Local SEO Has Replaced the Phone Book is Your Business Ready?

As little as five years ago, if you had an issue, wanted to find somewhere new to eat, or wanted to know what there was to do in town, you would pull out the old phone book and turn the pages until you found what you were looking for. Now, all anyone has to do is pull out their phone or tablet and search for exactly what they want, and they’ll immediately see local businesses who have it. The problem for you is that it takes a little effort to make sure you are seen by the masses that are searching for what you offer.

Don’t believe that there are loads of people passing you by? Here are some stats.

• Google has about 1 Trillion (with a T) searches done on their site annually.
• 50% of those are on mobile devices (think cell phones and iPads).
• 50% of mobile searches are done to find something local!
• 70% of people who do a mobile search will call or even visit places from their search within one hour!

Seeing the Picture Now?

Hopefully, you are now aware of the gravity of the situation and are wondering how to start. First, we’ll start out with the bad news. There are over 200 factors that Google uses to rank a webpage for a given term. Don’t let that stop you from moving forward with your online focus because there are a few things that can make a huge impact. These can help you get eyes on your products or services and increase revenue.

Web Design

Just because you created a website for your business a decade ago doesn’t mean you finished your internet homework. Back then, all you needed was a couple words on a page and you were ahead of the game. Now you need a website that is friendly to all of these small devices that will be viewing them. It’s called responsive design, meaning that your site will adapt to the screen that it is on. That, along with great, compelling content, will put you right back on top.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO is the process of making the pages of your site look as good as possible to Google and other search engines. Like we said earlier, there are a lot of things they look at so you may want to get a pro to help you out.

Pay Per Click

If you have the right products and services at the right price, then you can pay to bring those eyeballs right to your door. A good solid PPC campaign can have excellent results for your business. Even the social media networks allow ads that can bring potential clients to you for pennies apiece.

Do Something!

Now that you have had a little crash course, you should begin the next step of your local SEO journey. Improve your site, get an ad, and write great content, and you’ll be well on your way to utilizing local SEO for your company and increasing your business a great deal.