Local SEO tips, why are they important

The competition is fierce to be discovered on the internet. Thus, the value of a sound SEO strategy is important to a company/business' success or lack of it.

WebFX has a blog post about important statistics to know when it comes to SEO and understanding its value. (WebFX does offer a free SEO calculator. You can view it here). Here are a few of those:

• 80% of local searches convert.
• 46% of Google searches are for local businesses.
• The search term "near me" has increased more than 500% in the last few years (which puts a heavy emphasis on local searching).
• 78% of people search for local businesses more than once per week.
• 97% of search engine users search online to find a local business.

So how do you become successful on local SEO?

The first part is to understand that success in SEO doesn't happen overnight. It takes time to develop and populate, and really establish yourself as a business on the web. You have to gain Google's trust that you're a viable business with something to offer before it offers you to the masses.

Here are tips that can help with that.

• Make sure you have a Google Business Profile (formerly called Google My Business). You can do that by clicking here if you don't have one set up. It's free.
• Why? If a user does a search in Google, especially a local one such as looking for closest seafood restaurant, the most common result is called the Map Pack. It shows locations of seafood restaurants. Then if user clicks on the restaurant, they're shown the business profile, which contains things like website, phone number, reviews, photos, etc. Think of it this way: the map pack result or Google Business Profile is what a user sees from the street. The business website is for when the user wants to be inside the business. 
• Get reviews of your business. This is a great thing to have, but can get complicated. Google has several mechanisms in place that try to sniff out what it believes is spammy-like reviews. It also looks to make sure reviews aren't being posted by one single email address or from the same IP address. Encourage visitors to your business to leave a review.
• Optimize your website. Make sure you have a solid website. By that I mean have relevant content on the page. It can be a simple website. You don't need all the videos and graphics. That just hurts website loading speed, which is a factor in SEO. Understand what words or phrases users might use to try and find your business and make sure they're in prominent spots on your website, such as page titles.
• Have clean and concise calls to action, contact page. When a user is on your site, make sure what you want them to do is clear and obvious. You typically have only a matter of seconds before someone makes a decision of whether to do business with you. Make those seconds count.
• Utilize free analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Search Console and Data Studio. These tools offer tons of information to help you understand users' behavior on your site, but also how they're getting to your site. You can set up a Google Analytics account by clicking here.
• Build backlinks. Get your site listed on important websites, such as local chamber of commerce, Better Business Bureau. Building backlinks ups SEO score, which improves SEO result.