General search engine optimization (SEO) is a broad-based discipline designed to ensure that websites and individual pages perform well on the major search engines. Local SEO is similar, yet distinct in that it focuses heavily on local search. As a leading provider of SEO in Salt Lake City, UT, we specialize in getting local companies noticed.
Is local SEO important to your organization? If you are not sure how to answer, step back and assess how much your business relies on local customers. Any business operating out of a brick-and-mortar location absolutely must have a strong local customer base. Online businesses are a mixed bag.
Searching for Things ‘Near Me’
A good indicator of the importance of local SEO for your organization is whether people would want to find your website when searching for things ‘near me. If you are not sure what that means, run a simple test yourself. Grab your phone and search ‘family doctors near me.
Within seconds you will see a long list of results that include physician names, addresses, phone numbers, and websites. They will all have one thing in common: they will be within a reasonable distance of your current location. That is how local search works.
Some searches do not even require the phrase ‘near me’ to turn up mainly local results. Try searching for pizza shops in general. You are not likely to find the results dominated by nationwide chains. Instead, any national chains that do show up will be interspersed with local pizza shops very near your current location.
Most Businesses Start Locally
We have been offering SEO services in Utah and beyond for many years. During our time in this industry, it has been our experience that most businesses start locally. Even those that eventually branch out to regional, national and global sales get started by catering to local customers. That kind of strategy makes local SEO even more important.
Your organization is competing with at least a few others at the local level. If you want to succeed locally, you have to target local customers with SEO strategies designed to get their attention. Focusing only on a regional or national audience isn’t going to get it done. While you are casting your net far and wide, your competition is homing in on the very customers you should be relying on to build your business.
How Local SEO Works
Local SEO is not complicated if you understand general SEO principles. Not all the marketing companies in Utah understand this. Be that as it may, local search is one of the things we specialize in at Webtek Digital Marketing. We know how to apply white hat SEO principles to improve local search across the board.
A successful approach involves multiple components, beginning with researching and implementing a keyword strategy based on how local customers might search for your organization. For example, one of the most important local keywords for our company in Salt Lake City for the simple fact that this is where we are located.
Local SEO also utilizes business directories, online business listings, local citations, My Google Business profiles, and more. It involves soliciting and responding to customer reviews. Local SEO even involves an active presence on social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram.
Is local SEO important to your organization? Only you can answer that. If you are looking for local SEO services in Salt Lake City, other parts of Utah, or even another state entirely, Webtek Digital Marketing can help. Contact either our Salt Lake City or Austin, TX office for more information.
