SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a buzzword in the digital world. And why won’t it be? After all, it helps businesses rank their websites on the top of the search engine result pages for a particular query. However, advanced SEO practices, such as Local SEO, become crucial when it comes to a small business competing with giants in a specific area. But what is local SEO? Let’s find out.

Everything you need to understand about Local SEO

Before understanding local SEO, you must understand what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is. Let’s try to understand it with Google as our reference search engine. When a user searches for something on Google, it doesn’t do a live search through the entire internet every time. Instead, it searches a stored copy of all the web pages that Google has discovered, called the Google Index. 

To index websites, Google uses programs known as “spiders” to crawl trillions of internet pages and store the information in Google’s servers. And when you search for anything on Google, its algorithms check the index and return a list of relevant websites in organic results. Those websites on the result list rank based on relevance, authority, and popularity. SEO helps optimize these factors, making your website visible at the top of the list.

In the simplest terms, SEO refers to the marketing strategies and practices that help a brand organically appear on a search engine, say Google, when a user searches for a particular query (or keyword) linked with the brand.

Why is SEO important?

Think of it like this, if a user searches for a product or service you offer, the search engine result page (SERP) will show the results from thousands of websites relevant to the search query. But what good does it serve you if your products or services are on the hundredth page? It is where SEO becomes necessary. It helps you to rank your web pages higher than your competitors.

SEO works on several factors responsible for improving your website’s relevance, experience, authority, and popularity to make it suitable for search engines to discover and show it to users. However, local SEO might be a little different than regular SEO.

Stick with this blog to the end, and you will find the answers to questions like “What is local SEO?” & “How does it work to benefit your brand?”

What is Local SEO?

As the name describes itself, local SEO is a strategy that helps increase your visibility on search engine results locally or in a particular region.

It is a crucial marketing strategy that helps businesses primarily with a brick & mortar location. For example, if you are selling your products or services in a particular area, it might be irrelevant for you to be more visible in a different state or country. So, in local SEO, you focus mainly on improving your rankings in local search results.

How does it work?

Local SEO is a sub-part of SEO that follows most of the SEO practices. However, you must proceed with regular SEO practices for relevance and authority. 

For relevance, content optimization is vital. It would be best to put the right keywords and their variations to match the users’ search queries. Authority or domain authority helps search engines know which sites are trustworthy and suitable to show on search results. Therefore, websites with higher domain authority rank better on search engine results.

Search engines want to show users the most relevant and trustworthy results. However, when it comes to local SEO, they consider another factor – proximity.

Local SEO helps users to find businesses that are near them. For example, if a user wants to find the best restaurants near him, the search results should display the restaurants in his proximity. Some vital tips for local SEO, besides primary SEO, include:

• Keeping your contact information consistent on all online platforms
• Auditing local SEO practices frequently
• Adding location pages to the website
• Creating local content
• Participating in local communities

Why is Local SEO important?

Local SEO helps you to scale your business online even if you don’t have a website. It brings more traffic to your physical store through online leads that have higher chances of purchasing your products or services as they are specifically searching for them. 

Search for local information is on the rise, with almost 80% of users looking for local places or businesses. Results of these searches have sent around 70% of consumers to the physical stores or locations, increasing sales and traffic manifolds. 

Local SEO can successfully drive people’s decisions in your favor. The more they know about your business, the more they trust your brand. Therefore, the chances of transactions increase too. Let’s take a look at the top benefits of local SEO:

Benefits of Local SEO

Here are the top pointers that show the importance of local SEO:

• According to Google, 76% of users conducting a local search on their phones visit a store within 24 hours. Local SEO helps direct these users to your store and increase sales.
• 3 out of every 10 searches on Google are location-based. So, with local SEO, you can reach a broad audience.
• According to a local SEO survey, more than 80% of users read online reviews during a local search before making any decision. With local SEO, you can show these users your positive reviews and turn their decisions in your favor.
• Around 30% of online searches convert into sales resulting in better conversion rates through local SEO.
• Local SEO costs far less than conventional advertising platforms.
• Your business gains higher ranking, continuous growth, and customer feedback.

Final word

A search engine’s popularity and user base depend on the relevancy of the information it provides. So, search engines like Google are continuously evolving their crawling techniques, indexing techniques, and algorithms to bring trusted and relevant results. Consequently, local SEO becomes an integral part of any brick & mortar business to stay relevant & gain authority on the internet. It also helps the target audience find your products & services when they search online.

Now that you briefly know what is local SEO, it is time to start building your regional online presence with the best practices. At Helios, we help you rank higher on every search to find your business the dream clients. Connect with us today for a free consultation on local SEO.