The benefits of local SEO

Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) improves search engine visibility for local businesses by following best practices.

Here is some data to help put the importance of local SEO into context:

• 76% of people who search for something close on their smartphone visit the company in 1 day.
• 28% of local searches result in a purchase
• 46% of all searches have local intent. There are 97 billion local searches monthly
• Mobile inquiries “Where to buy” and “near me” increased by more than 200% between 2017 and 2019
• Mobile devices account for 58% of all Google searches in the world
• The first ranked organic search result receives 27.7% of clicks.

Optimizing your web pages and your web presence for nearby locals who use search engines will be highly beneficial to your business. Your business can get more organic traffic, visits and sales from people near you searching for your product or service(s).

Example of how you can take advantage of local SEO

Did you know that search engines can prioritize your business in the results if a searcher is nearby or wants options in your area?
If a user searches for “ real estate closing attorney near me,” and you have successfully planned and executed your local SEO. In that case, your business will have a greater chance of ranking higher on SERP’s than competitors who are not as close to the searcher or who provide related services like “criminal attorney near me.”

As you can see from the search query, Google’s autocomplete suggestions have “near me” at the top of the suggestions.

So, let’s look at the “ real estate closing attorney near me” search query results.

GMB relevance factors

The results are based on the GMB ranking factors: Relevance, Distance and Prominence. Ranking on top of Google Maps search results is challenging but not impossible. The more relevant your business is to a search query, the more chances you will appear on top of Google maps rankings. And to increase your relevance, you need to have updated, accurate, informative information as part of your listings.

Benefits of ranking completeness

If the searcher clicks thru the funnel to the “view all” button at the bottom of the GMB listings, they are taken to a Google map page similar to this with pins of GMB listed businesses with the “best” GMB ranking completeness.

If the user clicks on the map, they will have a more interactive experience. The user can scroll in and out on the map to increase or decrease their search range respectively.

In Conclusion:

Search engines prioritize local businesses in their search results, and searchers are using these results to help them make purchasing decisions.

Using services like Yahoo! Local, Google My Business or Bing Local, the search engines will know more about who you are when listing in their results. These services provide the SERP’s algorithm(s) with easily digestible pages dedicated exclusively towards your business and other helpful tools that help guide the searcher towards your business.

So don’t forget to claim your Yahoo! Local, Google My Business or Bing Local profile and make sure that you fill out all the required information for accurate listing details; help the SERP’s to help you.