As the owner of a small- or medium-sized business, you'd want to attract and convert potential customers within your area. Not only are local consumers more likely to support businesses that are close to where they live, but they also provide a solid customer base as your business grows and expands. This is where local search engine optimization (SEO) can help.

The case for local SEO

To understand local SEO, you need to know what search engine optimization is all about. Search engines like Google rank websites based on several factors; the higher a website's rank, the sooner it appears in search results. SEO aims to increase a website's rank so search engine users see it first, making it more visible and likely to be clicked on.

While regular SEO targets a more general audience, local SEO focuses on attracting customers within a specific geographic area. It is, therefore, a powerful tool for small and medium businesses looking to target potential clients within their city or region. Check out these insights that highlight the importance of local SEO:

• 86% of potential customers use the Internet to look for local businesses.
• 72% of users who perform a local search visit a business within five miles of their location.
• 88% of consumers who perform a mobile local search visit or call a business within 24 hours.
• 28% of local searches result in customers making a purchase.
• 92% of search engine users choose businesses they find on the first page of the search results.

These statistics show that most potential customers use search engines to find businesses to purchase from.  If you want to generate more leads for your business, you'd want to have a website and make sure that it ranks high through local SEO.

Getting your site to rank higher

Achieving a high search ranking for your website takes time, effort, and the right strategy. Here are some tips to increase your visibility on the search results:

Optimize your Google My Business profile

Google My Business (GMB), now known as Google Business Profile, is one of the most critical tools in local SEO. When someone searches for a product or service in their area, Google often displays a "map pack" at the top of the results that shows the most relevant businesses nearby. Optimizing your GMB profile helps your business appear in this spot.

GMB optimization begins with creating a complete and accurate GMB listing, which includes:

• A business description containing relevant keywords
• Your business's physical address and service areas
• Your business's hours of operation
• High-quality photos and videos of your business, products, and services

Reviews are also crucial in GMB optimization, so encourage your customers to leave positive feedback. If you can, respond to reviews—even the negative ones—as Google values businesses that engage customers.

Create localized content

Creating and posting local content that resonates directly with your clients can boost your local SEO. Your website's blog page is one of the best channels for this. You could blog about local issues, events, or trends related to your industry. For example, if you own a restaurant, you could post content about seasonal ingredients, local delicacies, or upcoming food festivals in your area.

This strategy allows you to seamlessly and naturally incorporate local keywords into your content, which potential customers in your area will likely use during their online search. It also helps demonstrate that you are part of the community, which can increase trust and credibility with potential clients.

Optimize for mobile

Did you know that over half of all website traffic comes from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets? In fact, mobile technology is so significant that Google follows a mobile-first approach. This means that it prioritizes a website's mobile version when indexing and ranking for the search results.

Mobile optimization ensures your website works and appears correctly, even on smaller screens, and provides a seamless experience to visitors. Failing to optimize for mobile makes your website slow, clunky, and disorganized. It can be difficult for users to navigate, driving them away and harming your local SEO rankings.

Leverage local SEO services

If you find it challenging to keep up with the technical and ever-changing aspects of local SEO, you're not alone. Even for small and medium business owners with some background in digital marketing, local SEO can be overwhelming, especially when done alongside running their company. This is why many hire a local SEO agency instead of taking on the task themselves.

Agencies often offer full SEO services, from keyword research to GMB optimization to competitor analysis. They will also optimize other key aspects of your website, including content and on-page elements. These local SEO services are designed not just to generate leads but also to bolster conversions.

Avoid black-hat SEO tactics

Black-hat SEO tactics may produce seemingly attractive results, but they can harm your business in the long run. These tactics are spammy and unethical, so they can result in penalties or complete bans from search engines. Search engine penalties will tank your site's ranking, and recovering from them is often difficult, time-consuming, and expensive.

Black-hat SEO covers many strategies, but the most common include:

• Keyword stuffing means adding too many keywords to your content in an unnatural way
• Cloaking, which entails showing search engines different content from what users see
• Buying backlinks, which involves boosting rankings by paying for links to your website

Google and other search engines have become better at detecting these practices, so you should prioritize delivering high-quality content and using white-hat tactics for long-term benefits. Remember, it's much easier to raise your search rankings naturally than recover from search engine penalties. If you're unsure, make sure to hire a reputable local SEO services provider with a track record for ethical practices.

As a business owner, investing in local SEO is one of the best ways to ensure customers in your area can find you online. If you find the process overwhelming, don't be afraid to seek help from local SEO experts like Big Jaw Digital. As a local SEO agency, we focus on sustainable, high-quality practices that set your business up for long-term success in the competitive and ever-evolving landscape of the Internet.

Start an SEO audit, and get your business seen by more potential customers today!