Without a doubt, the advancements of technology have revolutionized society in many different ways. People in today’s world are interconnected, and the internet has proven to be the most effective way of communicating. Information, news, and all types of data can be acquired using the power of the internet and the World Wide Web. Smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and other portable devices represent the emergence of the age of portable internet, and within a few short years, browsing the internet has become a solitary activity for consumers. Because of this great transition, businesses are constantly being advised to make the shift towards the online sector in order to reach out to the more internet-oriented society. Who here thinks they know the greatest avenue for advertisement and online marketing for a local business? You got it; the internet is the most effective platform for local businesses located in a physical location to attract potential customers. SEO, or search engine optimization, has been a growing trend for local businesses to facilitate traffic to their location. With minimal effort, consumers from a specific area can gain knowledge of a particular business and the services that the business provides. Keep in mind; there are still older generations that logically think of the Yellow Pages for information on local businesses. SEO marketing ensures that entire demographics are not left out when businesses attempt to build brand awareness. In turn, more brand awareness facilitated ticket sales last year for the NHL compared to the year before. Online avenues are extremely cost-effective when compared to other traditional means of advertising like television and newspaper ads. This is an article on the importance of SEO for local business and newcomer businesses.
What is an SEO service?
Definition of search engine optimization (SEO) is the procedure that develops the volume and value of traffic to a website from search engines through natural search results. Generally, the higher a website ranked in the search results, the more often a site appears in the search results list, then the more visitors it will get from the search results. Many companies and business industries often ignore the significance of SEO in their success. If you ascertain a business what is your ultimate goal? Your ultimate goal is to become something big and successful, right? And to become successful, you need a wide range of exposure or exposure for your business, and the best way to achieve that is through the internet. Nowadays, the matter of placing your product or services on the first page until the fifth page is not enough. Why is that so? That is because most internet users will not have the patience to browse through each and every page to find what they are looking for, for example, your website. You won’t trust me? When was the last time you browsed to the fifth page? See what I mean? The most common way for people to find their needs on the internet is through search engines. And because of that, you want your website to be ranked high in the search result for it to be reachable by many people. And that is how SEO services come in handy.
Why do brick and mortar businesses need SEO services?
SEO isn’t just for online businesses; it can immensely benefit brick and mortar stores too. The main reason is because brick and mortar stores have far less flexibility of exposure for their existence. Current day trends towards online resources to gain information on local businesses. Whether a person is researching different businesses in local phone books, through newspaper classifieds, flyers, or looking at who’s around them through online resources; they’re all looking for the same thing- what the best choice for them is. Normally, with popular search engines like Google being the main premiers of what someone is presented to first, and what the majority of people think to be the most trustworthy source, if an information page is on say page 3 of a search result; most people won’t find it or bother looking there. This can obviously be devastating for a local business, especially if information is erroneous or outdated. SEO can instantly put the business’s informative pages at the click of the first link a potential customer might see when looking up information, and best of all it could be what the customer was looking for. High rankings of SEO content can draw lots of traffic to a local business as most people would rather choose something that is convenient and close by. Part of the reason this method is effective is because SEO can provide informative and reliable information without an engulfing advertisement. When people put in an inquiry for information, ten to one they want just plain information. An advertisement might force information on someone, or the person will go to an advertised link just to find out it wasn’t what they were looking for in the first place. Advertisements are also misleading in many cases and some people are aware of that so they try to avoid ad links. SEO content can provide a link that someone from such an inquiry can click and be presented with the exact thing they were looking for off the bat, no strings attached!
Benefits of Local SEO Services
Higher conversion rates The most conversion is from potential customers who are searching for your product or service online. These are the people you want to attract to your site. With local SEO, you are reaching your targeted customer base so they will be more inclined to visit your website and contact you about your services.
Targeted local traffic Local SEO tactics allow you to position your business on search engines and other digital marketing platforms so you’re seen by potential customers — on their terms. With a well-designed local SEO strategy, you will be able to avoid the hassle and cost of dealing with broad-based competition. If you’re a small business, this can be crucial in establishing a solid foundation in your industry to fend off the big corporations.
Increased online visibility Potential customers in your community are searching for your business. The sad truth is that the vast majority of business owners do not pay attention to those statistics and often lose out on opportunities to compete. Local SEO is a highly targeted, cost effective, and efficient way to market your business online. By using local SEO tactics you can build business in your own backyard or city which will in turn allow you to extend to other cities, states, countries, and even worldwide to reach those customers.
Increased online visibility
Local SEO service can increase online visibility for local businesses. This is very important because a highly visible business is more likely to gain customers who have a need for that product or service. Increased online visibility equals an increase in the targeted audience, which will eventually lead to increased sales. High visibility is what online business is about. It is a known fact that the difference between number one and number five rankings for the same keyword on Google can mean a big difference in terms of website traffic. A number one ranking can mean hundreds of visitors to a website compared to a number five ranking for the same keyword. The new Google+ Local replaces Google Places for businesses. This is a platform that can allow local businesses to obtain better online visibility. Google+ Local listings can be highly optimized with the right keywords, business descriptions, videos, images, and more. All of this can lead to increased visibility.
