According to a Brightlocal Survey, 9 out of 10 people use the internet to find information about a local business. If your business doesn’t have an online local presence, it’s almost as if you don’t exist.
Local businesses need a strong digital footprint that helps them appear in local searches and stay there. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the key to achieving that.
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO is essential in helping businesses enhance their digital presence to attract more leads from relevant local searches. It may not show users the best products or services in the world, but it can show them the best products and services closest to them.
When your business is optimized for local SEO, it is more likely to appear in location — or map-based keyword searches such as “best pizza in Toronto” or “emergency dentist services near me.” This is because Google recognizes the location-specific user intent and generates results based on a trifecta of proximity, relevance, and prominence.
- Proximity: Google serves results that are closest to the user. While you can’t directly control this factor, you can compete with other nearby businesses by optimizing your GBP for local searches. One way to do this is to list the areas you serve in your GBP.
- Relevance: This simply means that Google won’t recommend users a vegan restaurant listing if the search mentions “best steakhouse near me.” This shows that search queries matter—when your GBP description matches the query of the user, your business is more likely to show up in their searches.
- Prominence: An underrated factor, prominence is how Google determines whether your business is worth suggesting to the user. It decides based on what past customers say about your business, whether in the form of comments, reviews, or ratings. For example, Google always shows places with glowing reviews in its searches over poor ones.
So, what does having a successful local SEO strategy entail? Several elements influence local search optimization, but the main ones include:
- Having a complete and accurate Google Business Profile or GBP (formerly Google My Business)
- Using local keywords relevant to the business in your website content and profile
- Having multiple online citations in local directory listings such as Waze, Yelp, or Tripadvisor
- Having good ratings and multiple customer reviews
A mix of these elements can help your business profile snag a spot among Google Maps’ coveted Local Pack, a list of the top three search results. It also helps you perform well organically in local search engine results.
Why Businesses Need Local SEO
1. SEO Makes You More Visible On Google and Online Platforms
With phone books becoming obsolete, search engines like Google and voice assistants (Siri, Alexa) have risen as the new source of information to locate nearby businesses. This means the possibility of a fresh user discovering your business is just a few taps away — if you have a solid SEO strategy in place. SEO helps pluck any business from obscurity and place it in prime real estate space, aka Google’s first page results. It also gives your business a competitive edge.
The good news is that SEO isn’t just limited to search engines. You can get your business in front of a more diverse community by using it on social media platforms. This entails engaging your audience through valuable, keyword-driven content in the form of static posts, reels, TikTok videos, or Facebook pages.
A cross-platform approach driven by local SEO also helps improve local brand visibility and enhance brand awareness. Even though users may not need your services urgently, they’re more likely to notice and bookmark your business for the future after discovering how well within reach it is.
2. Local SEO Will Help You Outrank Big Brands
As a small business, you’re probably wondering how to compete with big-name companies and e-commerce giants with mega marketing budgets. The thing is, you don’t have to. When your SEO strategy is geared toward the local audience, it levels the playing field.
Let’s take the example of a pizza place in a local Toronto neighbourhood that recently optimized its SEO strategy. Its national competitors likely include big chains and outlets such as Domino’s and Pizza Hut, which have their own nationwide SEO tactics. When a person searches for “best pizza near me,” the local pizza place will appear above the national chains in the local map pack. This visibility in local search results drives clicks and calls from nearby customers even if they haven’t heard of the business before.
The bottom line: Implementing SEO may not help local businesses outshine big brands, but they can certainly help you outrank them in your neighbourhood.
3. SEO Helps You Snag A Top Spot On Google’s Local Pack
Appearing on Google’s Local Pack is like hitting the local search jackpot — an endeavor made possible when you use local SEO. The local pack is a framed box of three listings that one sees when they make a local search. It appears even before organic search results and receives 44% clicks from users. This translates to a fresh and instant inflow of potential leads.
The good news is that these leads aren’t just browsing; they have a high intent to make a purchase and are waiting for the right proposition to come along. When leads scan the list of businesses in the local pack, they go through service/product descriptions, website, hours, and reviews before deciding to book an appointment or buying from you. If your SEO tactics are on point, you only make their decision easier.
4. SEO Leads to More In-Store Visits and Calls
Data from Google states that 76% of people who conduct a local smartphone search visit a physical place within the next day. This is because people are always seeking services on the go. They rely on the internet to help them out instead of physically searching for one, whether they need a haircut before an important appointment or want to grab bagels while they’re downtown.
SEO helps your business cross the paths of these “active searchers” at the right time. As a result, queries such as “bagels in downtown Toronto” or “budget hair salons near me” have a high chance of translating into real-world visits or instant calls — often within minutes or hours. SEO also helps get your business more visibility across commonly used navigation sites such as Waze, Google Maps, and Apple Maps.
5. SEO Inspires Higher Trust and Authority in the Community
A major SEO tactic involves encouraging businesses to stack up positive reviews from satisfied customers. This helps build trust among existing and potential local clients through digital word-of-mouth. Reviews give you an instant credibility boost and help position your business as a reliable, go-to vendor in the community.
