We tend to think of search engine optimization (SEO) in very broad terms. It is the nature of business. Yet there are different forms of SEO that focus on certain aspects of the broader discipline. Ecommerce SEO is one of them. So is local SEO. And in terms of local, there are some industries that rely heavily on it.
Think about it. Certain industries, like online retail, do not rely exclusively on a local customer base. Business operators can target customers all over the country if they want to. But there are other industries whose customers live almost entirely in the local area. They are the organizations that need a local SEO company capable of targeting an audience located in the same geographic region.
5 Industries That Rely on Local SEO
Bear in mind that distinguishing between broader and local SEO is not merely semantics. Local SEO is so named because everything about it is focused on the local environment. For a better understanding of what this means, let us take a brief look at five industries that rely heavily on local SEO services:
1. Healthcare
It has been said that all healthcare is local. That is probably not true anymore, given the prevalence of medical tourism and the willingness of some consumers to travel outside of the local region to get better care. But buy a large, most visits to the doctor, clinic, specialist, or hospital take place within the local area.
People search for new primary care physicians close to where they live. When it’s time to see a specialist, they look for one in the same area. Diagnostic testing is done at local clinics.
2. Legal
Like healthcare, most people in need of legal services are not looking for attorneys located on the other side of the country. They want their attorneys to be close by. So while there may be exceptions to the rule, the lion’s share of an attorney’s customer base is going to be made up of local residents.
Attorneys specializing in family law work with local families going through their struggles. Probate attorneys handle local estates. Criminal attorneys represent defendants who live and work in the same general area.
3. Real Estate
Although not all buyers and sellers in the real estate industry live locally, all real estate transactions are local transactions. Therefore, real estate SEO and marketing is more profitable when it is locally focused.
Real estate is especially dependent on local SEO due to the nature of property sales. Buyers want to know what the local area has to offer. Sellers want to emphasize all the perks. It takes someone who understands the local area to truly encapsulate all that it offers potential buyers.
4. Home Services
The home service industry is a locally focused industry by default. Plumbing contractors don’t travel five hundred miles to fix a leaky sink. Carpet installers don’t cover a service area across multiple states. Home services are truly local in every sense of the word.
5. Food Service
Lastly, food service (think restaurants, cafes, and bars) is a heavily localized industry. When hungry diners are looking for a restaurant using their phones, they want something nearby. They are not looking to travel 40 minutes to grab a bite to eat.
On a similar note, most of the hospitality industry would do well to put at least some of their SEO emphasis on reaching the local market. Even something like a national hotel chain needs to play up each local market in which it operates. When push comes to shove, even people booking from out-of-state have an interest in the local area they intend to visit.
Why Hire a Local SEO Company
It is clear that certain industries need local SEO services because their audiences are made up primarily of local residents. But does a company in one of these industries need a locally based SEO provider? Need, no. But hiring a local SEO company is still a good idea.
Searching for ‘local SEO services near me’ means searching for a company whose team members all live and work locally. They understand the area. They understand your customers. You get far better service from a local operator than you can from an SEO provider located hundreds of miles away.
As you know, Utah’s ski industry is significant. People come from all over the world to ski at our resorts. Fortunately, Webtek Digital Marketing has the privilege of working with numerous companies in the local ski scene. We can meet their needs because:
- We have knowledge of the local ski industry.
- We understand what skiers need when they visit.
- We live and work among local skiers who cannot get enough of the sport.
In essence, we understand the local ski market better than an SEO provider in New York City or Los Angeles. Our team members live, work, and play here in Utah. We know what makes the Beehive State tick.
Working Locally Is Easier
Partnering with an SEO service provider who knows the local area as well as a company’s customers do is a huge benefit. But there are other reasons to hire a local firm. At the top of the list is convenience. Working locally is just easier because everyone is on pretty much the same page.
A Salt Lake City SEO provider and its local customers are all on the same clock. They aren’t in separate time zones. All are subject to the same ebbs and flows of the local business cycle. When face-to-face meetings are necessary, they are easier to set up. If documents need to be transferred, they are only being transferred locally.
Some industries rely almost exclusively on local SEO. Is yours one of them? If so, is your business located in Salt Lake City, UT or Austin, TX? Though we serve customers across the country, our local SEO efforts are especially helpful in Utah and Texas. Give us a shout. Let us help make your company more visible to your local audience.
