Small businesses provide equal opportunities for entrepreneurs with work that is meaningful and better than a traditional company. Along with opportunities to work, small businesses also hold importance for the economic health of the country. Their need to flourish has become important for the local communities and their economy as well. For small businesses, Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) comes as a useful strategy to be discovered much more quickly.
The google algorithm by default prioritizes local businesses even if the search intent does not include “near me”. The top few search-related businesses that show on the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) are usually the businesses local to the conducted search areas. Having small businesses on the local search list will enable them to thrive. A lot of consumers believe in patronizing businesses in their own vicinity as an essence to give back to their local community as well as support small businesses
Local SEO has been existing as long as SEO has, but only after the recent growth of the internet in India, Local SEO has been optimized by businesses to be discovered easily and as often by customers.
Consumers can discover a brand on a lot of platforms available but their first action to query is always in the search engine. As of 2022, 95% of users searched online to find a local business online, 78% of them are searching weekly and 21% of them are searching them daily. The more people look for information about local businesses the higher are chances for small businesses to be located as often.
Visibility in local searches allows small businesses to not just spread online brand awareness but also lead a word-of-mouth marketing locally, inviting in-store traffic and conversion and other available conversion platforms.
Traditional SEO practices creating content, building landing pages, meta descriptions, link-building, and some more aspects. Local SEO requires more other location-based operations like local links and content to allow google’s algorithm to optimize small businesses for local searches. Other location-based aspects that inevitably affect the local search results are listings on Google My Business, local citations, reviews, and social signals from local customers. When executed correctly, these signals allows small business to escalate their awareness and leads.
Small businesses with local content strategies thrive in their distinct market. Content is one of the basic aspects yet important aspects of any marketing strategy. Small businesses with a local audience base require to have exceptional content, locally familiar and relevant to attract them. Incorporation of such content allows google optimization for on-page local SEO.
Small businesses with local links backed with a well-organized Google my business page provide customers with a trust signal. Having local links and local listings endorses locals’ trust and attracts more to small businesses. Local listings often have reviews, regardless of whether they are positive or negative, they influence search optimization. When small businesses respond and resolve these reviews it impacts the rankings as well as the user’s search experience. According to a survey, a majority of users have responded to reading and being influenced by the reviews.i
Google states, “Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’s local ranking.”
There have been tools made available for local search-oriented SEO for small businesses to utilize and develop SEO audits, and keyword lists for content that focuses on their local audience and market and maintains consistent google listings, citations, and posts.
The local search rankings continually grow and change due to multiple factors influencing them. Small businesses require regular optimization of signals that influence their website’s footprint in the local search results.
