Local SEO

Keep your business visible in the local eye By Abigail Thorpe

Studies show 90 percent of purchases take place in physical stores, and 80 percent of disposable income in the U.S. is spent within 20 miles of home. Half of all local searches end in mobile visitors visiting the business location in less than 24 hours. What does this mean? Making sure your business is visible online and your information is correct is vital to success in today’s marketplace.

Four out of five consumers today use search engines to find local business information including hours, address and phone number, and 73 percent of consumers lose trust in a brand that has incorrect information online. The key takeaway? It costs too much to ignore local SEO.

“There are many ways to market your business, everything from print to digital to traditional, and all of these products funnel potential clients and consumers to your online platform—either a website or social media site,” says Steve Russo, executive director of Rocket Fish Digital.

Increasing your business’ search visibility online involves several key parts. “When potential clients or consumers search for your business online, it’s necessary that you be found easily,” says Russo. “In order to be found online, every business needs to employ a good SEO strategy with a focus on local search. Google is the No. 1 search platform and emphasizes local. Good SEO does cost money and is an investment into a company’s future.”

Besides claiming your business listing, it’s important to make sure that your name, address and phone number (NAP) are listed online and correct—data aggregators will pull information from anywhere they can find it, and if there is incorrect information out there, search engines could pull it and display to potential customers, causing you a loss in business. Side note: This information is only crawlable (or accessible to search engines) if it is in HTML code, not an image.

If you have old pages, make sure they successfully redirect to current ones—no one wants to be stuck with old information on a webpage that won’t lead anywhere. The majority of consumers use mobile to access local business searches, so it is key to make sure your website is optimized for mobile.

It’s vital your website is indexable—which means Google and other search engines can find all of the pages on your website. The final step? Manage your online ratings, reviews and content. Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.

Don’t let the details of SEO get you down—if you could use a little assistance getting your business up to date and visible, Rocket Fish Digital can help! Contact us to find the right fit for your business.