If you have a small business, you may be wondering how you can utilize Search Engine Optimization to grow your leads. You can (and should) by utilizing a digital strategy called Local SEO. While similar to SEO, Local SEO is highly specific in its strategy and only works for local businesses. If you aren’t already familiar, SEO is the process of determining what keywords, search phrases, and topics your target demographic is looking for in search engines and optimizing your site so that it is placed on the first page in the search results.
Here’s a good example. Let’s say you own a construction business in New Jersey and someone searches for “kitchen remodeling nj” (a keyword that receives over 100 searches per month in major search engines). You want your website to be on that first page so that searcher lands on your website, contacts you, and becomes a lead. How do you make sure your site is first when your target demographic is searching? That’s where Local SEO comes in.
Here’s how it works. First, we start by conducting keyword research. This is the process of determining what search phrases and topics your target demographic is typing in when they are searching for your local business. After compiling a comprehensive list of these keywords, we’ll use them to optimize your site. “Optimize” in Local SEO means that we ensure these keywords are in specific places on your site so that the search engines know what the page is about and rank it for the keyword in search results accordingly. Once your site is optimized we will begin building links from other websites back to your website. A link, in the eyes of search engines, is seen as a vote. The more links/votes your site has, the higher it will appear in the search results for the keywords it is optimized for. However, not all links are equal. When it comes to Local SEO, you want your links to comes from very specific sources. These sources include:
- Local, industry relevant directories
- Local, industry relevant blogs
- Your social media profiles.
Many SEO agencies will claim that they can get you hundreds of links while charging very little. You should be wary of these types of agencies. Often times they outsource their work overseas and your site can end up with tons of “spam” links, which could harm it. This could even lead to it being removed from the search results completely. Unlike other SEO Agencies, we work to get your website high quality links through our extensive local network. We’re able to do this through the connections we’ve built through years of our work in the SEO industry as well as our connections with various bloggers and PR agencies.
In addition to gaining high quality, relevant, local links back to your site, you want to make sure that your business has high reviews in places such as your Yelp profile and Google Business listing. Search engines place a very high emphasis on the amount and quality of the reviews that a business has. Many SEO agencies completely disregard this factor of Local SEO strategy which leads to less than stellar results. We work with you to contact past satisfied customers and entice them to leave a review.
We have helped a wide variety of small businesses with their Local SEO campaigns. Here are just a few industries we have worked in before:
- Law Firms
- Tutors
- Restaurants
- Landscapers
- Construction Companies
- Dentists
- Real Estate
To learn more about how we can help your small business grow utilizing Local SEO, contact us today!
Click play to learn how Local Search Engine Optimization can help your small business grow.
Frequently asked Local SEO questions.
How much does Local SEO cost?
The cost of Local Search Engine Optimization varies depending on things such how competitive the local landscape is and how many keywords we will be targeting. All Local SEO campaigns start at $2,750 per month and can expand based on the size of the campaign. This is inclusive of keyword research, optimizing your site for SEO and conversions, building links back to your site, and creating content on a monthly basis. It is important to be cautious of any SEO Agency that offers their services for $1,000 per month or less. This is because Local SEO takes time, effort, and a lot of strategy. Often times, the agencies that offer these low rates end up outsourcing their services overseas where “blackhat” SEO can occur and end up doing more harm than good to your site. These spammy Local SEO tactics can even get your website unlisted from search engines. Go with an agency that does all of their work in-house and has proven themselves working on other Local SEO campaigns.
How long does Local SEO take?
Based on what we’ve seen with previous campaigns, Local SEO works at a much faster rate than regular SEO. This means that rather than having to wait up to 2-3 months to see results, your small business website will most likely see results within 1-2 months. However, this may vary depending on the size of your site, competition in your industry, and future search engine algorithm updates.
Will I need to redesign my website?
If your website is outdated, there is a high probability that it will need to be redesigned and developed in order for any results to be seen from SEO. This is because search engines take into account a lot of website factors such as site load time and content when placing them in the search results. A website redesign alone could possibly provide your business with a dramatic increase in leads.
What other things affect Local SEO?
The key factors that affect Local SEO are: reviews on websites such as Yelp and Google Business, links from local and relevant industries directories, proper Schema Markup (which help tell search engines what is on your website), as well as correct and consistent contact information.
Do I need you to do SEO consistently to maintain my rankings and traffic?
SEO in general changes almost every month. This is because search algorithms change and thus our strategy must change as well. However, the core of SEO will always stay the same: optimize your website with the keywords that your target demographic is searching for by creating informative content and earn links on other sites that point back to yours. We are experts when it comes to Local SEO and are more than happy to grow your small business using it. However, should there come a time when you would like us to stop, in order to keep achieving the same results, you will need to invest time and energy in maintaining the momentum that we built with our Local SEO campaign.
How do we get started with Local SEO?
It’s easy! Drop us a line here and we’ll be in touch to schedule your free initial consultation.
