Most small business owners have heard of SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, but many businesses are new to local SEO. With local SEO now being the most effective way for small businesses to market, there are a number of important aspects to local SEO that you need to be aware of.
Like many business owners, you may have asked yourself the question “why is local SEO important?” – will it really benefit my business or have an importance on my organic search results?
In this article we cover the importance of local SEO and how much it can impact your businesses Google rankings, overall revenue and showcase just how effective local SEO can be for your businesses digital marketing strategy.
Finding Your Ideal Local Customers
Local SEO is focused specifically on local search. In its simplest form, local SEO is designed to ensure your local business appears in the organic search results for local searches.
This means that, for instance, if you are a cabinet maker servicing a local market and you are using a local SEO strategy, you would be focused on ensuring local customers can find your business.
Rather than targeting a large area to sell your products or services, local SEO is designed specifically to allow you to find customers in your local community. Ideally, these are customers within the area that you service and are customers who are actively looking for your products or services.
Appearing In Local Search Results
For a business who services a particular area (take the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, for example), it doesn’t make much sense to be appearing in local search results for satellite towns around Melbourne or for keywords with no geographical relevance.
You may be discoverable for a particular keyword search term, but if that searcher isn’t within your target area, what’s the point?
Local SEO is the principle of being discoverable for customers in your area. And, importantly, for keywords that have local relevance and allow you to appear in the local search results.
This is where the importance of local SEO comes into play for small businesses. The chances are, if you are a business servicing a local area, you are likely within the smaller category of businesses compared to large multinational companies.
With the opportunity to use a local SEO strategy to appear within local searches, small businesses have the power to connect with customers in their local community who need their products or services.
The equation here is straightforward and simple; the customer is local to the business and has a need for a particular service. The business has the solution to the customers’ needs and offers the service.
It is here that you have the perfect synergy of want and need; and it is through this method of local SEO that local businesses can market to their ideal audience.
Google My Business Search Appearance
When it comes to local SEO and some of the key ranking factors for local SEO, appearing on Google Maps and having a well optimised Google My Business profile is integral.
A Google My Business profile provides a business with a number of local search benefits. Not only will a properly optimised Google Maps and Google My Business profile assist with your website ranking within a local area, it also provides your local customers with extremely relevant information about your business.
Your Google My Business profile provides customers and clients with the opportunity to review your work (through the imagery and product placement options within your Google profile, it allows your customers to read recent Google reviews, and it also allows your customers to find you on Google Maps.
A businesses Google My Business profile serves many purposes and needs to be optimised by an expert team who understand the complexities of it.
With a well optimised Google My Business profile, your website will be appearing in the local pack (the top 3 results of local search engine results) and will generate thousands of views, impressions and clicks per month from your ideal local customers.
There are no two ways about this – if you are a local business, your Google profile forms an extremely important part of our local SEO strategy and local SEO campaign.
Increased Return On Investment
One of the most compelling parts of a local SEO campaign for small businesses is that the overall cost of a local SEO campaign isn’t expensive.
In reality, based on the average 250% return on investment of a local SEO campaign in Australia, it costs more money to not undertake a local SEO campaign than to do one.
Local businesses who want to appear in the local organic search results and obtain a healthy ROI on their digital marketing spend are in luck. As of 2022, local SEO is now performing the strongest against any other form of online advertising or digital marketing in terms of the money you get back from your investment.
By appearing in the local search results and attracting local customers, local businesses are able to increase their own businesses revenue and lower their overall SEO marketing costs. This is a huge win for small businesses.
Statistically Proven To Drive Local Traffic
Our recent study on local SEO statistics has given us a clear understanding of the importance of local SEO. This study was completed with our own agency resources, as well as fact checking against independent Google data.
It has been shown that 98% of Google users search online to find a local business. Further to this, nearly 93% of the Australian population uses Google. With these facts in mind, you can tie the room together and see just how powerful local SEO can be for a business looking to build market share.
With an overwhelming 93% of Australians using the Google search engine, and 98% of those actively searching for local businesses on a monthly basis, it essentially opens up your entire local market to you.
There is no other way to market your business to 98% of your local area without engaging in expensive traditional advertising campaigns (such as radio, television etc).
If you are a small business, the mere mention of those advertising platforms probably makes you roll your eyes and shudder at the thought of your P&L with those types of marketing deductions.
This is why local SEO is so important for businesses. It provides you with the marketing leverage to be in front of your local customers, without breaking the bank.
The Verdict On The Importance Of Local SEO For Small Businesses
There’s no denying that local SEO is now the best way for small businesses to market themselves online.
With these clear indications of the level of traffic you can drive through organic search, the relatively low costs and the high return on investment when conducting local SEO – it is a clear winner.
If your business is struggling with digital marketing, you need to consider conducting a local SEO campaign. At Australian Web Experts, we are focused on providing our clients with local SEO campaigns that provide you with extraordinary value.
Our suite of local SEO services provide our clients with fantastic visibility in local search engines, complete campaign management and increased business revenue. With local SEO being incredibly important for any business looking to rank in the local search results, there is no reason why a local SEO campaign should be ignored by small Australian businesses.
Have some thoughts on the importance of local SEO? Get in touch with our local SEO team, we’d love to hear your thoughts on all things local SEO!
