Local SEO Services

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO allows businesses to reach potential clients and customers in specific locations. Whether your target consumer is in your own backyard or you need help reaching people in other cities or states, local SEO can help your business show up when people search for your services.

How Does It Work?

Local SEO typically works in one of two ways:

• Explicit location request: Many people search for products or services “near me,” asking Google to provide companies or vendors that are physically close by. They may add geographic keywords to their search as well, such as, “grand rapids SEO agencies” or “michigan SEO.”
• Implicit location request: Most people who use Google have location settings turned on. This allows Google to serve location-specific results when location isn’t even mentioned in the search query. For example, someone searching “hair salon” likely wants to find a reputable hair salon nearby, not the number-one hair salon in the country. Google can use that location data to offer more relevant results.

Benefits of Local SEO

Local SEO can put your company on the map—quite literally. Investing in local SEO can help your business:

• Increase sales: Did you know that 28% of local location-based searches result in a purchase? The more easily people can find your business, the more leads you’ll have both online and in person, resulting in more sales.
• Gain local authority: Every city and state has local stars that seem synonymous with their industry. With local SEO, your company can quickly become an authority that people turn to for all things related to your line of business.
• Appear on more location-based results pages: 30% of all mobile searches include local intent. These people are already searching for your services in your locale—and they’re being directed to your competitors. Capture this low-hanging fruit by investing in local SEO, and watch as these warm leads quickly transform into your best customers.

Is Local SEO Right for Your Business?

There are a variety of circumstances in which local SEO might help a company succeed. For example, local SEO might be right for your business if you are:

• A local small business trying to increase revenue and brand awareness
• A company with multiple locations or properties
• Moving your physical business to a new location
• Interested in expanding your services to a new city or state
• Acquiring other companies and want to offer a consistent customer experience
• A national company trying to target your message to the needs of a specific geographic community
• Offering services that are greatly affected by local geography, climate, weather, laws, or regulations

Anyone can benefit from local SEO, but perhaps where we see the greatest ROI is among our small business clients. As part of our small business SEO services, we almost always recommend local SEO as a way to increase sales and brand visibility. Even just getting a Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business or GMB) can make a huge difference.

Local SEO vs. PPC

Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) on Google is costly and temporary. While you may see an increase in conversions, those benefits will disappear as soon as your start paying for your ad space.

Not so with local SEO. By creating content that’s targeted for local audiences and by creating and maintaining a Google Business Profile, you’ll continue to see results for years to come.

Local SEO vs. Social Media Marketing

Many businesses, especially local small businesses, put all of their marketing budget into social media marketing. While social media has its place for building brand awareness, it is typically ineffective at turning followers into customers. Even worse, you run the risk of customers become more aware of you as “that annoying local business that keeps interrupting my newsfeed with their ads.”

Local SEO helps you reach local customers who are already searching for your products and services. Position your company as the answer they’re already searching for with local SEO.

Local SEO vs. National SEO

National SEO aims to fulfill any and all searches related to your business, while local SEO focuses specifically on searches relating to both your location and your business.

Some businesses need to be viewed as the number-one company in their industry in order to get where they want to go. National SEO can help those businesses reach a national audience. But many businesses, especially small businesses, just need to be seen as the number-one company in their industry in their own city or in a specific locale. Local SEO can help you stand out from your local competition while you’re on your way to becoming a more national presence.