Local SEO – What is it? Why do I need local SEO

Local SEO – What is it and why do I need it?

Local SEO is optimizing your business for local search results. When someone searches for a restaurant or business in a specific location, those results are going to be affected by local SEO. When people search on their mobile phones it is using local SEO to determine what is most relevant for you.

So why do you need Local Search Engine Optimization?

• 96% of PC owners conduct local searches
• 46% of all Google searches are local
• 64% of local customers use search engines and directories as their main way to find local business
• 50% of local mobile searchers look for business information (like a company’s address or phone number)
• A whopping 78% of local mobile searches result in an offline purchase

(Sources:Searchengineland.com, brightlocal.com and Business2community.com)

How can I optimize my business Local SEO?

There are many factors that determine your local SEO. Below I will list a few of them:

• Business directories – Google My Business, Bing places for Business, Yahoo Local, Apple Maps, Yelp, and hundreds of other business directories. Search engines look at these directories and compare name, address, and phone number consistency. This is a way of validating who is the most relevant for search results.
• On page information – On your website does it have your business name, address, phone number. Proper keywords in your page titles.
• Reviews – Online review quality and diversity will help validate your relevance to search engines. This is also extremely important to your potential customers when they see them.
• Social media – Search engines care about your Facebook likes, twitter followers, and other social media links that show that your brand matters to online users.

How to check your Local SEO?

A good place to start would be Google maps, Bing maps, Apple maps, Facebook, and yelp. Does your business name, address, and phone number match in all of these search engines? If they do not match, then your Local SEO may need addressed. Below is a link to a free tool, that will check the name, address, and phone number of your business along with your reviews. Try it out and see how your business is doing for Local SEO.