What is Local SEO And Why Does It Matter?

Have you ever just been in the mood for tacos? I found an amazing place that is three blocks from my house that has the BEST TACOS in Pittsburgh!

But no one will ever find them.

You see, if I were just Googling for my taco place, this is what I get:

Can you guess which one is my place? No. Because the map is overrun with places with high brand recognition and lots of ratings and great local SEO.

Local SEO helps your business promote yourself online to local customers within a geographic area. This means your neighbor who is searching online for your kind of business will be able to track you down in the first set of results.

The difference between local SEO and organic SEO is intent. The big search engines are experts at picking out search queries that have “local intent,” meaning the person searching wants local results with local companies.

So, Why Does Local SEO Matter?

There are a few pretty simple reasons why your Local SEO matters.

Your Customers Are Looking Online

Unless your customer has a personal recommendation from a friend or family member, they are going to Google you. The person who needs your help wants to find you online.

So, it is vitally important for your to get an online presence for your business. Future customers are ready to get your help, if you are to be found.

Google Wants To Give Relevant Results

Every search engine does! People come to them, trusting they will receive the best information. And YOU are the best option for their search! So, Google wants to feed the searcher YOU!

Your online presence for your business is one of your best chances to give Google the data it wants to feed. Granted, you'll need to make sure your site is set up properly and structured well.

Local Search = Highest Converting

So, if Google wants to feed their users the most pertinent information for each search, it is given that a local search has the highest potential for converting.

Think of it like this: If my fave taco place had a website, and someone was looking for Tacos in Philadelphia, Google wants to feed them what it deems are the most important results. And then, more than likely, that searcher is going to go and get some tacos from one of those places.

Why couldn't it be your taco place that they buy from? Or your insurance business? Or your salon?

Step 1: Be found.