As you have just started up a new business, you would probably be searching for ways to promote your brand and attract your target audience. As per the current scenario, digital marketing has proved to be quite effective when it comes to promoting your new startup business.
It is due to the fact that every year tons of people are shifting their focus to the internet and it can be a great opportunity for you to reach out to a wide group of people.
Having talked about digital marketing, one of the major aspects of it is Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which can help your business to gain more visibility in Google search results.
Earthweb revealed that there are 8.5 billion daily searches on Google which means there are high chances that your business name would be displayed to such a large audience.
Although SEO has gained popularity in recent times, local SEO has been left undiscovered which can help you gain local traffic for your business. But why should you emphasize more on local SEO to get your desired results? To answer this question for yours, let us take a look at some of the astonishing statistics.
Hubspot states that 46% of the people are looking for local information on Google. Moreover, 72% of the online users intended to visit the local business within a proximity of 5 miles. And to your surprise, more than 90% of the people would come to know about your local business through Google only.
Therefore, it can be said that optimizing your business website for local searches tends to increase the likelihood of people visiting your local business.
Now, let’s get some better insights that how local SEO is icing on the cake when you are looking to promote your business digitally.
Benefits of local SEO for your startup
- Better visibility in the local searches
The ultimate goal of any website is to rank higher in the search results of Google. Ranking higher in the search results can be quite beneficial as you would be able to draw more user attention.
On the other hand, if your website is displayed at the bottom of search results, then users would be unable to reach your business website. As per SERP watch, the top five search results receive 75% of the total clicks from online users.
So your goal should be to take your website to the top rankings in the search results. Moreover, you would need to optimize your website to match the local search intent.
This means if people are using the term “near me” along with their search query, they are looking for those businesses which are located in their nearby area.
If your content is well optimized with the local search intent, there are high chances that your business would rank at the top positions in Google search results. As a result, more and more people would be accessing your website and getting familiar with your product offerings.
This way you can enhance your business visibility on the internet by optimizing it for the local people and increase the chances of your website getting clicks.
- Relevant traffic to your website
As your business websites start to receive heavy traffic, you would probably see people are actually spending a considerable amount of time scrolling through your website. How can it be possible?
The reason is that your website is quite relevant to their search intent. According to Hubspot, 46% of the total online users are looking for local information. As the stats speak for themselves, the local listing has a lot of potential to show up your website to the local audience.
For instance, your website is well optimized for a particular area. Having said that, you have included each and everything that local people are actually looking for.
If a person sees your website in the Google search results and clicks on it, they would probably be more interested in going through it to know more. This is because your provided content is aligned with the user search query.
Providing relevant information to your users would encourage them to stay longer on your website. This will automatically reduce the bounce rate of your website. This way you can ensure that your website receives relevant traffic regularly if it appears in the search results.
- Higher conversion rates
As your business websites continue to receive clicks from your intended visitors, then it increases the probability that they would like to make a purchase. The people who are actually clicking on your website are well prepared to purchase their desired product.
As per the report of Joel house search media, nearly 28% of the local searches result in sales.
If your website has the same products that people are looking for, then they are most likely to be your customers and if they are satisfied, they would definitely come back. This way, you can ensure that your website reaches your target audience and you would be able to retain them in the future as well.
Even if the people are just visiting your website to know the availability of their preferred products, they can still become your long-term customers. This is because your business is within their reach and they will definitely look up to you to fulfill their needs. Additionally, they can bring in their references along with them if they are visiting your business.
Therefore, you can enjoy high conversion rates for your business in terms of both online and offline customers. Having said that, in this way, you can accomplish your SMART Goals in a more worthwhile way.
- Zero cost of promotion
As a startup business, you would definitely be looking for ways to advertise your brand so that people are aware of it. Thus, effective marketing strategies for your business need to be opted to promote it. However, this can be a costly affair for a newly set up business, and implementing these strategies partially would not produce adequate results.
To help you in promoting your business, getting it listed in the local search results would be the best possible way in the initial phase of the business. Moreover, there are no costs associated with listing your business for local searches.
Furthermore, your target audience would have a much better understanding of your business through local SEO. In your local listing, you would need to put in your address, contact information, working hours, types of products in which you deal, and your website’s link. This way, it becomes much easier for people to connect with you.
The local listing of your business would help your business’s website to get the maximum number of clicks from the local people and thus your business can get maximum exposure through the internet. Thus, local SEO is a free-of-cost way to advertise your business and reach out to a wider group of people to meet your business objectives.
- Best way to gain trust among the local audience
Customer trust is to be maintained if you are looking to retain your customer base for a longer duration of time. If your customers have faith in your business and the product offerings then it becomes quite easy for you to convert them into loyal customers. One of the most important factors that build up trust among your target customers is the information provided by you on the internet.
Webidextrous states that approximately 80% of online users would not trust a business listing if the provided information is found inconsistent. On the other hand, 68% of the users would not use the business listing with false information. Therefore, it becomes quite important for you to provide true information about your brand through local listings.
The provided information can be used by online users to contact you when they are looking to purchase something. This forms the first impression of your business on the online users. Once they are fully satisfied, this can build up trust among them. Thus, providing the right information related to your business can make people trust your brand.
- Customer reviews for your business
If a customer has purchased a product from you, they would tend to share their experience of the product with others as well. They are most likely to post a review about how they felt after using your product and what benefits it has bought for them.
To your surprise, these reviews are displayed along with your local business listings and star ratings as well. These reviews broadly highlight how the product is and if they are satisfied with it, they are more likely to recommend it to others as well.
These reviews are very much capable of drawing user attention to your business. As per the reports of Bright local, more than 80% of the people tend to go through the previous reviews. These reviews directly impact their decision of purchasing a product from a local business.
Moreover, Google would rank a business listing much higher if it is found that customer reviews are being acknowledged and later responded to as well. Therefore, providing your target audience with the best possible product experience initially can bring long-term benefits.
As a result, their reviews would also highlight their positive experience and this can create your brand’s reputation in the market.
To conclude, local SEO for your start-up business can prove to bring in fruitful results and they can positively impact your business reputation in the market. Moreover, people who are searching online for local information would be able to find your business in the local search results. This can help you to enhance the visibility of your business and can bring in a large group of audience to your start-up business through the internet.
