Local SEO for your business was once merely a suggestion for helping to enhance sales, but today it’s no longer the case.
Any SEO company in Birmingham will tell you that you’re giving your customers to someone else when you don’t increase exposure to locals. If you’re a small to mid-sized business, this is the time to optimize marketing efforts towards local SEO.
The fact that only 44% of businesses have signed themselves up for Google My Business means you can get ahead of all your competition. As the attention grows for this type of online marketing, SEO companies in Birmingham urge you to capitalize while you still can. When people search and find you online, they will also give you reviews that will increase your reputation for others. This opportunity is once-in-a-lifetime, much like being on page 1 of Google without spending a fortune. Do you remember when that was realistic? The point is, you need to strategise your local search engine optimization because if your competition is, you’re losing customers. If they aren’t, you’re getting their potential customers.
Back Story on SEO Local
When a customer does a search for a business, or business type close to their location, this is classed as a local search. If you do this yourself you’ll see a few select businesses pop up in a box on the first page of the search results. Naturally customers will look at these businesses first on the page page results. There will be other local businesses as well listed beneath that box. With the help of a digital agency in Birmingham, SEO can help get your business in that box and underneath it. You will rank higher and have all your information available to customers. This way customers know exactly what you specialise in, so when they walk through the door, they are already looking to buy.
How Effective is Local SEO?
Any top SEO company in Birmingham pays close attention to every trend occurring within online marketing. The statistics have found local SEO to be profoundly effective. For anybody searching for a company online, there is a 60% chance they will visit that store in the same day. Of those, 18% will buy. Half of the people doing local searches on their phone are looking to find information on a local business. They want the phone number or to know how late the store is open for. When this information is void, it can lead to loss of a new customer and a sale.
With the technology available, people doing local searches will more often than not look for the physical address before going to the store. Almost half of searches on Google today are made up of people looking for specific things they need in their area. Local searches can lead to phone calls presuming that the information is available. This gives a business the opportunity to form a relationship with a potential customer.
Local SEO on Top of Your Other Marketing Efforts
There are many ways you can attract attention to your business. Billboards still continue to imprint your brand into minds of the people. Your name will get out there, but when it comes down to it, will your potential customer know where to find you through these marketing strategies? Probably not. This is where local SEO comes in. Any Birmingham SEO company will tell you that local SEO marketing has replaced Yellow Pages.
When potential customers can’t find where you’re located in a Google search, all the other marketing you do means very little. A bill board is much less essential to an increase of sales than focusing on your local SEO strategies. When done properly, local SEO lets customers know what products or services you have, opening hours, contact information and location. This is what will drive people to walk through the doors of your local store.
Getting Gains from Google
Google has often made life easy for small businesses that are local. They favor these companies and as customers start to add reviews, Google promotes you even further. Right now, 56% of businesses have not bothered to sign up for Google My Business listings. This is why SEO companies in Birmingham are urging their clients to invest in getting themselves set up for these listings. The best business practices often rely on leverage which is what local SEO does in an acute sense. Once new customers start walking through your door, they will leave comments and reviews. This attracts more customers and on it goes. Your competition falls behind and your business grows exponentially.
Everyone is Going Mobile for Local SEO
There is a staggering amount of people who are searching for businesses based on their location. It is simply the most convenient way to get the things you need. Convenience is king when it comes to bringing in customers. You want to make life as easy for your customers which is why you have to make sure your information is in front of their eyes when they are looking for you. This is what local SEO does.
If your potential customers needs something ASAP, they are going to search types of businesses that will get them what they need. When you have a top SEO company in Birmingham to strategize your local SEO customers will know what your business is about, your contact information, opening hours, driving directions, what your special offers are, and ratings from past customers. Through this information, you gain trust from a customer before making eye contact.
Gaining a Good Reputation Through Local SEO
Even if your customers love you, someone searching online will have no indication of that. That is unless, you have customer reviews beside your other company information online. A top SEO company in Birmingham will inform you of how to get customers to leave feedback. These reviews and feedback are powerful ways to get more customers. It is the modern word-of-mouth that we have all come to rely on. In the world of the internet, there are a lot of smoking mirrors so people are cautious. When real customers say good things about you, you put yourself ahead of your competition even if they are also using local SEO properly.
Simply put, if you fail to put a face to the name of your local business, you will lose potential customers. You’ll give the impression that you’re not professional. People want to purchase from companies that are an open book. They want all the information that makes it easy for them to get to you. Local search trends are only getting more significant as time goes by. This is a great way to boost your business before your competitors do.
