When you require a specific product or service, what’s usually the first step you take? You search for it online, of course! You’ll Google what’s nearby along with looking at business ratings, reviews, and prices. So, what does this have to do with your business? Well, basically everything. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues this year, more and more of your customers or clients will be turning to the web to discover and locate your business. This is where local SEO becomes very important.
What is local SEO?
Local SEO (or local search marketing) is the practice of optimizing a business, product, or service for a search query that is location-specific. Google along with other search engines use a user’s location to determine which businesses should appear at the top of the search page. Let’s say for example you are looking for a restaurant with a patio. When you type that into your search bar, the results will show you restaurants that are close to you and relevant to your location.
As a business owner, what this does is it allows you to connect with local customers when they are looking for a product or service related to your business.
According to Google, 46% of searches have a ‘local intent’.
Why should you care?
You may already have a search engine optimization strategy in place, but you may be wondering why you need to care about Local SEO. Depending on your current keywords and tactics, you might even have a local SEO strategy in place without even realizing it. Simply put though, local SEO increases your business’s visibility on search pages via geographic targeting – giving you a better opportunity to expand your audience and bring in new customers. Especially now when many people are still trying their best to stay home and stop the spread of COVID-19, anything you can do to optimize your business online will be your best bet this year in keeping your business moving forward in an upward trajectory.
Ready to increase your business’ local SEO?
Your first step in learning how to use local SEO for your business is by coming to the pros for help. At 3SIXTY Marketing Solutions, we know what it takes to set up your business for success by creating a strong digital presence. From SEO to website design to social media marketing, we know it all. Better yet, we can even run your marketing strategies and advertising campaigns for you so you can spend more time working on your business instead of in it! To learn more, give us a call at (705) 252-4180 to set up a virtual meeting to discuss your SEO goals and the opportunities available to you.
