Good local SEO means higher page ranks, which nearly always means more leads and better ROI.
- People who are searching online for information about a business or service are looking for local information. Some studies even put the percentage of American Internet users who research online before buying a product or service at over 95%.
- Search engines like Google often factor in location data. This is because they know that is what most consumers want. Someone with a plumbing emergency in Milwaukee certainly isn’t interested in seeing websites for Madison plumbers. Search engines are getting much smarter at using directory listings and citation services to remove irrelevant search results.
- Local optimization allows you to capitalize on non-branded searches. If someone in your area is searching for the services you offer and none of your competitors have optimized their websites for local SEO, you’re giving yourself an apparent advantage. It makes you the only shop on the block!
- Since geographic targeting is important when it comes to mobile advertising, it shouldn’t be any surprise that local SEO appears to increase response rates for mobile users.
Let Brew City Marketing Optimize Your Website
If you’re looking for SEO shortcuts that promise big results with little effort, know this: even if those cheap “black hat” techniques pay off in the short run, they will eventually come back to bite you. Instead of risking Google’s wrath, we’ll give your customers an optimized site that is chock full of what they’re looking for: information about your small business and what you have to offer.
Our local SEO experts can:
- Create state/city-specific pages if you have multiple locations or offices
- Plan, build and populate your website to maximize your local search results
- Build keyword phrases for your business that will help you get found
- Handle your citation services (for better search and directory results)
- Prepare Google+ listings for your different locations
- Add schema and structured data information to your website to help you rank above your competition
For more information about our Milwaukee website design and online marketing services, contact us today.
