Today, a great number of people shopping offline search for goods, services or business information on the Internet. One extensive study confirms this, noting that a customer’s online research has a considerable impact on their in-store purchases. That  is why local SEO is essential to ensure that your consumers find accurate, complete and comprehensive information about your brand, no matter where they search. 

Indeed, the way users can quickly find a desirable location on the map and whether any business information contains mistakes or inconsistencies will determine the competitiveness and profitability of your business. So, it goes without saying that digital knowledge management is of the utmost importance so as to be more “visible” in the digital space and to guarantee that users can find your local stores or offices with ease.

What Does Local SEO Imply? 

A case in point that proves the value of local SEO is a local search for “coffee shop near me”. When a user enters a query, they expect to get the nearest result so they can visit a place at the quickest time possible. So, there will be some options on the map which are the closest and most relevant, according to Google. 

Let’s say the nearest coffee shop marked on the map is two kilometres away from the user. There is another one that is closer (500 metres away) but the user will not be able to get there because the place doesn’t have a pin on the map. This means that the business owner hasn’t submitted information to the relevant sources so their location is not visible to potential clients.

Local SEO is a strategy that allows brick-and-mortar businesses to overtake competitors which are on the first page of organic results by means of their “visibility” on the map. This implies submitting the company’s information to the maps, online business directories, GPS systems, social networks and other sources based on local search. 

Also, local SEO involves business listings management, which includes maintaining the relevance of information and the optimization of each listing according to the local search ranking factors to get into the Local Pack.

This privilege affects competitiveness and gives an unrivaled advantage in attracting leads.

                                                      Caption to the picture: According to the research.

In addition, many small businesses don’t have a website. Context and targeted ads are quite expensive, and wasted clicks do not generate leads. This increases costs and investments that often don’t pay off.

Local SEO will help you to appear at the top of the search page (in the block with the map). So, this can shorten the search “path” to the purchase and convert searchers into real customers in the most efficient way.

How To Improve Your Local SEO According To Local Search Ranking Factors 

If you’re looking to improve your local SEO and online visibility, focus, first of all, on your business listings. 

In fact, according to one industry study, Google My Business (GMB) “signals” is the most important ranking factor in local search. Meanwhile, it is possible to manipulate it by means of digital knowledge management. 

Submitting your business information to the network is the first step of local optimization that you should take to increase your company’s online presence. It will fill out the forms needed to get your business found across multiple sites.

It’s extremely important today when a search engine can interpret queries like “the nearest italian cafe” and provide the results on the map relevant to the user’s location.

So, if you want customers to find your stores, but not those of your competitors, turn to a professional solution. RocketData helps to manage business locations in the digital space across maps, search engines, and online directories, provides optimization of each listing to get more leads, and protects the information against unauthorized changes. 

Also, RocketData ensures reputation monitoring opportunities. As reviews form a company’s star rating, responding is the best way to increase it and to attract more customers to the stores.

Moreover, review “signals” is the third most significant factor that affect listing ranking. You can influence it by working with reviews, which allows a company to get into the Local Pack and to gain foot traffic.

Managing the reputation of your company leverages the functional capacities of the local SEO tool. It will enable you to not only enlist the loyalty of customers but also to increase your company’s profits.

Even compared to the sites at the top of the organic search results, the map gives advantages due to a higher conversion rate.

As 76% of location-based mobile searches result in a visit to the location within 24 hours (and 28% result in a purchase), according to Google, your listings being visible to potential customers is crucial. With accurate detailed information and high star rating, they “connect” every business location with customers of a defined geographic area to convert search traffic into foot traffic.

Check if your potential clients will be able to find your company’s locations on the maps and other relevant sources and the business information is correct. You may leave your contact details on our website to get a free online presence report on whether your online listings contain inconsistencies.