- 2024-04-17
How Local SEO Increases Profits
Local SEO increases profits by driving targeted, geographically relevant traffic to a business from search engines, leading to more website clicks, direction requests, and ultimately, more sales from nearby customers.
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What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is the process of optimizing a business’s online assets, such as their website and Google Business Profile (GBP), to ensure they rank highly in location-specific search engine results. This increased visibility allows nearby customers who are seeking relevant solutions to easily find and connect with the business.
The discipline of Local SEO involves a variety of tactics and strategies, including content creation, content optimization and backlink building. Local SEO is essential for businesses that serve specific geographic areas and want to attract more local customers.
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How Does Local SEO Increase Profits?
By optimizing your online assets such as your website and Google Business Profile (GBP) for local search terms, businesses improve their visibility in search engine results and drive more targeted traffic. This results in more leads, conversions, and ultimately, increased profits.
Let’s dive in a little deeper and discuss the benefits and mechanisms that lead to Local SEO increasing profits:
- Targeted, “ready-to-buy” traffic
- Increased visibility and brand awareness
- Relatively instant trust leading to easy sales, and
- The building of a permanent, scalable sales generation channel
With the right Local SEO campaign, you can turn your online assets into a sales generation powerhouse and watch your profits grow steadily over time.
How Local SEO Increases Profits: Targeted, Ready-to-Buy Traffic
Local SEO is a powerful inbound sales generation tool for businesses that want to attract nearby, “ready-to-buy” customers. By optimizing a business’ website and Google Business Profile for local search results, businesses can make it easier for target customers to find them online.
Since customers that discover a business online through Local SEO are actively seeking services and solutions that your business offers, they are likely in the “ready-to-buy” stage of their buying cycle. As such, optimizing your online presence with Local SEO is a great way to target customers at the right place, at the right time, with the right solution.
How Local SEO Increases Profits: Instant Trust Leading to Easy Sales
In today’s digital age, customers are increasingly likely to use online search engines like Google as the primary way to find services or products. A study by Forrester Research revealed that 71% of consumers prefer to research products online before making a purchase, with search engines being the most popular research tool.
Customers trust Google, and therefore when Google “recommends” a business to them, it then stands to reason that the customer projects that very same confidence onto the endorsed business. Research by Moz shows that 71% of consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that they have found through a search engine.
Adding to that trust is when your Google Business Profile is optimized with authentic, positive customer reviews. Social proof garnered by 5 star reviews on Google Business Profile is often one of the best ways to close a sale before a customer even contacts your business. A survey by BrightLocal found that 91% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
What does this all mean for you? By the time a customer calls your business, they’re already 80-90% sold on your services.
How Local SEO Increases Profits: Visibility & Brand Awareness
Increasing your business’ visibility in local search engine results makes it easier for customers to find and learn about your business. Over time, this increased visibility leads to increased brand awareness. This, in turn, causes word-of-mouth to spread, creating a network effect, where people in your community talk about your products or services with enthusiasm.
Simply put, Local SEO increases your business’ visibility, which increases your brand awareness, which in turn, increases your profits. Of course, you have to provide a great product and stellar customer service for word-of-mouth and network effects to take off!
How Local SEO Increases Profits: Permanent, Scalable Sales Channel
Investing in your website design and pages, Google Business Profile enhancement, brand messaging, and search engine rankings – all which are done throughout the course of a Local SEO Campaign – pays dividends for years. Unlike typical Google Adwords or Pay-Per-Click ad campaigns, which stop working as soon as you stop paying, the work that’s completed over the course of a Local SEO campaign continues to drive value long after the campaign is concluded.
That’s because unlike ads, with Local SEO you’re actually investing in the future of your business. The updates to your website design and content, the dozens of landing pages built, blog posts written, authority developed, and high search engine rankings earned aren’t just a switch that can be turned off overnight. Just as a Local SEO campaign takes time to mature, the value it provides also lasts a long time, even after you’ve stopped investing.
What’s more, Local SEO is easily scalable, especially if scalability is thought through in the initial strategy phase. Since through Local SEO, businesses can target specific geographic areas, they can also expand their reach as needed. This allows businesses to generate sales from a targeted audience and scale their efforts as their business grows.
Without Local SEO, You’re Neglecting a Percentage of your Market
If potential customers can’t find your website when they use a search engine, you’re likely missing out on valuable opportunities to gain new customers. Regardless of your industry, there’ll always be a portion of your target market that uses the internet to find solutions to their most pressing problems.
If you don’t appear on search engine results pages (SERPs) when a potential customer needs the services your business provides, you’ll miss out on multiple, daily opportunities to gain customers willing and ready to buy. That’s why it’s important to invest in Local SEO, even at a bare minimum level, as a part of your overall marketing mix.
After all, why should you let your competitors have all the online leads?
When it Comes to ROI, Local SEO Wins
In the long run, the Return on Investment (ROI) generated by Local SEO surpasses any other marketing channel by leaps and bounds. Here’s some data points you can sink your teeth into:
- A survey by Moz found that local search is the most effective marketing channel for small businesses, with 64% of respondents reporting that they see the highest ROI from Local SEO efforts. (Source: Moz)
- A case study by Search Engine Land showed that a local business saw a 300% increase in website traffic and a 50% increase in leads after implementing a local SEO strategy. (Source: Search Engine Land)
- A report by HubSpot revealed that businesses that optimize their Google Business Profile listing see an average of 49% more views on their listing and 7% more clicks to their website. (Source: HubSpot)
By implementing an effective Local SEO strategy, you can transform your online assets into a powerful sales engine and see a consistent increase in profits over time.
You Can Directly Track Profit Increases from Local SEO
Custom analytics and tracking provided by Google and third-party softwares provide you or your Local SEO agency with much needed insight into the online journey customers take before choosing your business. This can include which specific keyword was searched, which of your landing pages they found your business through, which additional pages or listings were visited, and which page or profile an enquiry was made from.
By integrating third-party analytics with your company’s CRM software, you can then continue tracking the customer journey to see which potential customers that called actually made a purchase. Most company’s CRMs will backwards integrate and a full picture is formed. You can use this data to measure the long-term effectiveness of SEO campaigns and make informed decisions about budgets and strategies.
Local SEO is the Key to Growth
Local SEO is an essential tool for increasing profits, unparalleled in its impact and longevity. Local SEO campaigns help businesses reach their target audience seamlessly, boost brand awareness and increase trust. By investing in Local SEO, businesses can be sure to receive dividends for years to come.
Start Your Local SEO Campaign Today
Dreamvast Agency takes SEO strategies proven to grow the largest online brands and applies them to your local business. This translates to more leads, more calls, more foot traffic, and more sales.
Check out our case studies to learn about our client success stories, or schedule a free SEO consultation with us today to discover low-hanging fruit opportunities for your business.