After decades of globalization, and extended supply chains, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the world to go (back to) local. Part of this is because the pandemic disrupted global supply chains and forced many businesses to reshore their supplies. Consumers have been encouraged to support local retailers and other local businesses as acts of solidarity in trying times. Many businesses have adapted to this new normal and found ways to keep their consumers engaged. They have embraced ecommerce solutions and utilized social media and other technologies to enrich the customer journey. As the vaccine rollout progresses and conditions return to the old normal, many businesses will seek to transfer these online relationships to their brick and mortar stores and other traditional businesses. This is why local search is so important. As we will see in this article, it can help drive traffic to your business. Let’s see how.
Local search & digital engagement
Many people often think of the internet as allowing them to win consumers from across the world. That global mentality prevents them from seeing the importance of winning consumers within their vicinity. So, they neglect to ensure that their content and their businesses rank highly on local search results. Yet this is a very effective way of making sure that your content rises up search results because competition in your locale is much lower than competition across the world. In other words, you have a better shot at being a top ranking search result in your locale, than you do at the general level. It’s low hanging fruit that many businesses don’t reach out and grab.
There are many tools that you can use to ensure that you do well in local search results. Here are some things I have learned from studying the best SEO companies on how to optimize your organic results:
- Use Google My Business– Google My Business is a free service for business owners that gives them more control over what shows up in search results whenever a person searches for their business. You can use this service to make sure the information about your business is correct and precisely expresses what your value proposition is. This is a way of taking care that you put your best foot forward and potential clients see the best possible version of you, with all the right information. Make sure to attach a good photo for your Google My Business listing and insert ways for people to contact you.
- Create Great Local Based Content – You want to make sure that your content meets the needs of people within your vicinity. If you can supply the right content for your vicinity, then it will be easier to attract people from your vicinity. So create as much local based content as you can. You really need to make your website relevant to your immediate community. You can also provide localised offers, events and information and link to locally based content to add even more value to people who visit your website.
If you can be the best destination for your immediate community, you will be able to rise up local searches and monetize those visits and convert many of those visitors to buyers in your traditional brick and mortar establishments.