Why SEO Is Important For Local/Small Businesses?

When you search “best salon near me,” – the results don’t show you the best salon in America. But, it shows you local-owned salons in your region.

That’s the power of local SEO.

Research by Bright Local shows that 81% of consumers turn to Google to look for local businesses. With the rise in map-based searches, local SEO serves as the best opportunity to improve the visibility of small businesses and connect with their target audience.

Hence, as a small or local business owner, you must invest in local SEO, as it allows you to connect with people in your neighborhood, town, or city. But how can your business benefit from local SEO? As Sacramento’s SEO experts, we will explain this in detail. Read on to learn more!

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO, or local Search Engine Optimization, is the segment of SEO that helps improve the visibility of local businesses in a particular region. The result that appears in the local search results usually answers a “near me” intended question. This implies that your company should appear prominently in search results when someone looks for local goods or services.

Local SEO strategies are done to ensure your business is ranking on the Google results page. This is done by optimizing the website, creating and managing online business listings, and including genuine customer reviews. Around 63% of consumers with smartphones are more likely to purchase from companies that are shown on the first page of the Google local search.

Unless you are a big-known brand, you must invest in local SEO because it can be difficult for any small business to survive without a proper SEO strategy.

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What Is The Difference Between Local And Organic SEO?

If you want to attract new customers, it is important to implement the right SEO strategy. Some SEO agencies use only local SEO, while others prefer to combine it with organic SEO. But what’s the difference between the two? Let’s find out below!

Features	Organic SEO	Local SEO
Focus	Improves running for broad, non-location-specific keywords.	Targets local search queries and location-based keywords
Audience	Targets national or global users searching for information, products, or services	Targets local customers looking for nearby businesses.
Search Intent	Intend towards informational, transactional, and navigational searches	Intend towards high-intent searches related to specific locations, such as – “best lego shop near me”
Google Ranking Factors	Uses content quality, backlinks, domain authority, and technical SEO	Uses Google Business Profile, local citations, reviews, and NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)
Keywords Strategy	General keywords with high search volume and broad reach	Geo-specific keywords like “plumbers in Sacramento”
Visibility Platforms	Google Search, Bing, and other search engines	Google Maps, Local 3-Pack, and search results with location intent
Optimization Techniques	Content Marketing, Link Building, and On-page SEO	Google Business Profile, local directories such as Yelp, customer reviews
Business Type Best Suited	E-commerce, SaaS companies, and digital businesses	Brick-and-mortar, restaurants, clinics, salons, etc.

With the help of local SEO, you can optimize your Google Business profile and get listed in local directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, Bing Places, Better Business Bureau (BBB), etc.

For example, if your business is located in Sacramento, you can list yourself in Downtown Sacramento Partnership, Sacramento Business Journal, etc.

This helps your customers find you when they are searching for things like – “best coffee shop near me” or “best plumber in Sacramento.”

Why Is Local SEO Important?

If you’re wondering what are the benefits of local SEO – here are five major importance of local SEO for your business –

1. Improved Web Visibility

Local SEO helps small businesses get found online by optimizing for location-based searches. Nearly 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information, and 88% of mobile searches result in calls or visits within 24 hours.

Hence, it can be concluded that businesses investing in local SEO are more likely to be seen by their potential customers. So, with a Google Business Profile, along with proper citations, you can push your business to the top of the search results – which also gives you a competitive edge.

2. More Foot Traffic

Local SEO is beneficial for increasing the foot traffic for brick-and-mortar businesses. As per a study by Think With Google, 76% of people search for a business within a day. Out of this, 28% of those searches result in purchases.

If your business appears in Google’s Local Pack or Google Maps, there is a higher chance of turning online searches into real customers. Hence, with the right target keyword and location-based content, you can attract more visitors.

3. Better Conversion Rate

Local SEO doesn’t just bring traffic – it brings you customers that are ready to make purchases. As per Hubspot, leads from local searches have a 78% higher conversion rate than non-local searches. This means that people searching for businesses in their area often have immediate purchasing intent.

Whether you have a salon, restaurant, or repair service – customers looking for local stores and service providers are more likely to take action. Positive reviews and ratings on Google Business Profile gain trust and encourage potential customers to convert into regular ones.

4. Reduced Advertising Cost

With local SEO, a Sacramento SEO agency helps you save on your advertising costs. Research shows that 70% of consumers prefer finding businesses through organic searches instead of paid ads. Paid ads are the ones that you see marked as “sponsored” on the SERP.

Local SEO helps reduce the dependency on paid ads – while still attracting quality leads. Once your business is known in the neighborhood, it will continue to attract customers without spending too much on ads. This is also a long-term marketing strategy with a high ROI (return on investment).

5. Stronger Connection With Local Community

Around 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know – and local SEO does establish word of mouth. Responding to reviews, engaging with the audience at all levels, and maintaining a strong online presence – can help foster better connections with the local community.

A strong reputation in the local area also offers opportunities for partnership, collaboration, repeated business, etc.

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How Local SEO Increases Profits?

Local SEO does help to boost your business profits, and here’s how –

1. Claim And Optimize Your Google My Business Listing

As per Google, a business with a complete and optimized profile is 2.7 times more likely to be considered trustworthy – getting 50% more traffic. More traffic means more sales, which ultimately means increased profit.

So, optimize your business profile with photos, videos, contact numbers, email, website links, etc. Also, consider updating them on a regular basis. This instills trust in your audience, making them take action, such as – making a new purchase or coming back again.

