by If you opened a new coffee shop, gone are the days when you’d wander your local community popping ‘Now Open, Free Coffee’ postcards in letterboxes. Of course, you may still do that to build brand awareness, but today, it’s more likely you’ll engage in a powerful and targeted local SEO strategy. This article will talk a little about local SEO and local SEO benefits for the start up’s.
Local SEO: A Powerful Tool for Business
When someone is out and about and needs a feed, they will likely type into their phone ‘restaurants near me’. Once they do that, a couple of things happen in the search engine. They’ll get what’s called a ‘Local Pack’ — it’s that map with a pin drop showing the location and besides that a list of the top places nearby that offer food. The search will also show those classic blue links underneath, which are the organic search results. As a local business, especially a start-up, you want to tap into the power of local SEO.
How Does the Search Engine Decide What’s Close By and Relevant?
The search engines as we know — Google, Microsoft Bing etc. — are profoundly clever. It’s a complex tech wiz that understands the algorithms that can miraculously come up with a shop near you in seconds, that sells what you need. They use three main factors to rank the search results:
The Relevance: is the search result similar to what the searcher wants?
The Distance: How far is it? The closest place might come up first, but not always.
The Authority: how important is this business to the Google user?
Here are 5 Local SEO Benefits for Start Up’s
- It’s a Big Time Saver
Instead of strolling your neighbourhood wearing a sign, you can do local SEO all on your laptop, remotely. - It’s Cost-Effective
A lot of effective local SEO tools are free. You can start with a local keyword search using a free tool. Next, set up your free Google Business Profile to start hooking into Google Search and ranking on Google Maps. - Google Reviews Are Useful
When you start getting positive (or negative) Google reviews and responding to them, this is a great way to start boosting your Google ranking and authority. - Speedy Conversion
Data shows us constantly that when people are out and about and want something now, they are closer to making a decision and more likely to convert. That’s more profits for you! - The ‘Shop Local’ Movement
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, more people have continued shopping locally, as they became used to it during lockdowns. Also, fewer people work in city hubs and work from home. Plus, they have more of an environmental conscience to shop local. This is all good news for local SEO.
Want help being introduced to your local audience through digital channels like Google, Facebook, Instagram and more? Connect with Blurn on Facebook
