Originally published December 15, 2022 , updated on January 16, 2023

With the rise of the internet, businesses have had to adapt their marketing strategies to stay relevant. There are many different marketing strategies, each with its own intentions and benefits. But one of the most effective approaches is local SEO. 

Local SEO optimises your online content with geographic location keywords. So people in your area can find you more easily when searching for relevant terms online. While national SEO can help you reach a wider audience, local SEO is key to driving foot traffic and revenue. By optimising your website for location-specific keywords and being active on local directories and review sites, you can make it easy for customers in your area to find you. And when they do find you, they’re more likely to buy from you over a competitor who isn’t as visible in specific regional search results. 

In short, localised SEO is crucial to keep your business relevant. But the process isn’t as simple as it may appear. As local SEO providers, we’ve outlined the main benefits and practices to adopt to improve your local SEO and business success. 

What is Local SEO?

SEO, or search engine optimisation, is the technique used by businesses to rank higher on the search engine. It’s the pulse of any online business. Without proper search engine optimsation, businesses won’t thrive. 

Local SEO, also called Map SEO, helps small and medium-sized businesses grow by optimising  a business’s online presence for a specific geographic location. Keywords help your business appear higher in search results for people searching in your area. 

Local SEO is essential to driving foot traffic through your door. But even if you don’t have a physical location, adopting these practices can still be beneficial by helping you to rank higher in search results for people in your target area.

There are many benefits of localised SEO. For example, it can help improve your website’s visibility, attract more customers, and can boost your sales and revenues. 

However, optimising your website and marketing approach for certain regions can be tricky, especially when you may need more time or resources to complete the daunting task yourself. Outsourcing this work and utilising local SEO services is one of the best ways to ensure cost-effectiveness and time-sensitive efficiency. 

The Top 6 Benefits of Local SEO Services

Generates Increased Website Traffic

Owning a business comes with a plethora of responsibilities. But perhaps the most important responsibility is to ensure that your potential customers know about your existence. With technological advances, almost everything is available online, which means if you want your business to grow, you need to have an online presence.

Investing in localised optimisation tactics is one way to increase your chances of being found by your target audience. A recent study shows that 46% of all Google searches seek local information, meaning if you’re not focusing on local SEO, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity. 

When you register your business digitally and focus on local SEO, you’re encouraging individuals who are already interested in what you offer to visit your establishment. In addition, potential customers are trusting toward a business that has an online presence and is easily searchable. 

Higher Conversion Rates

First, by ranking higher in geographically-relevant search results, you’re more likely to get clicked on by people looking for businesses like yours in their area. Second, once people find your website, they’re more likely to convert into customers. That’s because they trust that you’re a reputable business closer to them geographically. 

When customers see that you’re a business close by and have what they’re looking for, they’re more likely to contact you or visit your store. Increased traffic searches for what you offer in your region result in increased sales. 

A study shows that 72% of searchers prefer to work with businesses close to them rather than companies located miles away or those they find randomly online. Therefore, by being visible and presenting yourself as an authority in your area, you have a greater chance of attracting traffic and turning that traffic into sales. 

Cost Effective

Did you know there is a way to reduce advertising costs by optimising for regional audiences? You can tap into a whole new customer base without spending a dime on advertising by ensuring your business appears in search results when people are looking for businesses like yours in your area. And it’s not just a fad. Studies show that over 80% of smartphone users select the “near me” option when searching for a particular type of business. So take advantage of this valuable opportunity to grow your business. 

Sustainable Growth

Local SEO services create a positive feedback loop. More traffic usually leads to better search engine results, which can often lead to more traffic. Of course, more traffic and better search engine results can also lead to more sales. And more sales usually mean more interested consumers, which can result in sustained business growth. In other words, regional SEO initiatives often have a cascading effect that can benefit businesses in several ways. As a local SEO agency, we always incorporate these tactics to improve business success. 

Builds Authority

Local SEO benefits you over your competitor. First, it allows you to be more visible to potential customers when they’re searching for products or services like yours. Second, it helps you build credibility with prospects by giving them information about your business that they can’t find anywhere else. Finally, it allows you to connect with potential customers more personally, leading to more sales and loyalty in the long run. In short, local SEO is a valuable tool that can give you a significant competitive advantage.

