Do You Know How Local SEO Services Could Help Your Company?

SEO services can be a hard sell to small companies with limited marketing budgets. Contractors, local tech geeks, and rideshare operators immediately come to mind. Perhaps you own a small business, and you haven’t even considered paid SEO. But think about this: would you invest in local SEO services?

Despite what you might think, there are tangible differences between generic SEO and local SEO services. Think of it this way: local SEO is targeted at a much smaller audience and in a much smaller geographic area. You get more bang for your buck because you’re not spreading your marketing budget as thinly. Therefore, I would contend that small businesses relying mostly on a local audience should be concentrating their marketing budgets on reaching that audience.

A Subset of Generic SEO

So what is local SEO, anyway? It is a subset of generic SEO. The latter is a set of tools and services designed to ensure that a company’s website performs well on organic Google and Bing searches.

Think about your favorite website; the one you visit most often. The chances are pretty good that the website you’re thinking of is nationally known, if not internationally. But as a small business owner, you don’t need national or international recognition for your website. You need local people to be able to find it when they search for the products or services you offer.

Local SEO services are designed to accomplish that very thing. They utilize many of the same tools and strategies as generic SEO but tailored to a local audience. But there are also some additional tools and strategies that would only be used in a local setting.

Finding Your Business on a Map

An example of something that might only be utilized in a local setting is finding your business on a map without actually using Google Maps. Imagine that someone searches for the products or services you sell, and your site pops up in one of the top three positions. On the right side of the search page is a map with the top three listings including company name and address. All three businesses also show up on the map.

This type of thing is indispensable for certain local businesses. Think restaurants, gas stations, retail outlets, and so forth. But even something like a digital marketing agency would benefit from this type of coverage. The good folks at Webtek Digital Marketing in Salt Lake City, UT can attest to that.

A small business owner looking for local SEO services in Salt Lake City might be intrigued to discover that Webtek’s office is just blocks away. That could give Webtek a decided advantage over another firm out in one of the suburbs.

Speaking to Customers in Their Language

Featured listings, snippets, local directory listings, and all the other trappings that come with local SEO services are enhanced when digital marketers speak to customers in their language. Let’s use Webtek as an example again. You run a local business catering to local people. Being that Webtek is local, all its employees live locally. They understand the culture, language, and Salt Lake City lifestyle. A digital marketing employee living out on the east coast has no clue.

Local SEO ultimately begins with speaking the language. That leads to better keyword research, better directory listings, and even a better Google Business profile – all of which lead to better search engine results. If you own a small business and plan on investing in SEO services, think long and hard about starting with local SEO.