The Power of Search for Local Businesses

I have written about search engine optimization a lot since I started this website and that is only because it is so important to local businesses. Even in a city as small as 50,000 people, your business still needs to be found online.

Search Engine Stats You Should Think About

There is a lot of information online regarding the power of the search engine and how that relates to your business. I am going to break down just a couple of the stats that I read recently and feel should be on the top of your mind when thinking about your business website.

What Stat?Why Its Important…What you Can do…
Top 2 online activities are search and email.This is a bold statement for sure, but should tell you where the priority needs to be for your business.Contact me to learn more about how a simple email newsletter can really help your business. It is affordable and easy to implement and fits any type of business.
50% of searches are more than 4 words.More customers are searching using Google to find “oil change near me”. Your business needs to rank for long tail keywords as well.Long tail keywords like “Oil change in sheboygan county” can get “warmer” customers to your business.
88% of customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.Reviews show customers your business/service has been used by people looking for a similar solution. When the reviews are good, clicks go UP.Keep track of all the places you have reviews online. Keep them all active by sending customers links to leave a review after their experience with your business. A quick email is the perfect way to do this.
Google holds 87% search share on mobile devices.Does your website look good on mobile?An overlooked, but important stat. Optimize your website for mobile and you will see more traffic.
“near me” + “can I buy” mobile searches have gone up 500% since 2015.This shows how much customers are using an Android device to help them find something. Again, optimizing for local, mobile search should be top priority.
Source of stats
search engine marketing for local business

Don’t Forget About Search Engine Marketing

With all of that said, another thing that goes right along with it is Search Engine Marketing. The ads that you see on Google search result pages are there for a reason.

The real estate on search engines is very valuable and if your business can be 1 of the top 2 results, you are going to get 70% of the clicks to your website. A small budget, targeting the keywords that represent your business can be very effective.

In some cases, you can start a campaign for less than $200 per month. As the campaign gets older and you start to see how customers are finding your business, you can optimize your Search Engine Marketing to dial in the target audience and lower your cost per acquisition as well.

How I Can Help

Maybe you already know about Google search terms, blog content or link building, but just needs some ideas. That is a great start and I can help with a quick consultation.

There is so much noise out there and if you know how to create a blog post with your business keywords, but are not sure the best way to promote it, I can help. With a quick 1 hour meeting, we can work out a plan that is affordable (most time free + time to do it) that will work for your business in the long term.

Find out where your business wants to be in 12 months and if search engine traffic, social media traffic or email news letter traffic has anything to do with it, I can help.