When your business steadily wins ratings and reviews across online directories like Google, Yelp, Apple Maps, and Bing, you’re more likely to appear in local search results. Local search engine optimization strategies also involve using backlinks, i.e., links from other local businesses or sites that refer to your own. Multiple backlinks signal two key things to search engines:
- Your business is active and the local community engages with it regularly
- Your website is trustworthy and worth recommending to potential customers
6. SEO Leads to Quicker Conversions
Incorporating local SEO into your business marketing strategy can significantly shorten the lead conversion or sales cycle. This means you don’t have to wait to capture, nurture, and convert leads over weeks and months. Local intent is typically urgent, strongly leaning toward purchase. Google confirms that 28% of local searches result in a purchase.
For example, a local user searching for “emergency dental care in Parkdale” isn’t just casually browsing—they need a dental service right now, and are less likely to postpone their search. SEO ensures your website and online profile are optimized to appear in such high-intent search results. It targets a combination of elements such as:
- Keyword-driven local content that matches the user’s search intent
- A clear call-to-action (CTA) that compels the user to take prompt action, e.g., “Call Us for a Dental Emergency Today!”
- A well-structured website with internal linking and easy navigation
- A clean GBP with accurate info and positive customer reviews, prompting the user to call or visit
All these factors go into quickening the conversion rate, i.e., converting mere prospects into definite sales.
SEO is a Low-Cost, High-Impact Strategy
The effectiveness of paid ads is tied to your budget. When your budget ends, paid ads stop generating leads and traffic. However, SEO is a one-time investment that keeps giving. When you consistently apply SEO to your local online presence, it becomes a sustainable tool that keeps generating traffic and conversions.
Besides regular site maintenance, you don’t need to make significant efforts to improve your site’s SEO ranking. Many local marketers have gotten results with their SEO campaigns in just six to 12 months. Small local businesses investing in SEO have reported staggering 400% or more returns.
The magic of SEO doesn’t end there—Google’s data shows that organic search driven by SEO is responsible for more than half of all web traffic. This allows businesses to be more discoverable in local searches without paying through the nose.
Bonus Data: Why Local SEO is Important For Small Businesses
- Local searches are most frequently made on Google Search and Google Maps
- 4 in 5 consumers query search engines while looking for local business information—that’s nearly everyone
- 88% of people who searched for local stores via their phones visited one of those stores within just a week
- The phrase “shopping near me” on Google Maps has doubled in usage over the past year alone
- Nearly half of the people who search for local businesses click on the Google Map Pack—if you’re not there, you’re missing out on half the market.
- “Always” or “Regularly”—this is how often 75% of consumers read online reviews before buying from local businesses.
How Can Local Businesses Improve Their SEO?
SEO is never a one-size-fits-all approach—it needs a bespoke plan put together by SEO experts that caters to your business needs, goals, and audiences. In the meantime, here’s what you can do to bolster your SEO efforts and shine in your community:
Enhance Your Google Business Profile (GBP)
Many small businesses just claim their GBP and stop there. The only way to be seen by high-intent searchers is to infuse it with accurate and updated SEO-driven info, including:
- Your business name, phone number, and address
- A description of the services/products you sell using relevant keywords, for example “We provide commercial construction services, home renovations, and custom builds across Toronto.”
- Accurate business hours, a list of the areas you service, and images of your store, crew, or products
- A collection of positive customer reviews and ratings.
Maximize Relevant Local Keywords
Using general keywords to spotlight your business’ USP is fine, but leveraging locally relevant keywords that call attention to your location is pure gold. Here’s how you can do this in a balanced way:
- Mention the city (and province) you operate in at crucial junctions on your website, such as in the headline of your homepage, the About Us section, or in blog posts about local events. These should appear naturally in your website copy. For example, “Reliable Home Renovation Experts in Toronto, ON.” This helps potential customers and search engines identify your location quickly.
- If you operate in multiple areas, create local landing pages for each service location. Add photos, key information (contact information, address, map), and reviews for each location.
- Combine location-specific information with service-based phrases instead of generic ones. It helps customers and search engines parse both what you do and where you operate. For example, “Modern Landscaping Services for Mississauga Homes.”
Stack Up and Respond To Customer Reviews
Customer reviews do more than make your business appear in local searches. They help inspire trust and build brand credibility that attracts local customers in the long-term. A survey notes that at least seven out of 10 local consumers read and get influenced by reviews while purchasing a product or service.
However, stacking up reviews is not enough to win the local SEO game. To own the space, take it a step further by professionally responding to each review — positive or negative — to reflect an engaged business that cares about its customers.
Courteously thank people for positive reviews and address negative reviews graciously. A steady outpouring of review activity also signals to Google that your profile is active, prompting more visibility in local searches.
Remember That SEO is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
SEO strategy delivers real results, but it takes time. Consistent, small-scale efforts are more effective than overhauling your SEO strategy at once. That said, local business owners may lack the bandwidth or expertise to plan the right SEO strategy and get quantifiable results. If you don’t follow SEO best practices, it can cost you more than doing nothing — or worse, penalize your website from appearing in searches.
The good news is that you can rely on experienced SEO professionals to help you, whether you want to refine your existing strategy or build a plan from scratch. Merged Media has helped hundreds of local businesses get off the ground with expert SEO advice and techniques. If you want to improve your local visibility and grow your business, we’re here to help. Book a strategy call with us today.
