As the owner of Dragon’s Eye Consulting, I am able to confidently say that one of the most important things that we help small businesses with is the focus on their local SEO, Search Engine Optimization. There is not a day that goes by without search engines like Google and Bing getting more traffic from people trying to find businesses and services. Right now more than ever it’s crucial for small businesses to have a strong online presence. Let’s look at the reasons why local SEO should be a top priority for your small businesses.

Increased Visibility

When the search starts for a product or service, platforms such as Google operate on a variety of factors to determine how to display the results. When you are using local SEO best practices this tells search engines who those companies are and what they offer. The better you are at this than your competition the greater the opportunity for your businesses to increase their visibility in the search engine results pages (SERPs). This is controlled by optimizing your website, content, and overall online presence for local searches. by using relevant keywords and phrases, and for local SEO this must include location information in the body of the content. Ensuring accurate information on all online directories, small businesses like yours can appear at the top of local search results and in turn, increase your visibility to potential customers.

Targeted Traffic

What’s the difference?  I hear from business owners all the time that they just want more traffic to their websites. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have a high volume of traffic to your website but, hear me out, is it not better to have targeted traffic to the correct page on your website showing them exactly what they were looking for in the search engine? This traffic is the traffic that is more likely to convert into customers. When your focus is on local (like the Niagara Region) SEO this allows your businesses to target potential customers who are already actively looking for the products and/or services in your local area. So start optimizing your website and content for local keywords, these small changes in your keywords will have a big impact on your businesses so that you can attract more targeted traffic and increase your chances of converting that online traffic into paying customers.

Increased Credibility

When your business shows up on page one, you have a fighting chance to convert that click into a customer. But, that’s only part of the process.   You need to support it by having a strong online presence so you are increasing the credibility of your local businesses in the eyes of your potential customer. When a small business appears at the top of local search results, it signals to potential customers that they are a reputable business with a strong online presence. In addition, you need to ensure accurate and consistent information on all of the online directories, social platforms and review sites. This will help build trust with the potential customer and increase the likelihood of them converting to a customer in fewer touch points.

Competitive Advantage

In Niagara’s search results, small businesses have the ability to have a competitive advantage over larger businesses, as they may not be hyper-focused on their local presence as they have a much broader focus in mind. You can use this to your advantage by optimizing for local keywords and making sure your online information is accurate on all online directories so that your small businesses really can compete when going after the same customer dollar in your local market. In addition, your small business is unique in its understanding of the local market dynamics and using that can really leverage local SEO to differentiate you

So is SEO important?  Yes!  Is local  SEO important?  Absolutely!  It is 100% essential for all small businesses who want to increase online visibility, attract more targeted and pre-qualified traffic, build local credibility, and gain a competitive advantage against larger corporations. I will link some amazing resources below that my team uses for staying up to date on the ever-changing world of SEO, so check them out or reach out to Dragon’s Eye Consulting to explore how our team of experts can handle your Niagara SEO.

Moz Local, BrightLocal, and Search Engine Land.

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