The world of search engine optimization can seem like a fairly complicated and confusing place. Unlike the pay-per click advertising, some find it hard to understand how and why SEO can have such a massive impact on a given company’s success.
Regardless, the numbers simply do not lie and as the world continues to shift online, there is very little doubt that SEO will only continue to become a more important aspect of success in a many number of markets and industries.
But what about local SEO? Is there a difference between general search engine optimization and trying to optimize your business’ site and pages in a local market? The answer, quite simply, is yes!
Local SEO is become more and more important to success and here are some major statistics and reasons why.
Let’s get started!
Google Searches
Think about how you search for a company in your area? Whether you are looking for a car mechanic, a restaurant or a concert, your search will likely go like this.
“Italian restaurant near me.”
Or …
“Italian restaurant Los Angeles.”
Either way, the Italian restaurant with the best local SEO is likely going to end up very high up on the list in your Google search. In fact, 46 percent of all Google searches are looking for location-specific information!
Learning about new companies
There is little doubt that people who are looking for a specific type of company are typically looking for open in their area. In fact, a whopping 97 percent of people learn more about la given local company than anywhere else. With that wealth of knowledge, it is important to make sure that you are benefiting from local SEO.
The power of smartphones
You very likely know about the way that iPhones, Androids and other smart phones have impacted our daily life. One of the greatest way that they have done so is within the world of commerce. That being said, the raw numbers on how they operate alongside local SEO is pretty amazing.
Already, 88 percent of searching for local businesses on a mobile device lead to a major lead in the form of either a call or an in-person visit within 24 hours.
18 percent of local smart phone searches lead to a purchase within a day. Adversely, only seven percent of non-local searches lead to a sale.
On top of that, 78 percent of location-based mobile searches result in an offline sale. That means that even if a local search does not directly lead to an online purchase, it can very likely lead to an offline one.
Finally, it is predicted that by 2021, mobile devices will influence more than $1.4 trillion in local sales. Look, it’s pretty likely that a huge amount of that is not going to go to your business, but even a fraction of a fraction of a percent will certainly make a massive impact on your business.
There are certainly a lot more facts about local SEO, but these are probably the most impactful when it comes to why you should seriously consider increasing your focus on it.
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