The Importance of local SEO for small businesses

Web visitors are looking for businesses near them.

One of the main reasons that people search online is to find businesses nearby. Whether it's a local plumber, a new dry cleaner or a nearby Italian restaurant, people want to go somewhere they know is local so they don't have to drive too far.

Local SEO works by improving your website's visibility in Google and Bing searches for specific keywords related to your business’ location. If someone types in "Italian restaurants near me," Google will show them results based on their location and proximity to where the user is searching from. The same thing goes for if someone searches for "dentists near me." To make sure you appear in these types of queries, it’s essential that you optimize your website properly so that when someone searches for what you offer within a certain radius (called an ‘area of interest’), you come up first on their screen as an option.

Why is local SEO important for small businesses?

Small businesses can benefit from local SEO because it helps you get your business in front of your target audience. When people search for a product or service in their area, they are likely to use the keywords that relate directly to what they are looking for, like “Dog Grooming” or “Pest Control Services.” These searchers don't want to go through pages and pages of irrelevant results before finding what they're looking for.

For example, if you run a pet supply store in Stratford on Avon and have 500+ reviews on Google+, then you will be ranked higher than other nearby competitors who don't have any reviews on Google my Business. That means more customers will see your website when they search for "pet supplies" near Stratford High Street—and those customers could become loyal customers as long as you deliver quality products and services!

Local SEO is competitive.

If you’re a small business owner, you know how challenging it can be to compete against larger competitors. There are so many factors that come into play when marketing a business. For example, if you want to advertise on Facebook or Google AdWords, it takes time and money to get your accounts set up.

Another challenge for small businesses is getting more customers in the door. If your budget is tight, local SEO may be an affordable way to attract new customers who are searching for services like yours in the area where you operate. Local SEO also helps increase brand awareness and reputation—both important aspects of building an online presence for any company!

You should not ignore local SEO if you want your business to grow.

The importance of local SEO for small businesses is a topic we’ve touched on in the past, but it’s worth restating again here. Local search engine optimization (SEO) can help you get your brand in front of more customers, which is great for business growth and profitability.

As an example, let's say that you run a brick-and-mortar store in Warwick. If you want to attract new customers who live close by (or even across town), then they may not know about your business unless they search online. If they don't know how many products or services you offer or where exactly your location is located, they probably won't make the trip down there to check out what's available at first glance—even if it would be convenient for them! This is why local SEO plays such an important role in helping people find relevant information about your business when searching Google Maps or Yelp as well as other sites like Bing Maps or Foursquare."

Local SEO is an affordable way to get your brand in front of more customers.

Local SEO is an affordable way to get your brand in front of more customers. If you’re a local business, and especially if you are a small business owner with a limited advertising budget, then it can be difficult to find ways to grow your business. You may not have the money necessary for expensive paid ads or expensive media buys on TV, radio or print. Local SEO is an easy way to get started with building awareness of what you have to offer without having to spend much money at all!

The benefits of doing local SEO:

• More traffic
• More leads/leads that convert into paying customers (which helps with ROI)

How do you know if you have a listing problem?

Are you sure you don't have a problem? Maybe your business is missing from search results because it's not listed at all. Maybe it appears in the wrong location, or worse—multiple times. If so, that can be frustrating for both customers and your business.

Once you've determined whether a listing problem exists, there are many ways to fix it:

• Claiming your business on Google My Business (GMB) will ensure that Google has all the right information about who owns the property and what they do there—and also allows users to find more information about your company online. This step may take some time depending on how many other businesses are already claiming their listings in that area, but once done will help ensure no one else takes over control of those pages in the future.

• After claiming a page on GMB (or if eligible), use rich snippets extensions like Schema markup provide additional details about specific products or services offered at each location including price ranges; hours open/closed; contact info for booking appointments; links through maps showing directions between locations; ratings & reviews posted by past clients who've used them before! In short -allowing users an easy way interact with businesses directly through search engines themselves without ever visiting any external websites first."

How to find your listings

You can search for your business listing using the Google Search tool. Simply enter your business name and location, and then select "Search Tools" from the top right of your screen. Select "Add a Business or Place," then fill out all of the information required. That's it! This will ensure that you're showing up in local search results when someone searches for you by name or location.

To check if you have listings from other providers like Bing, Yahoo!, Yext and Yelp (to name a few), head over to their respective websites and see if there are any listings for yourself or your company on their platform. If there aren't any listings for them yet but you want them included in as many places as possible, contact each platform individually with details about what kind of information is available about yourself or company on their own site (website address/phone number/hours open etc.). They'll add this info into their database so it shows up more accurately across platforms when people do searches related to businesses like yours!

How do you get the most out of your local listing?

The most important thing you can do is to ensure that all of your information is correct. This includes:

• Your business name
• Your address
• Your phone number(s)
• The hours you're open for business (and if you have weekends or holidays where you are closed)
• Any contact information such as email, website, or social media links (if applicable)

What is Google’s Local 3-Pack and why it matters?

The Local 3-Pack is a list of local businesses that Google displays in the search results. It's important because it's the first thing that users see when they search for a local business.

If you're not showing up in this pack, you're missing out on an opportunity to get in front of your target audience and increase brand recognition.

Local SEO is an important part of a marketing plan

Local SEO is an important part of a marketing plan for small businesses. It can help you get more customers and business, as well as more traffic, leads, and sales.

By focusing on the quality and consistency of your listings, you can make them more impactful and valuable.

Listings are an important part of your local SEO strategy because they’re the first thing customers see when they search for your business.

Listings are the most visible way to get in front of customers and can have a huge impact on your visibility, but only if you make sure that they’re done well.

You need to be consistent with how you represent yourself on these listings: same address, phone number, opening hours and website URL if applicable. This consistency will help Google recognise that it’s the same business across all platforms (Google My Business, Facebook Page etc).

Conclusion

We hope this article has helped you understand why local SEO is important and how to get started. If you have any questions or would like us to help with your local SEO strategy, please reach out!