7 Reasons Local SEO is More Important Than General SEO
Businesses believe that SEO will increase traffic and sales. They do not consider the differences between local and general SEO. Researching keywords and increasing rankings is important, but local SEO is even more important because it helps customers find you when they urgently need an option nearby. They don’t need a global catalog; they need…
Businesses believe that SEO will increase traffic and sales. They do not consider the differences between local and general SEO. Researching keywords and increasing rankings is important, but local SEO is even more important because it helps customers find you when they urgently need an option nearby. They don’t need a global catalog; they need your business because it is accessible, trustworthy, and local. Local SEO keywords, writing, and placement optimized for the Dallas area will change the trajectory of your business.
You are trying to:
- Become a local expert
- Be the first choice for local customers
- Reach local customers at the moment they want to make a purchase
The seven tips below explain why you should focus on local SEO instead of trying to capture the attention of the whole world. You can grow your business much faster if you have the attention of everyone in the Dallas Metroplex.
1. Reaching Mobile Phone Users
You want to reach mobile users. Why? Mobile phones account for 52% of all searches around the world. If someone is looking for a business like yours, half of those people are on a mobile device.
If you are in a busy suburban area, you can safely assume that even more people are on their mobile devices because kids, adults, business owners, and employees use them throughout the day. Most of these people do not have time to sit at a desktop and search for your business or service.
Mobile phones have several advantages, including:
- Easy access to websites
- Your business might have a mobile app
- You can text your customers
- They can get directions to your location
- They can call your location with the click of a phone number or link
Make sure that your website is optimized for mobile use. When customers recommend you to friends and family, what do they do? They text them your URL. This means someone else on a mobile device is checking out your website or searching for you.
2. Almost Half of Google Searches are Local
Google has said that about half of all searches are local. This means that people search for local businesses just as much as they search for a business halfway across the state or even halfway around the world. Your customers are just as likely to add the name of a city or town because they need someone close by who can help them.
You might offer a unique service that people from around the world want, but the majority of your business is going to come from people in your area. Take, for example, a Christmas shop. You could get orders from people who find you online and need you to ship to a location far, far away.
However, most of your customers are either in town for the holidays or live there. They need something only you can provide because you are close by. People in town want to shop at your store because they prefer it to shopping online. If you narrow your focus, you will capture 50% of all Google searchers, who most likely live in the area.
3. Nearly 75% of Online Searchers Need a Local Service
Even though only 50% of Google searches use local terms, 75% of searchers are looking for a local business. Plenty of people do not think to put a city. They assume that Google will use their location to give them better results. It does. SEO options help you get noticed by anyone in the area because Google knows they are close to you.
You might have created a list of keywords for your business that includes a wide range of services and products you provide. However, that list does not help you reach three-fourths of all searchers because they need to work with a local business. If you sell “boat propellers,” you will be difficult to find. If you sell “boat propellers in Dallas,” you are suddenly popular with the local population.
4. Searchers Overwhelmingly Visit a Store Within Five Miles From Their Home
Just because your business is close by doesn’t mean customers will automatically choose you. In many cases, they don’t even know you exist. Business owners choose their locations for a variety of reasons.
You might have gotten a good deal on the rent, or the location was close to a busy road. You might run your business out of your home, which means there’s no marquee out front showing the community that you make, for example, the best quilts in town.
Leveraging local SEO helps you become:
- A customer’s first choice
- Convenient
- Easy to contact
- More trustworthy
When customers realize you are in town, they feel comfortable with you. They are more likely to trust you. Because you’re so close, the customer wouldn’t go anywhere else. The customer can reach you easily, and you will become their first choice. You can even establish a friendship with these customers that leads to more sales. You cannot do that with someone who lives far away.
5. Marketers Know Local SEO Creates More Leads Than Anything Else
Over 50% of marketers around the world say that local SEO creates more leads than any other marketing activity. If SEO is so effective, you should use as many styles of SEO as you can. If you only try general SEO, you’re not reaching enough people.
Local SEO gives you the option to multiply your list of keywords many times over. Let’s say your list of keywords includes quilts, quilt making, tailoring, sewing, and more. You then add Dallas to each keyword. But imagine the results you’d get by adding Fort Worth, Irving, Arlington, Plano Allen, Grapevine, Flower Mound, Carrollton, Richardson, and every other town you service.
Even if you only attract customers who sign up for your newsletter, you have far more leads than you did when you only said you served Dallas. Those in the suburbs are not always driving into Dallas. They need a business that is close by or that can deliver to their location.
6. Local SEO Positions You as the Local Expert
SEO services allow you to position yourself as the local expert. Content marketing improves many times over if you write an educational blog, your customers learn something, and they find your business. Now, they already think you are the expert.
This means that everyone in each city or town you have listed also sees you as the expert. You can effectively steal business from other companies because you are the expert local customers have found who consistently publishes localized content.
7. General SEO Cannot Do Certain Things
General SEO is a good place to start. Your business can benefit greatly from using general SEO tactics and creating a keyword list. You will see some results, but you will not get the results that local SEO can give you. Unfortunately, general SEO might cause a few problems, including:
- Generating worldwide traffic with no sales
- Not providing customers with convenience
- Not increasing in-person traffic
- Not leading to instant sales
- Complicating matters with shipping costs
In this way, SEO saves your business—and your customers—money, time, and energy. Everyone benefits, and your business grows. Reach out for a consultation and to find out from a professional SEO specialist how local SEO in Dallas can transform your business.
