The Importance of Local SEO for Businesses

Aug 12, 2020

Investing in local SEO is an important part of growing your physical store, especially if your operating hours have been cut or restricted due to local lockdown orders. Customers who make in-person purchases can’t or don’t want to travel far to get what they need, which means your business needs to be visible in search results when they’re looking for local options.

Now more than ever, your local brick & mortar business needs exposure to the customers right in your backyard. Despite the rise of eCommerce, a vast majority of purchases still happen in physical stores, and a good number of those purchases are made by shoppers that live within 20 miles of the business they’re supporting. 

What is Local SEO?

Moz offers this broad view of local SEO :

“Local SEO is all about increasing search visibility for businesses that serve their communities face-to-face. These can be brick-and-mortar businesses with physical locations, like a grocery store or dentist’s office, or service-area businesses that operate throughout a certain geographic area, like an electrician or house cleaning company.”

Essentially, local SEO experts leverage several digital marketing strategies to help your business stay top-of-mind and top of the search ranking results. Think about the number of times you’ve looked for businesses or services and added the phrase “near me” during your internet searches. Potential customers are doing the same thing, and local SEO efforts help your physical business show up in those search results.

What Does Local SEO Look Like?

Think of your local business and its online presence as the destination, and local SEO as the building of roads and pathways for customers to travel to that destination. It’s not magic and many local SEO strategies aren’t overly technical, but it does require specialized marketing skills and tools, along with time and commitment — all of which business owners don’t often have a lot of.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of what businesses can do to improve their local SEO efforts, but these tasks can be easily completed by business owners who want to be hands-on with the process:

Optimize Google My Business (GMB) pages: There’s a reason that many people use “Google” and “search the internet” on an interchangeable basis. The search engine giant has become the top choice for local searches, and if your GMB page is claimed and updated frequently with accurate information, the reward will be your business info showing up in the prime real estate of search result sidebars.

Watch your NAP: No, this doesn’t mean to cut back on dozing off. NAP stands for name-address-phone number, and it needs to be correct on all of your digital assets (like your website, social media accounts, and GMB page.) Adding this location-specific information not only makes it easier for search engines to find your business, but it also makes it easier for customers to find you, too.

Get social — and do it frequently: Posting relevant, engaging content on social media keeps customers informed and helps to build a community. It also gives your business more content to display in search results, and many customers even start their business search on social media sites first before heading to Google. 

These are universally effective when used as a part of a more customized plan of action laid out by marketing professionals, who will tackle the more complex and technical tasks. Content optimization, site layout changes, mobile optimization, directory listing submissions, and link building are all local SEO strategies that should be performed by marketing experts with the specialized tools and knowledge (and time!) to get it right.

What are the Benefits of Local SEO?

Along with visibility in search results, local SEO helps boost foot traffic, improves content relevance, increases the chances of your business showing up on Google Maps, and builds trust with customers that help your reputation management. Again, think of your business as the destination and local SEO as the network of roads customers travel to get there. 

Make that journey as easy and as short as possible — your local business needs more help than ever to stay visible and relevant. Regardless of the size of your business, the services you offer, or the industry you’re in, local SEO cannot be ignored if you want to grow and thrive. Working with Cole Dalton marketing consultants can help develop and implement a plan of action so you can edge out the competition and dominate the local market. Let’s talk more about how we can help!

Forecasting the Next Ten Years of Marketing

10 Apr, 2024
Marketing is gearing up for significant changes as we enter the new decade. With new technologies, shifts in buyer behavior, and changes in consumption culture, the way businesses reach out to customers will look very different in the coming years. While we can't say what marketing will look like in 10 years, we can examine emerging trends and strategies to forecast its future. Here are some predictions experts are suggesting could take shape moving forward. Increasing Personalized Advertising Personalized marketing should undergo even more profound transformations in the coming decade, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to forge deeper customer connections. With the ability to glean insights from vast amounts of data, companies will craft highly tailored ads and messages that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships. From dynamic content customization to predictive marketing algorithms, the era of hyper-personalization will redefine how businesses engage with their target audiences on a one-to-one level. Advanced Device Communication The proliferation of voice-enabled devices and virtual assistants heralds a new era in consumer engagement, requiring marketers to adapt their strategies to communicate effectively through these mediums. As voice technology continues to gain traction, companies must anticipate the rise of voice commerce and tailor their approaches to accommodate this emerging trend. By leveraging conversational AI and natural language processing, brands can deliver seamless, personalized experiences that resonate with consumers, whether shopping, seeking information, or interacting with digital assistants. Wider Use of Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is poised to become a ubiquitous tool in the marketer's arsenal, offering immersive experiences that transcend traditional advertising methods. With VR, brands can transport consumers into captivating virtual environments where they can interact with products and services unprecedentedly, fostering deeper engagement and brand loyalty. As VR technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, expect to see a proliferation of immersive marketing campaigns that leverage the power of virtual experiences to captivate audiences and drive conversions.

