National companies can struggle with brand perception in local markets when a lack of community-specific information frustrates potential customers and creates a preference for hometown competitors.
To address this, companies need to improve their presence by creating locally-focused content and making business information easily accessible. This optimization gives you a boost at the community level by helping you show up for local search terms.
Local SEO meets people where they are
Local SEO helps companies appear for locally-focused searches like “vegan restaurant ann arbor,” and “grocery store near me.” When you consider that 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information, it’s easy to see how optimizing for local search can drive more qualified traffic and leads. In fact, 88% of searches for local businesses on a mobile device either call or visit the business within 24 hours, according to Nectafy.
This local visibility is especially important for national companies, who face stiff competition from regional competitors. Large businesses often rely on brand recognition alone to appeal to their audience, but that type of high-level messaging can fail to connect within a local market. When national brands underestimate the need for their online content to be tailored to specific communities, they miss the opportunity to rank organically in location-based searches. To be visible online, you need to make sure that information about individual locations is accurate, accessible, and tailored to each community.
Read about optimization for multi-location businesses here.
Successfully optimizing for local searches
Pure Visibility was approached by one of the United States’ largest childcare providers with a goal to increase enrollment in local markets. Although we had previously helped the company improve their overall corporate digital visibility with paid search and SEO, they now needed to shift their focus to the local level and improve brand perception against hometown competitors. Parents were finding it difficult to find information on centers in their area, indicating a clear need for local SEO.
Our SEO experts decided to use a combination of tactics to help our client better appeal to parents at the community level. We began by optimizing center-specific information on the corporate website to boost its visibility and help drive more qualified traffic. At the same time, we worked on creating listings for each center in locally-focused online directories, such as Google Business Profile and Yelp. By providing accurate and up-to-date information on each location, we increased its likelihood of appearing in local searches and showing up where people already are.
Our client saw increased conversions and better ROI after incorporating a local search strategy. The website saw 47% more traffic to location specific pages, as well as a 50% increase in web form leads.
Drive more qualified traffic and leads with local SEO
National companies can’t rely solely on the strength of their brand to succeed in local markets. By making local information easily accessible and optimizing your content, you can become more visible for locally-focused searches and drive your potential customers toward conversion.
Is your website optimized for local search? Contact us to learn about options for local SEO optimization and our SEO Upgrade plans.
