Local and Generic SEO for Small Business Builds Leads and Conversions

by

Elizabeth Ann Roy

 

Local and Generic SEO for Small Business Builds Leads and Conversions

Local SEO and Generic SEO: What's the Difference?
Why is Local SEO Important for Small Businesses?
How to Create Local SEO for Small Business

If you're a local small business owner, you know it's important to have a website. But, while you're an expert on your area of business, you don't necessarily know a lot about writing SEO (Search Engine Optimized) content for your site. You probably know even less about attracting local visitors or ensuring that visitors to your site find it to be attractive, informative, and easy to use. 

Drawing Traffic to Your Website

It is important for your  business to have a website, but according to Ahref's Content Explorer Index, 90.63 percent of all websites receive no visitors. Website content with optimized SEO and local SEO help local small businesses maximize their rankings on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), increase traffic from website visitors, and convert visitors into customers or clients. 

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Local SEO and National or Global SEO: What's the Difference?

National or Global SEO

First, the definition of SEO has changed. It no longer refers only to selecting keywords and including them in content. National or global SEO now incorporates improving a visitor's experience, referred to as the user experience or UX, when visiting your bushiness's website. The steps involved in optimizing your website's UX include:

• Making sure the website loads quickly on both mobile devices and desktop computers
• Checking that users can easily navigate your site to find the information they want
• Including informative, detailed content on pages that answer users questions about your business and your products and services
• Continually adding blog posts where users can find answers to more general questions

Here's a hint: Google now gives preference to websites that are friendly to smart phones and other mobile devices. 

Local SEO

Local SEO focuses on information that identifies the geographic location of your business for search engines. At a minimum, it includes your business's name, address, and phone number often referred to as your business's NAP. Local SEO consists of listings on online business indexes and inclusion in Google's local pack, in navigation apps, and on online maps, called local map packs.

You'll find Google's local map packs on the SERP. The local map includes the top three businesses, which Google ranks by proximity to the searcher, relevance to the search, and prominence or the number of listings on online business indexes. All of these make your business easier to find for prospective local customers.

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Why is Local SEO Important for Small Businesses?

Local SEO has become increasingly important for:

• Small businesses with physical locations
• Businesses that have a specific designated marketing or service area
• Businesses that want to focus on such a specific area

Local SEO is one of the least costly ways to promote your business, and therefore, it offers one of the highest ROIs.

Fewer than 50 percent of businesses use local SEO, so using it gives your business a chance to outrank local competitors. Because those doing local searches often have already decided to buy, local SEO not only increases traffic but also increases pre-qualified leads and conversions from prospects to purchasers and long-term customers

Local SEO Statistics

Google reports that the number of searches for local businesses using the phrase "near me today" or "near me tonight" increased by 900 percent between 2017 and 2019. According to Go-Globe.com in 2019, 86 percent of prospective customers use local Google searches to find businesses, and 29 percent search for a local business at least once a week.

Again according to Go-Globe.com in 2019, 30 percent of those searching using a mobile device are searching for local businesses, 72 percent visit a store within five miles, 76 percent visit a local business within a day, and 28 percent of those who visit within a day make a purchase. Overall, 78 percent of smartphone searches result in a purchase.

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How to Create Local SEO for Small Business

​1. List Your Business with Local Online Business Indexes 

You should include this information both on your website and on online business indexes like Google My Business, Bing Places, Facebook, Yelp, and Yext. You should

• Keep this information up to date
• Keep your business's listing consistent across all of the indexes including your address, phone number, contact person, and images
• Include additional information like business hours and information about products, services, and prices if possible
• Use Facebook or the Google Posts feature of Google My Business to update your customers about new products or services, awards your business receives, sales and special offers, new blog posts, and more
• Respond to social media posts from customers and prospective customers reasonably promptly

Consistent listings assure that your business appears reliable to both search engines and those doing searches.

2. Respond Professionally to Both Positive and Negative Reviews

​Responding to positive posts is easy, but negative posts offer an opportunity for you to learn about areas where you can improve your business. Don't respond with a generic, formulaic approach. Instead, mention the issues raised by the poster, ask questions about them, and ask the poster to email you with the answers. Thank the poster for calling your attention to the issue and be certain your response sounds sincere and genuine.

3. Include References to Your Geographical Location in Your Site's Content

Mention your city and state along with your business category, such as "veterinarian in Any City, Kansas." If you serve the entire metro area or an entire county, mention that with a phrase like "locksmith for the Any City metro area."  if your city hosts annual events or is selected to host a special one-time event, create blog posts about those events and relate that event to your business to get a chance of appearing in searches related to that event.

Creating a calendar of when you want to schedule blog posts related to local events will remind you to when to write and post them. If you have software to automate your blog posts, you can write them anytime in advance and schedule a date for the automated software to make the post.

Just as good SEO helps you rank ahead of other businesses with similar products or services, attention to local SEO places you ahead of local competitors, provides you with the opportunity to be part of the Map Pack on Google SERPs, and puts you at the top of local organic search results.