One of the simplest ways to decide if Local SEO is right for your business is to figure out if people are performing searches for your products or services online If you find they are not,  other forms of advertising such as radio ads, TV commercials or print publications may be better for you. If you are a local business that provides familiar services (ie  lawyer, plumber,  restaurant, etc) to your region, then you’ll defiantly want to keep reading.

Are People Searching For Me?

Lets say you own a Dental Practice in the Chicago area (or anywhere in the US). Most likely your looking for new clients. Local SEO is dollar for dollar the best marketing investment you can make for your business. As you likely already know, very few Internet searchers go beyond the first page when looking for local products and or services. “Chicago Dentist” gets over 22,000 local searches a month on average. That’s a tremendous amount of potential customers that are looking for dentists in the Chicago area. Although the numbers may be different, this data can be applied to any industry, anywhere in the United States. If you’re not on page #1 of Google, you’re missing out on large amount of locally targeted consumers looking for your business.

But SEO Is Too Expensive!

It’s true, SEO can be quite costly and does take time to get results! But Local SEO on the other hand is much less expensive and results can be seen in weeks rather then months. This is because instead of competing on a national or global scale, you only have to compete for keywords on a local scale. Going back to the Dentist example, this service provider doesn’t have to compete with Dentists from all around the country, only Chicago Dentists. All be it, this is still a competitive market, but much less competitive then competing nationally. There’s even more good news. The majority of small businesses don’t optimize their online presence. This means with a little work you can be getting that all coveted first page of Google and the targeted business that comes along with it. Don’t think of it like you are trying to rank for your industry either, you are ranking for your industry plus the location of where your business resides. If you are a Chicago Dentist, then ranking for just the keyword “Dentist” would be worthless to your business. You want customers from your local region so that they can visit your office, not clientele from around the country.

Another good feature about Local SEO is that it is much more affordable than traditional Search Engine Optimization. There are many providers and it is a highly competitive market. Due to this, SEO providers have lowered their prices to be more competitive and better service their consumers. But cheaper isn’t always better. You have to really spend time with your Local Search Strategist and let them know your goals for the campaign. Find out what they’re offering and what results should be expected. Local SEO is not an exact science, but you should feel confident that the company you choose has your best interests in mind and that they’ll get your business results.

Setting Your Self Up For Local SEO Success

Don’t put minimum effort into your SEO campaign and expect maximum results. This approach almost never has success. I’ve worked with so many local businesses that are looking to rank for local keywords but never get results. Why, you ask? Simple, they are not dedicated to their local search campaign, as they need to be! If your business genuinely wants to improve its ranking, then you need to commit to the process. Your website has to be relevant for the desired keywords and you’re going to have to spend money to get the high quality backlinks required to gain authority.

Have more questions? Are you a local business that would like to know more about local search? Feel free to leave a comment below or contact us for more information.