Why Do I Need a Local SEO Strategy in 2022?

The digital marketing industry is consistently evolving because Google keeps on changing its algorithms to rank websites. As 2022 starts, many people are expecting developments in Google SERPs algorithms, while some even wonder if local SEO strategies are going to work this year. Digital marketing experts expect to see some significant changes in the local SEO for the betterment of their client's businesses.

So, What's Local SEO?

Simply put, local SEO is a digital marketing strategy in which SEO strategies are applied for local promotions and marketing of a business. If you have a brick-and-mortar business, it can tremendously benefit from local SEO. Local SEO has emerged as a highly effective tool for local businesses looking to drive their target customers to their physical and online stores or want to expand their reach.

Local SEO is primarily a part of the SEO process that's mainly deployed to attract a local audience. For instance, let's assume Google lists your company on the second, third or fourth page. If yes, then a majority of people won't see your website when they'll search for something related to your business. However, you can turn the situation around by applying Local SEO. With the correct local SEO practices, you get started appearing higher or even showing up at the first rank or the first page.

To help people locate your store fast, you need to make sure that they're easily getting your business's information on the internet. List your business on all the major search engines to make sure that people can get your business address quickly and fast. Whether you want to increase your business revenue, sales or you want to reach more potential customers, deploying the right local SEO tools can help.

Here's how local companies can leverage local SEO strategies to enhance their business.

Improve Online Reputation

About 93% of consumers get influenced by a business's online business.
Shocking, right?

Now, that you know it for sure, you might be wondering about the right strategies to improve your business's online reputation. Since Google is also aware of this fact, it's high time you start thinking of ways to turn the reviews in your favor to improve sales.
Search engine rankings largely depend on how your business is mentioned on different online platforms and its reviews.

The reviews' context also holds a lot of significance in this regard. If the reviews of your company are linked to reputable online platforms like Yelp or Facebook, the customers are directed to your website. When more people visit your website from these platforms, Google also takes notice and responds accordingly.

Therefore, to engage with your customers as much as possible and pay attention to their complaints and queries. This improves your brand image not only in the eyes of your target customers but also in the search engines.

Increased Sales

The likelihood of people purchasing your products from local SEO is considerably high. Let's be honest: regardless of how much we digitalize ourselves, we prefer purchasing things from our local shops instead of shopping online. But before going out, people tend to search if their desired product is available in their area or not. If your local SEO practices will be effective, your potential customers will find you easily, locate you, and will be more likely to purchase a thing or two from your brick-and-mortar store.

According to a study, about 50% of people who conduct a local search from their smartphones, visit a physical store within a day!

Customer Retention

Do you want to develop a loyal client base on which you can count? Who doesn't?
But retaining customers in today's fast-paced world isn't as easy as it sounds.
While local SEO strategies can help you attract new customers, they can also help you retain them.

If you're offering your customers exactly what they want, where and when; they'll develop a trust for your brand and services and will reach out to your store, every time they need your products; but to make that possible, you need to keep your products up to the mark.

In addition to that, you also need to run paid and unpaid classifieds and digital advertisements to make sure they don't forget you.

Simpler Optimization

Appearing at the top search results of search engines for some highly competitive keywords isn't easy. Typically, big brands dominate the top search results because of which small or local businesses don't get the attention they deserve.

To rank higher, you need to target local keywords; just a little bit of change in the keywords you target will change your whole SEO game and you'll start appearing at the top search results.

Reduce Advertising Costs

Businesses that start performing well for SEO, don't need to invest in costly advertisement campaigns. You can pay a reasonable amount of fee to your local SEO company and you'll be good to go!

Paid advertisements may work, or let's phrase it this way: they may work faster, but for increasing your ROI over a longer period, you surely need to game up your local SEO strategies.

Ready to leverage local SEO services to improve your profits? Check out Search Berg, as they offer a comprehensive range of local SEO services to their clients and help them improve their business's local SEO performance. They help small businesses get more leads and provide consultation on how they can leverage the local platforms for improving their business.

This guest post was written by Michele, a highly experienced SEO expert and professional digital marketing specialist who's known for unparalleled online marketing services for SMEs and large-scale businesses and has been associated with Search Berg for several years and is committed to offering the best local SEO solutions for local SEO companies.