As any internet advertising firm can tell you, SEO, Search Engine Optimization, remains the most important thing for getting your business noticed online. Consider, according to statistics from Search Engine Journal, 93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine. With the rise of the mobile market, now encompassing 91% of the American people, according to Pew Internet, we’ve seen an even bigger focus on the use of search engines for research on the go. In fact, 46% of all search users exclusively search via their mobile device.
SEO is important for any business looking to gain access to the $1.25 trillion that Internet Retailer says is generated through eCommerce every year. However, SEO is arguably more important for small businesses who rely more on their local foot traffic than they do on the income from their digital storefronts. For those businesses, local listing SEO, a service local business listing services specialize in, is crucial to their survival.
What is Local Listing SEO?
As Search Engine Watch writes, local listing SEO is the method by which web design and content are optimized for users looking for businesses in specific geographic areas. When you consider that 43% of Google’s monthly searches, 430 million of them, are tailored exclusively to find local businesses, you can see exactly how important local internet advertising is.
How Can a Local Business Listing Service Help?
- Upgraded Versions of Traditional Marketing
- A Focus on Locally Search Engine Optimized Design
- Content Marketing
One of the main ways local business listing services help their clients with their local SEO is by going back to more traditional methods of advertising. However, these methods have been greatly updated to bring them up to the standards of the digital age. Take online Yellow Pages advertising, for example; Statistics from Search Engine Land show that 62% of people have made an online search using online Yellow Pages in the last month. For the sake of comparison, 67%, only 5% more, have used an online search engine. Clearly, Yellow Pages are a great way to get your local business noticed online.
Local business listing services know how to implement simple design fixes that go a long way in getting your business noticed in local search results. Consider, something as simple as including your contact information and business name on every page of your website can move you up in search rankings in a flash.
As with general SEO, content marketing is an increasingly important part of great local SEO. As recent statistics from InboundWriter.com show, 61% of people say they’re more likely to buy from businesses who take the time and effort to produce custom, engaging content for their readers. Local business listing services can do that for you, helping you to improve your potential revenue considerably.
The Internet Age remains something of a mixed bag for small businesses who rely on local foot-traffic more than they do online sales. With local business listing services, your business can take advantage of both types of business, improving sales with minimal fuss.