Internet Marketing and the Importance of Local SEO for Small Business

Want more local business? Then you need local SEO marketing services.

So you're reading this and you own a small or midsize local business. And you need more traffic to your business. Your market is X miles from your front door, and you want people to purchase your product or service. That is the most common reason people turn to internet marketing and SEO or SEM aka Pay Per Click as a natural step.

You're saying to yourself “I have heard so many sales people tell me it works” but you say to yourself “I CAN NOT SEE THE WORK”, so how do you know you’re paying the internet marketing agency to do the proper work?

SIMPLE ANSWER: SEO and PPC management is hocus pocus, and you just need to trust……or make them show live active clients, less than 6 months old, to show the results of many active clients.

Should they not hesitate and want to educate you on the plan, show how they do the work, and have a proven record of success (such as reviews from past and current clients), that would be a strong first step in creating trust.

Does a local SEO marketing company need to be local?

A local SEO marketing company can be anywhere across the United States. You should not require them to be local in your city. It’s a true bonus if they are near you but it’s definitely not required. The better they are at getting their own business found through their own digital marketing, it’s likely the better they’ll be able to do for you in comparison with other local agencies who don’t have a strong online presence. You should only care that the work they do gets you to the top pages of search engines for your local business on the Internet.

Simple Exercise in Using SEO Marketing:

Type in the Google search bar SEO packages for small businesses as an example:

• Who was on page 1?
• If they are on page 1 how did they get there?
• If they did that for their company, don't you think they could do it for you?
• Where are they located?
• Are they close to you?

Think about it…..They are very close right now!

They are right in front of you for what you wanted to find when searching SEO packages for small businesses, right?

OK pick up the phone and call them, or send them an email, or take advantage of anything they are giving away for free.

Next step if the website speaks to you, you need to reach out to them. If they have an offer for a website consultation or assessment you must take advantage of it. I will bet they could do a video conference, and make sure they record it and send you a copy of what they promised you. Should you decide to work with them after years, you’ll have a library of information to learn proper local SEO marketing and how you went from not being on the top pages of Google to now being found.

Then ultimately you will have more people contacting you for your products or services all from this blog that makes you look at things a little differently from a marketing point of view.

Questions about Local SEO Marketing

Q. Do you know what percentage of businesses are online?

A. According to a study by B2B research firm Clutch.co: Less than two-thirds, that’s 64 percent of small businesses have a website. We know that by 2020 95% of small local business websites will be mobile friendly. The question you have to ask yourself is “is our website able to talk to the Google algorithms so my company is on page one of Google using white hat SEO work?”.

Q. What percentage of searches are local?

A. According to the Pew Research Center, 91% of adults use search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing to find information. The breakdown consists of mostly young, college-educated people.

Q. With Google being the biggest, how many Google searches are local?

A. Close to 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information. A SEO campaign is a must for local businesses. A strong local SEO strategy is key to driving more people to your business, whether you have one physical business or hundreds, like a hotel chain.

97% of consumers will go on the internet to find a local business in their area like a movie theater, CPA, attorney, restaurant, towing service, or any service you can think of.

Have you looked for one of them lately? If so, did you use your cell phone because 82% of searchers use their mobile device when looking up local businesses.

Source: StatCounter Global Stats - Platform Comparison Market Share

How successful are you connecting with people who have no idea your business exists?

Do you hear “I never knew you were here and I went online and found your company” If this interaction is rare you are truly missing out on the benefits from proper local SEO strategies that will increase your business and build a younger client base as well.

1. Stand Up
2. Look around
3. Get the Yellow Pages
4. OK turn to ………

Hey, we have some news for you, the Yellow Pages is out and online search engines are in—which truly means you need a targeted local SEO strategy to get found by your new clients, or customers that are looking on the internet for your companies products or services.

Shhhhhhhh here is a secret, people are now using voice search, don’t tell your competition…or, have they not told you? Many people are now searching with serious intent with Alexa, Google Home, Siri and Bixby. In other words, people using voice search are not even typing anymore on their phones but using voice commands.

NOW what should you do? Simply call a digital marketing company like Agency Jet or search “SEO packages for small businesses”.

Let’s be very clear about one simple fact as of 2020: more than 50% of all the collective searches have local intent. Why is that important to your business? The better your SEO organic ranking the more visitors will come to your website.

If your website converts well you will get more calls, orders, leads, visits to your business….simply more more more….do you want more? Can you handle more? If you said yes and you have a person or a company doing SEO marketing and you feel you need a third party to look at the current work, reach out to the top companies being found for local SEO searches. If they can do it for their company, they should be able to help yours.

The math is simple, the better your rankings online, the more visits to your website from people who have no idea who you are. That will create more leads, and more orders.

You can trust Agency Jet as your local SEO marketing agency. Agency Jet has helped individuals, small, and large companies improve their online presence and image online with proper local SEO that will help your company have an internet presence.

Summary about local SEO marketing expectations

A proper local SEO marketing goal is very simple and clear when hiring the right agency. Here’s what you should be expecting when hiring an agency.

• Activities will result in higher rankings
• Your company shows up organically
• You rank on geographically related searches
• You get mapped when available
• Your online visibility for all your physical locations should increase
• Traffic will be driven to your website
• More qualified calls, inquiries, and leads will materialize
• If you have an ecommerce site, more orders should take place
• You’ll outrank your competitors online

The example above is for Agency Jet, an SEO provider in Minneapolis, MN. As you can see the results are organic on page 1 while being mapped as well.

A successful local SEO marketing campaign is imperative for businesses looking to drive leads, sales, and building a brand from neighboring competition in the area.

Ever done an assessment of your website? Ours is free.

Referencing the previous information in this article, it’s the modern day Yellow Pages. It’s simple, and I’m speaking to those owners or people 50 plus years old. The calls you get from trade shows, newspaper ads, and the Yellow Pages are no longer important as leads have started to dissipate (or become non-existent). With proper local SEO marketing you will be able to generate more calls and online contact forms from your website.

When looking for a local SEO marketing company, you may want a complete SEO package for your small business and we at Agency Jet are here to help you.

Author: Darrin Gerr, Agency Jet Owner

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