Did you ever wonder why businesses near your current location show up every time you search for a product or service on Google? The businesses that appear are the local search results. Every time a search query is made regarding a product or service, Google’s algorithm shows the most relevant and nearest businesses near your current location.
Since its update, local search has become a crucial part of digital marketing related to search engine optimization. It gives a massive opportunity for small businesses to rank higher on local search results over top brands. The local algorithm favors location, relevance, and customer feedback, not just popularity.
Doing organic SEO is a strategy to help websites improve their ranking in organic search. Your web pages rank well in organic search and can influence your local search result ranking. Another factor that can place your brand on top of local search results is organic listings.
But to fully understand the importance of local search, you need to understand first what local SEO is.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO refers to an SEO practice that focuses on building your brand to show on top of local search results and helps small businesses grow their sales online.
The top goal of local SEO is to increase your brand visibility through a series of tasks, including:
- Optimizing your website for local intent
- Start and manage your Google Business Profile
- Develop your brand reputation and brand authority
- Build citations and links
- Monitor the competitive local search landscape
- Do local link building
- Build directory and business listings
These tasks will help your brand increase its ranking in SERPs, including Local Pack, Local Finder, Google Maps, and local organic search results. Let’s try to understand each of these below.
Local Pack
The Local Pack is a section that appears at the top of search engine results pages when a user does a search query with local intent. It is known as the Local 3 Pack or the Google 3 Pack. It is usually made up of three organic results alongside a map with pins for each featured business.
These three businesses are determined by Google’s search algorithm as the most relevant results. They are separate from the results in the organic SERP.
This is what the Google Local Pack looks like:
Only businesses with Google Business profiles can rank in the Local Pack, not websites. Therefore, your business must have its own Google Business Profile before you try to rank on Google Local Pack.
The order results in Local Pack are based on the proximity of the search user, the prominence of the business profile, and the relevance of the search query.
Local Finder
The Local Finder shows an extended list of Google Business Profiles when the user clicks on the “More Places” at the bottom of Local Pack.
The user will find a paginated list of local businesses relevant to their search query in the Local Finder. The page also shows a map of the area with a selection of businesses that appears on the map.
Google Maps
In local search results, Google Maps takes the data from Google Business Profile to show the same business results as it does for Local Pack and Local Finder.
Google Maps will provide a longer list of results as it shows a broader area. It offers a list of businesses on the left with their location pins on a map to the right.
Local Organic Search Results
Most users are familiar with the local organic search results when using Google search results. This is the list of links to websites below the Local Pack.
The order of the websites in the local search results is determined by several factors. To increase your website’s ranking on local search results, you need to learn how to do local SEO.
Why Do Small Businesses Need Local SEO?
There are several benefits to why small businesses should implement local SEO. They include growing your sales and conversions, reaching more people to become leads, and building your brand popularity and reputation.
In fact, it is reported that approximately 46% of all searches on Google have local intent. Furthermore, 28% of all local searches actually result in a purchase. These statistics show your business’s opportunity from starting your local SEO.
When you do local SEO, you will be able to achieve these outcomes:
- Reach More Target Audience
The most significant benefit small businesses can get from local SEO is finding and reaching more of your target audiences. By ranking on top of Google’s local search results, more search users will know about your brand and visit your websites. These visitors can then turn to leads and then customers.
- Increase Website Traffic
The goal of SEO is to get more traffic to your website from organic search results and foot traffic to your store via Google Business Profile or Google Maps. While not all people who inquire about your store can turn into sales, the chances of conversions increase with the growing number of leads you get.
- Increase Conversion Rate
Local SEO can help increase the conversion rates of your business. A successful SEO strategy can increase your brand visibility. It also brings relevant traffic to your store, which results in your business getting more sales and increasing your conversion rate.
- Compete With Top Brands
The most significant benefit small businesses can get from local SEO is that they will be able to compete with top brands when it comes to ranking. The reason is that local search results do not only consider the prominence of a brand but also the relevance and proximity of the business. This gives you an advantage if your brand is known in the local area.
- Get Your Brand to Rank
Your website and Google Business Profile will rank if you do the right marketing strategy for your local SEO. This will bring more traffic and conversion to your business. But more importantly, the results for local SEO are long-lasting as long as you keep putting effort into your optimization.
- Build Brand Reputation
With local SEO, you can help increase your brand visibility, thus building and improving your brand reputation. Building your brand reputation can help increase the trust of search users who found your brand online.
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These benefits only show how important it is for small businesses to consider putting efforts into their local SEO strategy. Start your local SEO marketing with the help of Cybertegic, a top digital marketing company in Los Angeles.
