As an internet user you have most likely already discovered the value of advertising your business online. There is no better way to get noticed on the internet than by making your business known in your local market. Taking your advertising one step further in the process is a natural progression to meeting your company’s goals.
One of the most effective ways you can get your company noticed online in your local market is by utilizing Googles’ natural search engine results. Being in one of the top spots for your industry in your location is one of the most effective methods for generating new customers.
Local SEO vs National SEO
Many business owners get confused and try to get in the top of the search engines for their industry. More often than not, the competition is fierce and getting this top spot requires hours and hours of dedictated content generation and backlinking. And even if a business owner manages to get this top spot they will most likely be disappointed. While the site will show increase traffic, the bottom line is the increase traffic will not generate as much to bottom line as the business owner expected.
Local Customer Search
Most consumers search within a 5-10 mile radius when shopping and searching for local business services. This is where you want your business to be to attract new customers. If you are a dentist in York PA you will benefit much more by being in one of the top spots for ‘dentist in York PA’ rather than just the general search term of ‘Dentist’.
Local SEO Competition
Trying to compete for a highly competitive keyword is going to be a waste of your time, money and effort. And when it comes down to it, you will only generate more traffic instead of more customers. I don’t know about you, but I would much rather have more quality customers visiting my site than just a ton of traffic that serves only to eat up my bandwidth and not provide me with any new clients.
To summarize this in a nutshell – we are after Quality over Quantity.
Consistent SEO
Consistent SEO is a vital factor in keeping your site at the top of the search engines for your local and industry keywords. Getting your site to the top is only the first step in local SEO. You must maintain those rankings to keep your site there above the competition.
As you probably already know, Google is always changing their ranking algorithms to ward off spammers; coupled with battling your competitors, local SEO isn’t a one time shot but needs to be carefully cultured and maintained.
Google expects to see your site growing on a daily basis. Consistent backlinking, quality content generation, and positive user experience is what Google expects to see from your site.
Google is in the business of providing a superior experience for their users. Give Google (and your users) what they want and they will reward you with top rankings placement.