How Important Is SEO Now for Local Service Companies?

Small businesses depend on every available marketing advantage. Local SEO services are a great tool for digital marketing. Businesses that operate out of physical store locations or focus on local services benefit the most from local SEO strategies. Understanding the benefits starts with learning more about the basics of SEO.

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is how companies are ranked on search engine result pages. Many businesses will focus on general results that can reach a national or global audience. This is an excellent strategy for online companies or businesses that ship goods outside their local area. 

Local SEO  is a specific strategy aimed at getting results in a defined geographical area. Narrowing in the focus to more local results requires a different strategy. These results are better for single-location businesses or those who have defined areas of service.

Yes, SEO matters for companies of every size and industry. The internet is the fastest and most used method to get information. If a customer is looking for a specific service in their area, the internet is one of the first places they go to find it.

Companies rely on search engines, too. The higher a company ranks on the results page, the more visibility they get. People generally stick to the top half of a results page, which means if your company is listed on the second page, you are not getting noticed.

Local service companies depend on multiple marketing strategies to be successful. Digital marketing is an important arm of an overall strategy to get recognized and bring in potential customers. Using local SEO strategies can target the right customers.

Customers search online for everything. When they need a local service such as home repairs, pest control services, or local eateries, a quick search engine query brings up multiple results. Rankings are determined by relevance and reliability. 

Local SEO improves search engine results for service searches in specific regions, cities, or neighborhoods. Being listed higher on these results pages bring more visibility which can convert to doing more business.

Whether a service company has a physical location or they travel to customers, there are ways to focus on local results. Using SEO services like Google’s Map Pack or Local Pack gives local service companies more online visibility. These can help smaller businesses compete against bigger, national corporations.

Reviews are a great addition to SEO results. Having reviews helps potential customers read experiences from others who have already used the service. These are considered organic results that are valuable to the searcher. Companies can even respond to reviews, boosting a company’s reputation.

Search engines depend on providing information quickly to those searching. Creating an online business page helps pull up the contact information for a business. This can include address, telephone number, and hours of operation.

A large portion of consumers use their phones as a primary way to search for information about companies. When the contact information is pulled up, they can call directly from the listing information. Making this information accurate helps capture all potential customer leads.

Having a website is not required for businesses to be listed on search engine results pages (SERPs). Google has created business profiles that companies can create with no website required. They do require that companies comply with their policies, do not post prohibited content, and represent themselves accurately.

Bing is another popular search engine that allows companies to create business listings. Having multiple listings can also improve listing placement. 

Creating other business profiles is necessary for local SEO strategy too. Social media pages, specifically Facebook pages, are becoming more popular for local businesses. Search engines also pull the information from social media pages and count them toward results.

It is easy to understand the benefits of a local SEO strategy, but it is harder to implement one. Getting the best results is faster when using a company like Lift My Rank. Digital marketing strategies often change as search engines update their algorithms. Professionals research and stay up-to-date on these changes to get the best results. 

Local service companies benefit a lot from hiring a professional team. Outsourcing local SEO needs to a professional team is less expensive than hiring an in-house specialist. An outsourced team also brings more expertise to the situation than a single employee.

Lift My Rank, we have the experience to help companies make the right changes to their strategy. We can even design a digital marketing strategy from scratch. Contact us today to see how you can get faster, better results with your  local SEO strategy . With our help, your business will be available for prospective clients to access in no time