When it comes to online advertising, local SEO is a necessary strategy for all small businesses that want to target their area. Electricians, handymen, plumbers and more, these types of companies should be able to reach their areas with their marketing message.

The problem arises when they do not understand the difference between local network marketing and internet marketing in general. This can lead to a waste of time, effort and money. Let’s review local SEO marketing and what it can do for small businesses.

What is local SEO?

SEO means search engine optimization. This is the case when a company takes steps to bring their website and pages to the top of search results, like Google, so when people search about their services / products, their website is what they find. As you can imagine, this is a very powerful form of marketing.

Local SEO is basically the same concept, but on a more local level as the name suggests. For example, if someone is looking for “the best chiropractor,” they will find Los Angeles chiropractors. This is why keywords like this are very valuable and sought after by local companies looking to expand their marketing reach.

Why is local SEO so important for small businesses?

Unlike purely internet businesses, traditional local businesses have several shortcomings that need to be overcome in order to be successful. This includes much higher costs and, of course, the need to target people in your local area.

According to Forbes, 91% of people who own mobile devices have used their device to search for local businesses. Outside of that percentage, 61% actually made phone calls, while an incredible 59% visited the company in person. As you can guess, being able to take advantage of such amazing statistics is a big advantage for local businesses.

Another surprising statistic, provided this time by SearchEngineWatch, is the fact that 70% of people who use mobile devices will use the “click to call” feature directly from Google. This means that people search and immediately call the local company they find.

Your Positioning in SERP

“SERPs” refers to search engine result pages that are displayed when someone searches. Of course, being on the cover is best, but these days there is a better position known as the “3-Pack.” A lot of money is earned here.

Being a part of the 3-Pack has its advantages, of course. According to Moz, 44% of those who search locally via Google will click on one of the companies in the 3-Package. Conversely, only 8% load more results and scroll down to see the other companies listed on the first page. This causes entering the 3Packaging quite an important job.

Improving your ranking

As any digital marketing agency will tell you, your positioning in the SERPs is very important and, of course, getting into the 3-Pack is your ultimate goal. The first step you need to take is to make sure your physical address is updated for all the online directories you are involved with, especially Google My Business. If your address is wrong, it won’t show up anywhere when a potential person is looking for a type of job in your area.

Local SEO: it’s impact on Small Businesses

When you’re sure your address is updated in directories, you should focus on three factors:

. Merchant trade name

⦁ Address

⦁ Phone number

All three are critical for search engines to rank and help potential customers find your business.

In fact, if this information is not consistent across all directories, it can sabotage your efforts to access the 3-Pack. The good news is that there are services and software that can make updating your data faster and easier on all platforms. In many cases, you can even have your digital marketing agency have it done.