Local SEO helps small businesses show up in search results for nearby customers. Optimizing your website for local search drives both web traffic and foot traffic to physical locations, and 76 percent of smartphone users who search for local businesses visit that business the same day, with 28 percent of those searches resulting in a purchase.
Why local SEO matters for small businesses
Small businesses face unique challenges that national SEO programs cannot solve alone. Local SEO targets the people in your region, the same audience most likely to walk through your door. Statistics show that 76 percent of smartphone users who search for local businesses visit that business the same day, and 28 percent of these local searches result in a purchase. If you are not targeting local customers, you are missing out on a large market.
Build a local landing page for your business
Your website should have a dedicated page for local customers. Include the address and location of your business. Make sure the title tags contain your keyword or brand name, which catches the attention of potential customers. Using your brand name in title tags is a proven local SEO technique. For more information on local SEO, check out Sprout Social Index for additional data and insights.
Manage reviews and listings
Reviews and listings are a core part of local SEO. A customer reputation management tool helps you track reviews and manage listings in one place, saving time and money. Reviews validate what your business claims, and Google favors businesses with high ratings. A positive rating from a potential customer improves your ranking. Tools that automatically collect reviews make it simple to keep your listings fresh.
Create local content
Local content is critical. Content does not have to look like a blog post; it can also be technical specification sheets or presentations. Match your content to the search terms local users enter. When content is clearly local, people are more likely to click your listing and visit your company. Local SEO is especially crucial for businesses with a physical location.
Get the fundamentals right
A few factors decide how well you rank in local SERPs:
- Distance: how far your location is from the person searching.
- Relevance: using relevant keywords and fully filling out your NAP (name, address, phone number).
- Reviews: the quality and number of reviews, including relevant ones, which influences rankings.
- Social signals: links from your social media presence signal activity to search engines.
Handle multiple locations
The Google algorithm favors websites that give detailed information about each location. Managing local SEO for multiple locations is tricky, but the payoff can be large. Creating a separate local landing page for each location helps you target more potential customers and increases the chance they find your business. Skipping this step costs you a stream of new customers.
Keep up with algorithm changes
Search engines constantly update their algorithms, and local SEO remains an essential part of online marketing for brick-and-mortar businesses. Even a single-location business needs to appear prominently in local search, which means optimizing your website to appear on the first page of Google. A local SEO campaign helps your business rise in search results over time.