Local SEO is the ace up the sleeve for many businesses to increase their online visibility and, ultimately, optimize their results.
Simply put, local SEO allows Google to show your business to people searching for products or services like yours in their area.
This is a crucial strategy that we’ve already covered in articles on how to do local SEO and the main factors of local SEO . In this post, we want to focus on the benefits of local SEO and, therefore, the reasons for implementing a local SEO positioning plan like City Local 101 Acelera Digital Plan.
What is local SEO?
Local SEO encompasses a series of strategies aimed at improving a business’s visibility in search engines for potential customers located in a specific area.
Benefits of Local SEO: 7 Reasons to Work on Your Search Engine Visibility as a Local Business
1. Visibility for a new type of consumer
The internet has generated a new type of consumer, and businesses must adapt to it. This is what a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study has called the “4S behaviors,” which define the current consumer experience as one based on “streaming , scrolling, searching, and shopping.” All of this is accompanied by unprecedented interactivity and access to updated, real-time information.
In this context, one of the most important benefits of local SEO is that it offers the opportunity to gain visibility among this new type of consumer.
Nowadays, when people search for local businesses on Google, they use tools like Google Maps, including the “near me” option. This option is increasingly used, with consumers searching first on their mobile devices before visiting a business.
Local SEO helps put a business in front of this new digital consumer. On the other hand, without local SEO, the business simply doesn’t exist for this audience, who will opt for other options that are already present.
Important Note: Easily register your business online in minutes. Follow simple steps to get listed, boost visibility, and attract more customers to your services.
2. Gain authority
Nowadays, cultivating online presence and visibility is a crucial first step toward achieving credibility and an image of professionalism. In other words, the benefits of local SEO also include the ability to rank highly in local searches and, consequently, foster user confidence in your business even before contacting or visiting your physical location.
This is particularly true considering that some local SEO strategies rely on a business’s complete Google listing, positive reviews, or sharing updates on the Google Business Profile. This builds a kind of ongoing public recognition, which is also validated by Google.
3. Direct way to get more visits to your premises
Google has published a multitude of statistics and data demonstrating the direct link between local SEO and visits to physical businesses. For example, it’s known that 88% of users who perform a local search on their phone later visit a business within the following week; in 76% of cases, this visit takes place on the same day.
Therefore, the reality is that among the benefits of local SEO is not only getting more visits to the website, but also directly to your physical store.
For example, when a user searches for “restaurant near me,” they’re likely to choose the closest options on the map, especially if the information on the listing (hours, photos, reviews, etc.) is complete and inspires trust.
4. Reach out to consumers who value local commerce
There is currently a whole movement of consumers seeking to promote local commerce. This has been especially true since the pandemic, when some consumers began to value and prioritize what is closest to them, wanting to support local initiatives. Thus, practicing local SEO positioning means opening the door to connecting with this consumer profile and developing a relationship with them.
5. Compete with big businesses
Another of the most notable benefits of local SEO is its potential for democratization: a local business well-positioned on Google is able to compete with companies with much greater resources, providing unique added value: geographic proximity and popularity within the local market.
All this without having to spend huge sums of money on advertising.
6. Better return on investment than conventional marketing strategies
Although developing local SEO strategies requires effort, they are lower costs than conventional marketing strategies and offer a better return on investment. The reason? Local SEO reaches people who are already searching for what you sell and are also close to where you are. This means you don’t need to convince them from scratch: it’s just a matter of making it easier for them to decide to visit your business.
7. The results last over time
Implementing SEO strategies like City Local 101 Digital Acceleration Plan means investing in a lasting digital asset.
Thus, an optimized Google listing, positioning in Google search results, reviews, and so on, represent a series of assets that achieve results month after month, year after year. They go beyond what a one-time marketing campaign or an ad that stops showing when the budget runs out could achieve.
Thus, it stands as a strategy that continues to generate calls, visits, and sales organically over time and, therefore, an essential ally for local businesses.