Boosts Reputation

According to a recent study, 87% of users read online reviews before purchasing from a local business. Customer reviews can play a decisive role in whether or not someone decides to do business with you.

 If you’re offering good service, you’re likely to get positive reviews, which can help attract new customers. However, if your business is not optimised for certain regions, then it’s unlikely that people will be able to find your reviews in the first place. By executing local SEO, you can ensure that potential customers can find your business online and read the reviews left by satisfied customers. In doing so, you’re providing your business with a better chance of success.

How to Use Local SEO Services

There are several different tactics that can be used to optimise your site for specific regions. Still, some of the most important things to focus on include optimising your titles and meta descriptions for geographically-specific keywords, creating locally relevant content, and building citations from high-quality directories and review sites. 

Below are our top tips as local SEO service providers: 

Harness the Power of Social Media

In today’s hyper-competitive business landscape, finding a connection with your audience is more critical than ever. One of the most effective ways is to share your brand story on social media. In addition, by tagging your location and targeting locals, you can enhance your local SEO efforts. So don’t be afraid to share your story. 

Consistently Update your Online Presence

One way to boost your regional visibility is to ensure that your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all your online listings. This helps search engines like Google understand your business’s location and what information to display to potential customers. It also helps to avoid confusion and ensures you remain accessible and reachable. There are a few ways to ensure that your NAP is consistent across the web. One is to list your business on directory sites like Yelp and Yellow Pages. Another is to create a Google My Business page. Lastly, you can create a website for your business and include your NAP on every page.

Perform an Audit

Once the fundamentals are down, you may believe you’ve achieved it all. But, unfortunately, it isn’t as simple as this. Optimising a website for search can be a complex and time-consuming endeavour, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. 

As local SEO experts, we understand all too well that this pricess is an ongoing and ever-changing. But a good technical audit will help you identify areas where your website needs improvement. It also gives you a roadmap for future optimisation efforts. In addition, an audit can help you track your progress over time and identify any areas where you may have slipped up. So don’t be afraid to put in the extra effort – a comprehensive SEO audit can be a valuable tool for any website owner. Our local SEO services include an intimate audit of your entire business functioning and website approach to ensure your brand is seen. 

Make Use of Internal Links

Any good website should be easy to navigate, and part of that navigation comes from internal linking. When done correctly, internal linking can help visitors find the information they need while also helping search engines understand your site’s hierarchy and overall structure. Furthermore, by distributing page authority and ranking power among your pages, you can help ensure that your entire site is visible in search results, not just your homepage. In short, internal linking is an important part of any optimisation strategy and should not be overlooked.

Optimise Content and Tags

Any time you create new content for your blog, you should be thinking about how to optimise it for search engines. This means using high-volume keywords throughout the post, in the URL, title, header, meta description, and body. By doing this, you’re increasing the chances that your post will show up in the search engine results pages (SERPs) for those keywords. And since every new indexed page on your site is a new opportunity to get found by potential readers, it’s important to take the time to optimise each piece of content you create. 

Create Content that Speaks to the Locals

Google’s ever-evolving algorithm considers several factors when ranking content, including the topic’s relevance, the content’s freshness, and the user’s location. This means creators can now write for users first and foremost rather than trying to game the system by keyword stuffing or other methods. 

It’s important to consider your audience when writing for your website or other platforms. General topics will attract a broad range of users. However, niche topics that focus on regional or industry news will often be more relevant to target customers in your area. If you’re looking to attract a specific regional audience, it’s worth writing about relevant topics. If you’re looking to cultivate a collection of targeted, memorable content for your geographical audience, consider outsourcing to a local SEO agency that specialises in content creation. 

Whether you’re a start-up, small-scale business, or large corporation, your company can benefit from localised SEO. Don’t have the time or resources to tackle this task yourself? Our local SEO services are designed to help improve your business growth and marketing approach while saving time and money. Get in touch to start your local SEO journey. 

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