Last updated on February 6th, 2023 at 01:55 pm.
Source: Blue Corona
SEO is an excellent way to make customers aware of your business, product, or service online. However, if you want local clients to find your business online, you need to localize your marketing strategy including your search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. Local SEO optimizes a website so that it shows up in the local search results. Some of the most common terms are “restaurants near me” or “hospitals near me.” Statistics show that 72% of customers who conduct local searches visit the physical store located within a five-mile radius.
So why is it important for you as a marketer to localize your SEO? Local search marketing makes your business visible online so that customers who search similar businesses like yours will get wind of your company. This method is designed to drive more customers to your site and increase your sales performance. Inbound marketing, on the other hand, helps your business grow using various online tools that promote your brand and engage your customers.
As you read on, we’ll dive into the details of how you can dominate local search optimization and build a solid marketing campaign. We’ll show you how these tools and strategies can help move your business to the next level.
What Consumers Search for in Online Listings
Why Use Local SEO?
Marketers know the value of numbers and statistics, especially when it comes to understanding customer behavior. According to a study, four out of five consumers use online search engines to locate and find information about a business, product, or service. Local searches result in higher purchases versus non-local searches. Customers also prefer to search companies that are located nearby with addresses and phone numbers listed in their ads.
Businesses that utilize local SEO strategies are more likely to generate higher sales from the local niche market. Therefore, you should start adapting the principles of local SEO and digital marketing to move your company to the top rankings. The more people who come across your brand, the more chances you can convert these leads to sales.
The Benefits of Using Local SEO
With the information above, it’s imperative that marketers take advantage of this data to maximize SEO campaigns. Here are some of the reasons why you should start localizing your SEO campaigns and how they can help boost your sales.
- Builds online visibility
- Improves search rankings
- Strengthens your presence in the local market
- Reaches a more targeted audience
- Drives more traffic to your website
- Improves visibility from relevant searches
- Local visibility leads to more customers and purchases
- Improves relevance through link building and content marketing
- Improves reputation and trust from customers
- Leads to repeat purchases
- Increases your sales profit
- Increases visibility in Google Maps
Ranking on top of the local search engine results is one of the indicative signs of a successful digital marketing campaign. However, this strategy is often overlooked by many businesses that are struggling to generate more sales. By building an efficient local SEO and digital marketing strategy, you’ll be able to maximize the available tools to help propel your business forward. If you want to grow your business further, Red Stag Fulfillment provides quality shipment and fulfillment services to support your sales and marketing strategy.
How to Use Local SEO and Make it Work for your Business?
To strengthen and dominate local search visibility online, you need to optimize your company’s information. This helps position your business in the right places so that customers can easily find everything they need in one click. To optimize your searches, you’ll need to provide accurate information including your company address, website, email, and phone number.
This information will direct search engines to directories that show your location and other relevant information. On the other hand, if your listing provides the wrong information, it can negatively affect your local ranking results.
Some of the sites you should consider listing your company are Google My Busines, Yahoo!, Bing Places for Business, Yelp, and Facebook. Before you proceed, make sure to verify if all information is correct and consistent across all platforms. Signing up at these websites can significantly improve your visibility in local search rankings.
Related : Become a Marketing expert with these Coursera Specializations
What is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing is a strategy used to grow your business by driving customers to your website. Directing potential buyers to your site allows you to promote your product or service and create awareness about your brand. The main concept of this strategy is to attract, engage, and delight customers.
By attracting the right market using relevant content, you can actively engage customers better. Once you create a conversation with your customers, the higher the chance you can convert the potential customer into a sale. At the same time, you are inspiring your customers to purchase and enjoy your product or service.
Inbound Marketing Tools
Source: Hubspot
How to Dominate Local Search with Inbound Marketing
A lot of businesses rely on local SEO to gain better rankings in Google’s search engine. With recent updates, paid ads have higher visibility compared to organic search results. Thus, if you want to make sure your business stands out then you need to find ways to improve your organic search rankings.
Optimize your Local SEO
SEO plays a huge role in digital marketing campaigns. An effective SEO campaign can significantly improve your brand’s visibility on the search engine result pages (SERP). The goal is to get your website visible on the first page.
One way to do that is to optimize your keywords so that when people search for relevant topics, your site will show up at the results. You can also link your content to reputable websites to help move up your website in the organic search results.
Maximize link-building opportunities
Link building is one of the key factors in a successful inbound marketing campaign. One way to get high-quality backlinks is by offering to replace broken links in high-performing sites and posts with your website link in exchange for content. Another strategy is to collaborate with influencers by linking your content to their posts. You can also become a guest blogger and provide resources about the topic by linking your website.
Another option is to research your competitors and identify which websites are linking their content. Check their domain authority, relevant domains, and perform link outreach to those domains. The more links you have, the higher the chance your customers will find you.
Use Local and Longtail Keywords
Optimizing your keywords can improve your rankings. The first thing users see on the SERP is your heading. Make sure your title and description best describe what your business is all about. Add local keywords to your description and relevant tags.
Some examples of longtail keywords are “best Italian restaurant” or “cheapest hotel in New York.” These keywords should be relevant to your business, telling people exactly what it is you have to offer.
Encourage customer reviews
Most online buyers read reviews before deciding to buy a product or service. They are looking for validation that yours is the right product/service for them.
So whenever you can, take the opportunity to encourage customers to write about their experiences. This also creates more opportunities to build links. While there may be a chance of getting a bad review occasionally, all you need is more positive feedbacks to build up your reputation.
Create compelling content
Your website’s content should be interesting enough to keep customers engaged. The longer they stay on your page, the higher your ranking will be. So, how can captivate your audience?
Start by writing high-quality articles that showcase your expertise. You can also feature local events relevant to your brand. Another option is to launch a podcast, webinar, or video series. These strategies can help you attract more potential customers and engage them by bringing life to your brand. After all, when it comes to digital marketing, content is king.
Utilize Google My Business Listing
As alluded to earlier, Google My Business page helps improve your local ranking. It provides a huge opportunity for businesses to show up in the local search results for every relevant search. All you need to do is claim your listing, verify your account, input the complete details, and link it to your website.
You can also upload hi-resolution photos of your business. Once the information is set up and customers review your business, the search engine will optimize it as a local listing.
Final Thoughts
One of the most effective digital marketing practices is localizing your SEO campaigns. To generate a successful ranking on SERPs, you’ll need to identify the best keywords relevant to your business, understand the available tools to help you improve your local rankings, and engage your customers. Local SEO can help you grow your business by increasing brand awareness, driving people to your site, and ultimately, generating more sales.
SEO campaigns take time so you’ll have to be patient with the results. Some local SEO campaigns can take from several months to a year before you can see the results. Just make sure to make the most of your campaign by crafting killer content, improving your local listings across all platforms, making sure all information is correct, consistent, and using quality keywords. Following the steps above can help your business become more visible online. Localizing your SEO with a well-planned inbound marketing strategy will help you achieve a successful marketing campaign.
