What is Local Seo and How Can It Help My Business Thrive?

Local search engine optimisation, often known as local SEO, aims to raise a company’s position in local search results. Your company must be optimised for local search since local information makes up half of all Google searches.

Results from local searches frequently contain queries that include qualifiers like “near me” or “in Belfast”. Google is also capable of determining whether a search query is geographically restricted. Google, for instance, assumes that someone searching for “pizza shops” is looking for pizzerias nearby.

Local SEO is becoming more vital as users change how they utilise search engines. Since the beginning of the 2010s, there has been a continuous rise in “near me” searches conducted on mobile. This trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon…

Users frequently don’t want to navigate through a website to discover basic information because more searches are on mobile devices. They may see a company name, contact details, opening hours, reviews, and more, thanks to local SEO, right on the results page.

Where do these nearby companies appear in the search results?

In the realm of search results, prominence is seized through Google My Business and organic outcomes. Prominently adorning the upper echelons of the results page are distinctive listings deserving attention: the local listing and the revered Google My Business entry. Furthermore, your stance amid the principal search outcomes, unveiled subsequent to these listings, remains subject to the gravitational forces of search engine optimization, cementing its pivotal role in your digital visibility strategy.

What is the difference between local and traditional SEO?

The audiences for the two are often different. Searchers looking for goods or services in their nearby region frequently more so come into contact with local SEO.

Who needs it?

If your company provides services to a certain location, you must be found locally and focus on your local SEO.

Why Local SEO Matters

High Intent and Purchase-Ready

Compared to non-localised searches, local searches have a substantially higher intent to convert. Geographical factors also qualify local searchers. So it should be no surprise that local searches have an 80% higher conversion rate than non-local searches. When someone searches for “pizza near me,” they are probably looking for a pizza restaurant to visit soon. The goal is to appear in local search results pages (SERPs).

Cost-Effective

Elevate your company’s prominence in search inquiries through adept employment of search optimization. Leverage the power of platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp, alongside other local business listing websites. These avenues, often devoid of cost and manageable with ease, offer fertile grounds for boosting visibility. In a departure from relying on paid advertising, a multitude of enterprises triumph by investing their efforts into skillful search optimization, reaping sustainable dividends from their strategic allocation of time and resources.

Competition

Local search optimisation raises the stakes for your company. It’s likely that your competitors are already devoting time and resources to their optimisation strategies. You can run a quick search for your industry and location to verify this. “Pizza shop Belfast,” for instance. Who is the first to appear in the results? Do other businesses outperform yours in popularity? Those rivals are likely spending money on local SEO.

Review of local SEO issues

Local search will be even more crucial for companies as more and more queries are conducted on mobile devices while on the go. Fortunately, local SEO can be controlled and measured. 

The secret behind dominating local SEO for your business is finding a digital marketing agency that will get you there. Contact us today!