With the increasing number of mobile phone users and frequent internet users, it can’t be helped that online marketing is evolving day by day. It’s a constant fact that to survive in this fast-paced moving business world, it’s important for any brick and mortar business to have an online presence. Customers are no longer flipping the yellow pages to find businesses. Customers are using search engines, increasingly Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc., to find the products and services they want. Over 20% of searches on Google are local in intent and over 50% of mobile users are using apps to assist them in finding local products or services. These are large numbers considering the amount of searches done each day, and it’s important that local brick and mortar businesses are taking action while these numbers are only increasing.
Targeted local audience
Local search is here and it is getting stronger than ever. By using local SEO to run your business, you can keep up with the trend, stay competitive and provide more value to potential customers. This is mainly because a targeted approach will yield better conversions. People searching for a business or service locally are more likely to purchase. For example, if someone is searching on their mobile phone for a locksmith at 2am, it’s highly probable that they’re looking for a locksmith to call out to then and there. When viewing it from a non-internet perspective, having your business located within a reasonable distance makes it more likely for a potential customer to use your service. The combination of these factors makes it very beneficial for a brick and mortar business to use local SEO. By now, you should understand that local SEO is heavily beneficial to brick and mortar businesses. It positions them in front of the eyes of the customers at the very moment that they’re looking for that particular service. There are various other benefits too, but these will become apparent when you start your own local SEO campaign. Due to the nature of this type of marketing and the competition involved, it would be best to engage the services of a reputable SEO company to carry out a campaign for you.
Higher conversion rates
To explain this benefit with an example, imagine you are a retail outlet selling computer tables. Now, if your store is located on a highway, there would be a lot of people who are just looking for some shelving on which they can put their computer/desktop. So, you might get a lot of inquiries or calls asking for computer tables, but this traffic is not relevant as most of the people looking for computer tables would like to see various designs and then decide on the one which is best suited for their room. So, only if they actually visit your store, there is a chance of them buying the table. Now, considering the same scenario, if your store is located in a market or a mall, the people making an inquiry would be the same, but there would be much higher chances of them visiting your store as it is located in a crowded place and there is no sure short way of finding a computer table without visiting the store. So, the chances for meaningful lead generation and conversion are much higher and you can offshore your investment in local SEO, just with this example.
How Sotavento Medios Can Help
We understand your local market competition, and we will develop a customized plan to outperform your local market competition. Most small business sites are geared towards global visitor acquisition, whether or not the product or service is offered globally. This often results in wasted search engine referrals and a high bounce rate as global visitors quickly realize the product or service is not available to them. By focusing exclusively on local visitor acquisition, we will be able to grow your customer base, allowing you the option to expand globally at a later date.
We have an intimate knowledge of the search behavior of Singapore’s online population, having focused on Singaporean local search since the inception of our company. Our keyword research and content optimization strategies will take into account the colloquialisms and culturally specific search behavior of your local area. You can trust that the search phrases we optimize your site for will be the same as those used by your local customer base. We know what your customers are searching for, so we can make sure your site is there to greet them when they arrive.
Expertise in local SEO strategies
Our team comprises experts in local search engine optimization and professionals who have been serving local businesses with their specialized techniques, knowledge, and skills. We know the importance of SEO for small local businesses due to the fact that these businesses are only able to serve a limited area and hence have a smaller target audience. We understand that revenue for such businesses is directly dependent on the number of customers that they get on a monthly basis. Our team has helped businesses to increase the number of customers visiting their site and their business with proven strategies. We have a proven track record of increasing traffic and sales for SMEs by using our local SEO expertise. This is evident from the testimonials of our satisfied clients who have seen a drastic change in their business from the time they have opted to use our services.
Local SEO has become a fundamental challenge for small businesses which are starting to use the internet as a source of credibility and to be noticed. Brick and mortar enterprises are nowadays having trouble using old-fashioned advertising and promotional methods. Combining it with the internet can promote them much better. Local SEO is the best method of radio advertisement. Both methods are intended to acquire local customers and both can be very effective, but local SEO still has minimal cost and potentially greater returns. The most important thing in local SEO is to rank high in the right keywords. High rankings can provide a steady stream of potential customers at no additional cost. It beats spending additional money to send flyers or advertisements to the consumer’s house. Those methods are still effective, but consumers nowadays are more fond of searching for information online. If a business does not rank high in the keywords relevant to their business, consumers will have a hard time trying to find them online. In this case, it will disadvantage their business compared to their competitors. Still, in the same essence of having a high ranking, potential customers can lead to visiting the business in person. Nowadays, most consumers are searching for information on local businesses online, around 80%, and only 20% of consumers using paper sources. People who are searching for a specific business on the map are very high potential customers. A high ranking can make it possible for the business to appear on the map or even be found directly by Google Search since now Google can give information on local businesses on the right side of the search. This needs to be accomplished well and optimized since it will make it easier for customers to find the business location and information.