2. Build Local Citations

Local citations mean – mentions of your business in online search directories such as – Yelp, Facebook, Yellow Pages, and other sites. The more high-quality citations your business has – the more Google trusts you! Also, a consistent citation can improve visibility – which means more people can find your business and come in to make a purchase.

Additionally, when your business is listed in trusted directories, potential customers can feel more comfortable and confident in making a purchase. This leads to an increase in website traffic, more in-store traffic, and an increase in revenue.

3. Generate Positive Reviews

Good and positive reviews are a free marketing strategy. It convinces people to do business with you. Most consumers read online reviews before opting for a service or making a purchase. The more positive reviews you have, the more people trust your business – leading to higher conversion rates and sales.

The review also helps with ranking. This is because Google favors businesses with high ratings and frequent reviews – which means your business shows up higher in the results. You can ask your customers to leave reviews on your Google profile – this makes a huge difference! It attracts new customers, boosts sales, and grows your business, ultimately increasing profits.

What Is Included In Local SEO Services?

Local SEO includes the following services –

1. Optimizing Google Business Profile

Your GBP (Google Business Profile) is your online storefront. It’s what your target audience will see when they search for businesses like yours on Google or Google Maps. Hence, it should be well-optimized. Optimizing a Google Profile means the following should be accurate and completed –

Address
Contact details
Business name
Link to the website

In addition, it involves adding high-quality videos and photos. Moreover, it ensures your business is selected in the right category, and everything is updated well on time. When it’s done right, GBP can help boost your visibility. Hence, local customers can find and contact you easily.

2. Business Citation Management

Well, citations mean online mentions of your business on online directories, as mentioned earlier. The problem? If it is not done properly, or let’s say, if the information about the business is not the same across the sites – it confuses the customers and search engines.

Sacramento SEO experts manage these issues by ensuring the information is the same by claiming, correcting, and updating your listings. The more consistent your info is across the web, the more search engines will trust you. As a result, your customers and target audience will trust you, too!

3. Keyword Research And Strategy Building

Keyword research in local SEO helps put your business in the first position when people search for exactly what you offer. Local SEO experts analyze what words and phrases are being searched in your area.These words and phrases are called “keywords.”

Once they have the details, they build a strategy around those keywords and add them to blogs, websites, landing pages, business listings, etc. But there’s a catch – it’s not about using only whatever phrases are found. It’s all about using the right ones that bring in real customers.

4. Landing Pages And Blogs

Landing pages and blogs boost Local SEO by targeting location-based keywords. This attracts local customers from in and around the region. Landing pages optimized with local keywords, such as the name of relevant services and the city name (plumbing contractors, Sacramento), help search engines identify the business’s location and boost visibility in local searches.

Blogs, on the other hand, help educate target audiences and resolve their issues by creating localized content. This helps establish authority and relevance in the local market. Apart from creating new content, it is also advisable to regularly update blogs with locally relevant keywords. This improves the website’s SEO ranking. Also, it helps generate more backlinks, which increases credibility and trustworthiness.

5. Link Building

Local SEO services also help you get quality links from other websites, such as local blogs, news sites, directories, etc., that align with your business type. These links tell Google that your business website is credible and worth ranking high.

However, it is important to use Local SEO best practices to ensure that you are spamming links everywhere. Just get the right ones – and your business will thrive with so many incoming customers while ranking on top.

6. On-Page SEO

On-page SEO in local SEO involves making sure your website is set up so search engines and people can find you easily. It ensures that your website includes –

Improving site speed
Adding local keywords to the page title
Organizing the content so that it’s easy to read
Make sure the website is optimized for mobile phones
Conducting technical audits to check the health of the website. NA

A website that is optimized properly guarantees that visitors will stay engaged. It also helps them find what they’re looking for. This makes them more likely to make a purchase from your website instead of clicking away to a competitor.

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How Long Does Local SEO Take?

Well, most local business owners have the question – “How Long Does Local SEO Take To Show Results?” Well, we have provided a timeline here, but several factors may have influenced it. So, here’s a general overview of how long it will take Google to gather all the information accurately to build trust and authority.

Starting with a claimed Google Business Profile and a high authority website – it will take around 4-8 weeks (at minimum). Now, depending on the fact that you don’t have them, here’s a time estimate you can add to it –

New domain name: 8-12 weeks+
Changes & Updates To GMB: 4-6 weeks+
Recently changed phone number: 10-16 weeks+
Recently added listings and citations: 4-8 weeks+
Recently Claimed Google Business Profile: 4-6 weeks+
Blogs And Landing Pages (New And Updated): 12 weeks+

Note: This is just an estimate, the real timeline may vary depending on the varying factors.

Takeaway

Local SEO is one of the most important SEO strategies that help small businesses succeed locally. Businesses without a proper online presence tend to lose customers to more visible competitors. Hence, in short – local businesses can boost your online visibility and get foot traffic, which turns a potential customer into a regular and loyal one.

No matter if you have just started or have had a business for a very long time – it is important to be seen in the local searches for the services you are offering. Local SEO helps you optimize your website and Google Business Profile. So, if you haven’t considered local SEO yet, now is the time!

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Looking To Boost Your Local Business? Get In Touch With Velocity Media Lab – The Best SEO Company in Sacramento!

Your businesses need to be found locally online, and nothing works better than local SEO – says our SEO experts! We’re leaders in the search engine optimization field and have proven results for our clients. If you want to do the job on your own, it may take years and will consume most of the time that you can put into more productive work.

So, you can trust us with your business. Why struggle and juggle between balancing work and life when you have the best SEO agency in Sacramento by your side? We take care of the extra tasks and help you with affordable and transparent pricing.

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