Finding the “best salon” or “best north Indian restaurant” is a cakewalk. Just type in your queries on Google and get a list of nearby local salons and restaurants. These top results shown by Google aren’t ads or big brands but locally-owned businesses that are close to your current location. This practice increases the visibility of such businesses while providing value to users looking for quick support in their area.

Businesses can appear in such search results through local SEO!

But, how can you leverage local SEO to appear in the top search results and connect with their target audience? This guide will take you through local SEO marketing and its benefits to small businesses.

- What Is Local SEO?
- What Are the Benefits of Local SEO?
- How Can Small Businesses Use Local SEO?

Let’s get started.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO works on the same fundamentals as SEO. However, while SEO aims to improve a website's visibility when people search for a particular good or service, local SEO focuses on improving visibility in a specific area.

In layman’s language, local SEO highlights your business in local search engine results by answering a question that includes “near me.” For instance, if you provide car washing services and someone types “ car wash near me,” your website will pop up in the local search results. However, according to Google, this will depend on:

Proximity: If your business is close to the searchers’ location
Relevance: If you provide the services/products they are looking for
Prominence: If you have optimized local business listings and adhere to Google’s ranking algorithm.

Therefore, if you fulfill the three parameters, you are more likely to reach your potential customers. Besides reach, local SEO can benefit your business in multiple ways. Let’s take a look.

Benefits of Local SEO for Small Businesses

1) Attract More Potential Shoppers at Low Costs

One of the major benefits of local SEO is its ability to attract customers who are actively looking for services/products (similar to yours) near them. Therefore, when they come across a business that offers their desired products/services in close vicinity, they are likely to visit or connect with you.

By optimizing your business for local SEO, you can rank well in the search results and reach audiences who are eagerly waiting to avail of nearby services. Also, the cost of creating a local SEO campaign is relatively low compared to traditional marketing. Therefore, you can yield maximum returns with minimum investment.

You can also take assistance from local SEO experts and build a customized campaign based on your needs and goals.

2) Improve Online Visibility

As mentioned earlier, local SEO can considerably enhance your visibility by informing customers about your business. When they search for a particular product/service in the area and your website pops us in the search results, you inform them about your existence.

Whether or not they buy from you, they are at least aware of your business and might choose to contact you in the near future. Furthermore, if you optimize your website for local SEO, you might beat your competition and appear at the top. This, in turn, will bring a double advantage - better visibility and an improved conversion rate.

3) Collect More Reviews

According to BrightLocal, 77% of the people 'always' or 'regularly' read reviews when browsing for local businesses. So one clear thing is that reviews play a significant role in deciding the fate of your sales. Therefore, you must optimize your business for local SEO to gather customer reviews and give potential buyers a leave to trust you or buy from you.

If you offer high-end services/products, implement customers’ feedback, or fulfill their requirements, they will leave a positive review. Every good review takes you a step closer to better reputation, brand value, and, ultimately, more sales.

4) Increase Sales

Since local SEO targets the “highly-interested” section of the audience, you have an incredible opportunity to boost your sales. When local customers search for an option locally, they are ready to buy - all they are looking for is a reliable service provider. In such cases, showing up in the top results can increase your chances of being the landing spot.

Also, when they find their desired goods or services nearby, they might choose you over other high-end brands which are located far away. However, make sure you adhere to SEO norms and policies to rank high. You can leverage local SEO optimization services for the best results.

5) Boost Website Authority and Rankings

A critical and significant part of local SEO is link building. This means you can direct quality links from third-party websites to your website. For instance, you can write a guest post for a website, and they will provide you with a certain number of links. When users visit the guest post, they might click on the link (if they find it relevant) and land on your website.

By getting links from third-party websites, you inform Google (as well as users) that your business is reliable and credible. This, in turn, boosts your online authority and rankings since Google (and other search engines) prefer websites that provide valuable content.

6) Exposure to Local Listings

Another major benefit of local SEO marketing is that it gives you an undeniable opportunity to build a community and gain exposure.

By getting your business listed in local directories, you allow people to easily access information about your products/services, read your reviews, or know your location. For instance, you can get listed on Yellowpages to increase your reach.

Though Google My Business is opted by the majority of local businesses, you should aim for other local directories to enhance your exposure, credibility, and rankings. Also, local directories often offer distinctive features where you can add menus, booking/appointment forms, ads, or direct messaging links besides basic business information. Therefore, you can engage customers and amplify your sales graph drastically.

Apart from the above-mentioned, you can enjoy some bonus benefits by leveraging local SEO marketing for your business.

Additional Benefits of Local SEO for Your Business

- Gain Competitive Advantage
- Reduce Cost Per Acquisition
- Create Brand Awareness
- Attract Relevant Traffic
- Boost ROI
- Earn Loyal Customers
- Continuous Business Growth

The Key Takeaway

To prosper and grow in the long run, small-scale businesses must adopt and implement relevant marketing tactics. Local SEO is one sure-shot way to attract potential customers and convert them into buyers.

When done correctly, Local SEO can benefit you in more ways than you can imagine. However, we understand you already have a lot on your plate, and adding another dish isn’t easy.

No worries. You can take assistance from local SEO experts and partner with them to strengthen your online presence.