Millions of smartphone users use search engines on daily basis. A large majority of these online users search for local businesses to buy their desired products or services. According to research, about 97% of consumers search for local services online. 82% of smartphone users tend to use a search engine when searching for a local business. If you are wondering if there is a way to attract and engage these users to make them your customer, the answer is yes. Search engines have made it super easy to find almost anything on the internet. From a basic idea to a local shop around the corner of your street, search engines can help you find anything. On a daily basis, many of your potential prospects search for the products that you are offering to sell. But how do you connect with these consumers? With the help of the local search engine optimization services, you can develop a gateway to bring your online prospects to your local business.
While SEO helps in ranking your website against the most relevant keywords searched online, local SEO plays a similar role to help local businesses appear on the radar of their targeted audiences. With the help of local SEO services, your business can appear among the top Google searches with listed information including your contact number, location, hours of operation, customer reviews, images, and product info. This way, your customers can find all the information they need and head to your location to make a purchase. To understand how local SEO helps to grow your business, consider these primary indicators:
- Local SEO improves your business website’s ranking on Google
- It helps you appear in the local 3-pack (Google business listings)
- You can get more conversions for your local business
- With Local SEO, you can be on the radar of mobile users easily
- It helps your business to be found on Google Maps and other navigational apps
How Does Local Search Work?
Search engines operate with the help of many algorithms. These algorithms play the role of key indicators in recording user behaviors and tendencies in making searches. Search engines have analyzed that many users search for specific keywords like services or product names (e.g. fast-food restaurants near me, home service companies near me, etc.). More than half of the total Google searches have local intent. You can cash this opportunity to promote your local business and grow your in-door sales with the help of local SEO.
Local SEO Services for Home Service Companies
Home service companies face a lot of competition in the market making it difficult for them to attract a lot of potential customers. This is mostly because many consumers tend to rely on referrals for seeking home services. More often than not, homeowners avoid trying new home service companies regardless of how satisfied they are with the company they already work with.
With local SEO services, you can break through the fierce market competition and rise above your competitors. All you need to do is hire a local SEO company to develop a competitive strategy for your home services company. Wondering how? Despite a large number of home services companies, there are many companies that tend to overlook the importance of online search. You can use this as your competitive edge by creating your Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business). You can add all the important information about your services in the profile and be ready to engage your online customers. More often than not, online users searching for local businesses are consumers that do not rely on referrals and want to find a company on their own. With the help of a local SEO services provider, you can target such consumers to build your own client base.
The local SEO services can help you:
- Increase your home services company’s online visibility.
- Outrank your local competitors.
- Generate more organic traffic and draw it to your business website.
- Grow your leads and sales within a specific local area.
Process of Local Search Optimization
Local Competitor Analysis
The first step involved in the process of creating a successful local SEO strategy is conducting a local competitor analysis. The local SEO company will find your local competitors that are performing well in the market. By analyzing the search keywords, monthly search volumes, business website, and local listings placement, the local search experts will find the gaps where you can outrank your competitors and develop a strategy accordingly. As professionals, the local SEO team will create an analysis report to share with you before devising a plan for the next move in the process.
Monitoring Local Citations
Auditing your business’s local citations across online directories is one of the key steps in the process. If your business is listed in many directories but not with accurate information, you might be losing a lot of potential customers without even knowing. The SEO experts will monitor all your local citations to ensure the correct NAP (name-address-phone number). Moreover, they will create new citations by discovering potential local listing opportunities to help your local business appear on the radar of your target market. As a client, you can always ask your local SEO company to provide a report of the listings your business is cited in.
Localized Web Content
Did you know your website’s content also contributes to improving your local SEO rankings? With the help of local search keywords, the SEO team can optimize your website’s content to target your local customers. Additionally, using microdata (schema markup), you can improve your local business listings and make local reviews visible on search result pages. It is important to remember that like SEO, local SEO is also an ongoing process and can greatly affect your local rankings if left unchecked.
Optimizing Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile or Google My Business (GMB) profile plays a crucial role in ranking your local business on search engines. Whether or not you have a business website, the GMB account can play a key role in drawing potential leads to your business. While this may be true, it is important to list all the important details on your GMB profile that your customers might be looking for. The most common details include business name, business description, days of operation, hours of operation, services and/or products, customer reviews, map pin location, contact number, email address, images, and website link (if any). Your GMB profile also helps in boosting your local listing rankings.
Tracking Campaigns
Creating a performance-driven local SEO strategy is great. However, if you are not tracking your strategy, you are out in the dark. One of the very important parts of the local SEO strategy is tracking your campaigns. You may need to track several factors to ensure that you are getting what you signed up for. The factors you need to track include keyword rankings, organic traffic numbers, the number of calls, and the number of leads and conversions. Apart from these, you may also need to track your competitive status on search engines. Check whether your business rankings improved against your competitors or not. By tracking these factors, you can optimize your strategy and compare the results again after a month.
Analytics Reporting
With the help of a local SEO company, you can set up and integrate your Google Analytics tracking to monitor your campaigns thoroughly. Your SEO company will create a monthly or quarterly report (as per your desire) and share it with you to help you compare the results with the previous months. Google Analytics enables users to get micro details of user behavior, organic traffic, website visits, web page session times, and more.
Why Do You Need a Local SEO Company?
Search Engine Optimization is a technical process that requires careful analysis and ongoing maintenance for the best results. Whether your business website is ranked among the top search result pages or not, you need to have a professional SEO company onboard. To ensure that your local business gets more in-door customers and online conversions, you need a performance-driven local SEO strategy planned and executed by professionals. Moreover, having an SEO company to do your local business’s optimization can also provide you with added benefits. The experts can offer you consultancy regarding your website’s structure, social media profiles, and overall marketing strategy that can play a role in increasing your sales.
ESP Inspire offers market-competitive professional local SEO services to small, medium, and large businesses. You can seek expert assistance and free consultancy for your business’s SEO strategy by reaching out to one of our experts at any time you like.