At Succeeding Small, we strive to be an ally to the small business community. We partner with local small businesses in need of assistance obtaining the visibility they deserve through our primary specialty, SEO (search engine optimization). When we partner with a small business, we will use our expertise in local SEO to rank the business higher and make their digital assets more visible and available to consumers in their local area.
What Is Local SEO?
So what really is local SEO? Local SEO is the process of strategizing and optimizing multiple digital assets to maximize ORGANIC visibility in a local search area.
How Does Local SEO Work?
Local SEO works by combining the main principles of SEO while focusing on a specific geographical location. This type of SEO is ideal for service area businesses or businesses with a brick-and-mortar store. When communicating with the search engine, it is critical to inform them of where your business is located. This is simply because the algorithm uses location to determine what digital asset to display first.
For example; if I was a consumer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and was searching for the best carpet cleaner in my area, I could expect to see local carpet cleaning companies in or near Colorado Springs. It would be silly for the algorithm to display carpet cleaning companies in Fort Collins because most of the businesses in Fort Collins will not serve the Colorado Springs community.
How Are They Different From Normal SERPs?
Normal SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) will consist primarily of links to websites or informational pages. A local search query, however, may result in a local map pack. A local map pack is a list of businesses matching the search query in your area. So in this instance, Google used the location of Colorado Springs and the geographical location of the searcher to find businesses that could satisfy their intent.
Why Local SEO Is So Important?
Local SEO is vital for service area businesses for many reasons. As we already discussed, being visible to consumers in your area is the best way to drive sales and/or conversions. Additionally, according to a study conducted by Google, Understanding Consumers’ Local Search Behavior, “50% of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day, and 34% who searched on computer/tablet did the same.” This makes it clear that when consumers need a service or restaurant to eat at, they will most likely conduct a local search and browse through the options displayed near them.
Who Are Local Service Area Businesses?
A local service area business is any type of business that is in a local community and serves that community directly with a product good or service.
Restaurants
Restaurants are prime examples of service area businesses because they provide goods to a local community. Even with a rise in delivery services, the food industry is limited to its geographic location. They can provide food to the community around them, and the best way to do so is by local SEO visibility.
Medical Practitioners
Any type of primary care office will benefit greatly from local SEO. Like a restaurant, they have a physical location that the consumer needs to travel to. If the consumer lives too far away, then chances are there is a closer doctor to them. So, capturing the consumers in your area will provide you with a steady stream of clients. This will apply to any type of doctor’s office such as primary care physicians, optometrists, veterinarians, etc.
Trade Businesses
Trade businesses like plumbers are different from Doctors and restaurants because they need to travel to the home or business in need of plumbing. However, local SEO works great for these types of businesses because they serve a general area. If the consumer searching for a plumber falls within the plumber’s service area, then they will see the business’s website. Our example of a carpet cleaner is similar because the carpet cleaners displayed above serve the Colorado Springs area. Some additional examples of trade businesses are; plumbers, roofers, electricians, etc.
Lawyers
Lawyers can be similar to both plumbers and restaurants. A large law firm may have an office in Colorado Springs that provides a service at that location and to the service area of Colorado Springs.
Where Your Business Can Show Up on The Local Search Results
When a local search is conducted, the algorithm will combine two main components of a local business to determine which one to display first.
Pro Tip: Being first on the SERP shows the consumer that, according to the algorithm, your website is the best fit for their search inquiry. This is one of the main goals of SEO.
1. Organic Search Results – The Website
The algorithm will use its archived knowledge of your website to determine if you fit the searcher’s intent. Referring back to our example of carpet cleaning in Colorado Springs, essentially, they will make sure that you offer carpet cleaning as a service by checking your website.
2. Local Map Pack – Google My Business (GMB)
The algorithm will assess your GMB account to see where your business is or where you serve and where the consumer is located using their device location.
After confirming that the business is located near the consumer and that they offer the service needed, the algorithm will use other ranking signals to rank all the businesses and display them in the local map pack.
How to Rank With Local SEO
Learning this process is only the beginning. It truly takes an expert in web development, SEO, and copywriting to build a sustainable SEO strategy. Google is constantly updating its algorithm to provide its consumers with a better service. They want to provide searchers with answers to their questions and/or searches as quickly as possible. That being said, an expert in the algorithm will know how to best optimize a website for a local business, how to solve any technical issues when they arise, and how to ethically inform the algorithm that your business is the best in your area and field!
Partner With Succeeding Small: Local SEO Experts
At Succeeding Small, we want to partner with local small businesses in Colorado Springs and beyond. As a small business, we understand the difficulties entrepreneurs face and we want to alleviate some of those burdens. Marketing can be a full-time job, even for a small business, not to mention, a financial drain. At Succeeding Small, we offer competitive pricing designed to assist you through the SEO process. Our team of dedicated SEO professionals will work tirelessly to assist you in achieving your goals and growing your small business. Contact us today or explore our website to learn more about our amazing team.
