A survey conducted by ‘Red Egg Marketing’ showed that 82% of consumers would prefer to pay more doing business with a local business, rather than pay less doing business with a well-known chain. This can be mainly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic as that showed the struggle many local businesses go through.
Whilst it is great for local businesses to hear that people want to purchase from them, it does however, mean that it is vitally important that your business can be found by your potential customers. This can be done by Local SEO. Local SEO can help your business get found by the market, improve conversion rates, and long-lasting rankings & increase your profits.
These are just some of the benefits that come with effective Local SEO, however, there are many more benefits that will help take your business to the next level.
1.Increased Visibility in Search Engines
The main objective of Local SEO is how it can help you increase your rankings on Google’s Search Engine Results Pages & help you appear when relevant search terms are Googled. One of the main targets of Local SEO is to increase the visibility of your business for local keywords like ‘X near me’ and ‘where to buy Y’. Google reported that in the past 2 years searches for keywords like ’near me’ and ‘where to buy’ have increased by 200%.
Another way that Local SEO increases visibility in search engines is through Google Business Profiles. Google Business Profiles are one of the most useful ways that businesses can attract new customers, spread the word about their business & get people to visit their websites. A Google Business Profile shows your businesses name, where you are located, hours of business, and reviews from previous customers. Customer reviews are crucial when it comes to building the credibility of your business & can help people choose your business over a competitor.
2.Increased Foot Traffic & Sales
Builders merchants, timber merchants, clothing businesses, and many more often rely on foot fall to physical locations as opposed to online sales. Whilst it is beneficial for these businesses to have a well-optimised website, it is not as crucial as businesses that solely rely on online sales. What builders merchants, timber merchants, and clothing businesses do rely on however is people being able to locate their brick-and-mortar stores & this is the role of Local SEO.
According to research conducted by GE Capital Retail Bank conducted in 2022, 81% of shoppers conduct online research before purchasing and 76% of shoppers check a store’s online presence before visiting their store. In 2023, it is crucial that your website can be found for your foot traffic to increase.
3.Helps with Mobile Search
According to a report produced by Hitwise, nearly 60% of Google searches are conducted by mobile. With people carrying their mobile phones everywhere they go, a vast majority of these searches will be done when people are on the go & are wanting an answer to their query instantaneously. With an effective Local SEO strategy in place, you can be sure that your business will appear at the top of the SERPs & can help people with their queries. For users who enable their location on mobile, these results will be hyper-targeted, so optimised sites will benefit.
How We Can help You at Yoma
All of these points made are just some of the reasons why Local SEO is important for businesses in 2023. At Yoma, our SEO approach has resulted in proven success for our clients. We use tried and tested approaches and a suite of resources to improve your site’s architecture and optimise your content. If your business needs assistance with Local SEO then get in touch today.
