SEO, as we all know and believe, is a necessity and should be an integral part of a company’s marketing efforts. What about local SEO though… is it really that important to be specific to location? Reading an article on LinkedIn that demonstrates the significance of local SEO, the importance that it has in my mind has only increased. Local SEO is the utilization of a specific geographic location, and it is a tool that is used to reach a more specific target audience. Not only does it reach a specific target audience, but it also increases a company’s rank in the SERP because the SEO efforts focus on a specific location and if a user in that location looks up the company’s keywords, their landing page could be the first website to show up. Website rank has a perception of credibility in the user’s mind so when a user sees that a page is at the top, they associate it with credibility and trustworthiness. So my thought is this: companies that are in high population locations as well as small businesses should take local SEO even more seriously because it has the ability to reach users that have high intent, which means users are more likely to explore what that company has to offer. Their search is a pain that they are trying to solve and they’re more likely to go and visit the company since the company is close in location. Not only does local SEO have a more focused reach and a credible perception behind it, but it also has a great ROI compared to the more normal forms of advertising. This is huge, especially for small businesses, because it utilizes their dollars more effectively which in return allows other areas of the business to grow and develop.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/role-local-seo-digital-marketing-saher-muhammad-siddique-advocate–4z2bf/?trackingId=ZI%2BCg7h9T1uUdoPn%2B6%2B6jA%3D%3D
3 Responses
Hi Zach!
I think this is a great point! I especially like your point about things appearing more credible when they appear closer to the top of the SERP — I definitely think this is true of myself especially since I’m the type to not ever go past the first page of results. Therefore, optimizing makes for a great practice for all businesses and, like you said, those that are in a highly populated area in order to be found in the huge pool of competition around them.
I think that the idea that small businesses should utilize local SEO is very smart. I do not think it has to just end there though, even larger companies that have gained followings in particular local areas could take advantage of using local SEO too!
I never really thought about the geographic side of SEO. It is totally true in SEO that search results are often based on your location, because it wouldn’t make sense to show you a business hundreds of miles away. I think that even adding local slang to your site might make it easier to connect with your local community if you aren’t a national site just yet!