The Power of Storytelling

12 Mar, 2024
Marketing tends to focus on analytics and systems, but we sometimes forget about one powerful tool that has existed since the beginning: storytelling. From our ancestors telling ancient myths to be passed down for the generations to come to modern-day brand narratives, stories have held the power to inspire and connect in all different ways. Today, consumers face a constant bombardment of advertisements and catered content; using the power of storytelling in marketing campaigns has become critical for businesses, especially smaller firms aiming to create meaningful connections with their target clients. Why Storytelling is an Effective Strategy When a brand uses storytelling to convey its message, it connects with the audience emotionally. By telling a compelling story, marketers can create a memorable experience for consumers, making them more likely to remember and engage with the brand. Additionally, storytelling allows marketers to communicate the brand's values and personality more authentically. Instead of bombarding consumers with sales pitches, storytelling enables brands to share their stories and build trust with their audience, increasing brand loyalty and customer engagement. The Emotional Resonance of Stories At the heart of storytelling lies its ability to bring out emotions and create profound connections on a human level. Unlike traditional marketing messages focusing solely on product features or sales pitches, stories can engage the audience's imagination, stir empathy, and spark genuine interest. By weaving narratives that resonate with their target audience's hopes, dreams, and challenges, small marketing firms can create a powerful emotional bond that transcends transactional relationships. Building Brand Identity and Authenticity Storytelling is a potent tool for small businesses to authentically define and express their brand identity. Through compelling narratives that reflect their values, mission, and vision, small firms can differentiate themselves from competitors and carve out a distinct identity in the minds of consumers. Whether recounting the founder's journey, highlighting customer success stories, or showcasing the company's commitment to social responsibility, storytelling allows small businesses to humanize their brand and foster customer trust and loyalty.

A Guide to Employee-Generated Content

13 Feb, 2024
In a world of "influencer marketing" and brand deals, companies can easily overspend their marketing budgets and get caught up in the frenzy. An influencer may feature your product or brand only for their videos to perform poorly. At best, you lose out on the money spent sending the product to the influencer and whatever you spent on hiring them. At worst, your business gets a bad reputation online, and customers don't take your brand seriously. Consider that influencer marketing is just the "shiny new toy" in marketing. In that case, companies should continue to produce consistent, cost-effective outcome. One source for this? Your Employees. Employee-generated content refers to any videos, pictures, or copy that employees publicly post about their position and the company. Find out the benefits of employee-generated content (EGC), what this content can look like, and how to implement EGC into your overall strategy. What Does Employee-Generated Content Look Like? The beauty of employee-generated content is that it can take many forms. Any content your employees make that involves details about their role, the company itself, or the relationships they've developed with coworkers or customers/clients can be EGC. A simple, straightforward EGC piece can be an employee spotlight for new hires or veteran employees. You can choose to craft employee spotlights as infographics with a picture of the employee along with some fun facts about them, write a long-form piece from an interview with the employee speaking about their time at the company, or even long or short-form videos with the employee speaking on their experiences. While these methods may require the help of a graphic designer, copywriter, or videographer, the idea is that the employees generate the content by speaking about their experiences and introducing themselves. Other ideas for EGC pieces might be "day in the life" videos following a specific employee throughout their day, reflections employees have from conferences or professional development opportunities, employment milestones or recognitions, or even just pictures employees take with each other or showing what happened that day. There are limitless options and iterations for employee-generated content, and the key is to find out what works well for your business and why.
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