How often do you enter ‘cupcake store near me’, ‘hairdresser in Richmond’ or ‘restaurant on Smith St open now’? The latest Google data shows that 30% of all mobile searches now include a location and/ or time-based query just like these; AND these types of searches have more than doubled over the past year. 

This growing trend in consumer’s online behaviour presents a huge opportunity for any business with a bricks and mortar location to attract and capture warm leads quickly and easily, which is where Local SEO Marketing comes in! 

What is local SEO and why is it important?

Local SEO is a marketing strategy designed to help your business become more visible in Google’s geographic search results. 

By tapping into the power of Google My Business (GMB), Google Maps and other local listings you can increase the organic reach of your business within its area of operation. This in turn leads to an increase of website traffic, online enquires and engagement, and ultimately in store visits and sales. 

What’s the difference between SEO and local SEO?

Website SEO is an essential and necessary component of any good marketing strategy, designed to improve the ranking and visibility of your website when it comes to search engine results. 

Local SEO works in a similar way but is focussed on improving the rank and visibility of your Google My Business listing for potential or existing customers who are located within, or near that geographic area.

How does local SEO work/ what does it entail?

If you don’t already have a GMB account set up and verified, give us a call right now – this is one of the most important and powerful things you can do for your business today! 

Once set up, ensuring your GMB listing is kept up to date, accurate and regularly updated is one of the easiest ways to help boost Local SEO success. Your basic business description, phone number, email address, website URL are all essential elements, however, adding new images, videos and positive customer reviews will greatly improve the level of trust Google has for your brand and therefore, enhance your Local SEO ranking. 

Linking your social media business accounts to and keeping those regularly updated and up to date will also help. Yes - it’s all connected and used by Google to help determine the relevance and reliability of your business.  

If you have multiple locations or shop fronts, you can customise your offering based on the specific area or audience, which is something that is difficult to do via a single corporate website. Our in-house software will even give you the ability to track and compare performance between stores to help identify what’s working and where there may be gaps or opportunities for further activities. 

Finally, there are many words or phrases people use to search for your business or services. Understanding the most commonly used questions will help you create stronger messaging. For example, it may be more service-based terms like ‘drain blocked’ or ‘fix leaking tap’ rather than just ‘plumber near me’. Adding these key words and phrases into your marketing mix will further assist with Local SEO results. 

There are many other tools and tactics that our expert SEO team can assist with in order to help achieve your specific business objectives – these are just some of the basics. 

How do I know if this strategy is right for my business?

According to Google 78% of people who search for something on their phones will visit the business within a day and 28% result in a purchase.

So, if your business has a physical location or provides good and services to a specific area, you need to be employing local SEO tactics. However, we always employ a strategy first approach at Sentius, and take the time to review and understand your unique business situation, goals and opportunities. 

By conducting and in-depth audit we can assess your current rankings and performance, look at your competitors’ activities and identify the best approach and tactics to achieve your desired outcomes. 

Get in touch to claim your FREE 60-minute strategy consult and advice session. Call 1300 81 81 88 or visit our free consultation page for more info.