7 Reasons Why Small Businesses Should Invest in Local SEO

As a small local business owner, you might think that investing time and money to enhance your online search visibility isn’t necessary, especially when you’re competing against big brands within your niche. No matter what, people will prefer them over your business due to their established position and credibility. 

This might be true in the case of national or international SEO, but local SEO operates differently. 

Whether you operate a physical store or cater to a specific geographic area online, local SEO helps you connect more effectively with individuals in your locality.

Picture a potential customer walking through your area, phone in hand, eager to find something your small local business offers. With just a few taps, a list of local businesses — including yours — will appear before them. 

This is the essence of local SEO, a strategic approach to elevate local search rankings and link your business with the customers who matter most. 

Here are some interesting stats:

• Over 90% of online searches are conducted by people looking for a local business.
• 88% of individuals searching for a local business will either call or visit that business within 24 hours. 
• 58% of American adults use voice search to locate a local business. 

So if your business doesn’t secure a position in the local search pack, you are missing out on significant growth prospects. 

Let’s dive in and explore why investing in local SEO for small businesses is no longer optional.

Benefits of Local SEO for Your Small Business

Implementing local SEO for your small business can offer a ton of benefits. Here are some prominent ones that will lead you to success and long-term growth.

It Increases Your Business Visibility on Google Maps & SERPs

Did you know that 86% of individuals utilize Google Maps to find information about nearby businesses, and 42% of local searches lead to clicks on the Google 3-Pack? 

This indicates that enhancing your visibility on Google Maps (by utilizing local SEO) is beneficial for your small business.

Google has stated that searches for “shopping near me” on Google Maps have surged by over 100% annually. 

All these statistics imply that a well-optimized business can turn more searchers into customers, which is your ultimate objective. However, it is also crucial to raise awareness about your business among people in your locality. 

With local SEO, when someone searches for your type of business in the area, your business name and details are placed right in front of them. Even if they do not select your business at that moment, they will become aware of it and may choose you in the future.

If you proceed strategically and implement the right local SEO techniques, you can even position your small business above the competitors that have been there for decades. 

[Also Read: How to Dominate Local Map Pack Rankings?]

It Helps Attract More In-store Foot Traffic

Enhanced local visibility can contribute to increased foot traffic at your physical location, whether you’re a cafe, dry cleaner, or hardware store. When people search for products or services “near me”, they’re usually ready to take action. 

Local SEO ensures your business shows up when it happens, right on Google Maps, local packs, and search results. It increases the number of visitors in your physical space and might result in more sales.

A study showed that 78% of these local searchers make purchases locally (both online and offline).

This suggests that a well-optimized Google Business Profile (GBP), along with other local SEO elements, will enhance your odds of ranking in the Google Map Pack, thereby increasing foot traffic to your store. Read our local SEO guide to learn how to claim and optimize GBP for your business.

It Boosts Business Credibility & Authority

Achieving high rankings on search engines indicates to users that your brand is trustworthy enough to gain the confidence of search engines. Additionally, seeing your business website on the first page of search engine results pages (SERPs) fosters a sense of trust among your target audience.

Beyond building credibility, local SEO enables you to position yourself as an expert in the industry. The more individuals find your content, the more they perceive you as an authority within your niche. Both aspects are vital for fostering a successful business.

Moreover, this enhanced credibility and authority will help you achieve dominance over your market competitors and outperform them.

It Helps Generates More Sales

The majority of local SEO advantages have a cumulative effect, especially the benefits that come from high-quality traffic. High-quality traffic leads to quality leads, which ultimately results in increased sales.

This benefit of local SEO for your small business is the most substantial, as it decreases your customer acquisition expenses.

Since the main objective of local SEO is to improve your business’s visibility to your target audience, achieving high rankings means you will connect with more individuals interested in your products or services. 

What’s more?

If you execute your local SEO strategy effectively, you could even secure the featured snippet, referred to as position zero. This ranking usually appears as the first organic result following ads and occupies the upper fold of the SERP.

Reaching the top of SERPs allows you to capture approximately 27.6% of all clicks on the top page, meaning you get the majority of traffic. This also translates to more sales opportunities.

It Elevates Brand Awareness in the Industry

One of the key advantages of local SEO — especially for small businesses — is its ability to enhance brand awareness within your target market. Brand awareness refers to how easily your audience can recognize and recall your business. The more familiar people are with your brand, the more they will trust and engage with it

Local SEO helps strengthen this recognition by putting your business in front of the right people at the right time. Strategies like geo-targeting, location-specific keywords, and tailored content allow you to directly address the needs and interests of your local audience. 

When you consistently publish high-quality, relevant content optimized for local search, your visibility improves — and so does your brand awareness.

The result? 

Local SEO ensures your brand stays top-of-mind for potential customers, making them choose you when it counts.

It Offers Your Business a Competitive Edge

Although SEO and digital marketing have become significantly more competitive in recent years, local SEO has not yet followed this trend. If your SEO results have stagnated despite your efforts, consider utilizing local search to bridge that gap.

One reason for the limited competition is the emerging technologies that are shaping local SEO. Platforms like Google Maps, Waze, Yelp, online reviews, and voice search are relatively new and not widely adopted by small businesses.

However, this is changing rapidly. Google Maps is widely used as a navigation tool, offering extensive information and the chance to interact with or message a business directly. The same is true for Yelp and Waze.

Voice search is becoming increasingly popular, especially with devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home. Users increasingly rely on these devices and voice-activated searches to find the nearest locations and local businesses.

Almost 58% of businesses don’t prioritize local SEO, and many of your competitors may not yet recognize the potential of these new technologies. By engaging in local SEO before they do, you can secure a significant competitive advantage while they work to catch up.

[Also Reads: Case Examples: Local SEO Wins for SMBs]

It is Cost-effective and Offers High ROI

Above all else, local SEO stands out as a budget-friendly option. Compared to other marketing methods, it is the most straightforward and economical way to promote your small business. 

Though it may take longer to achieve sustainable outcomes, when implemented the right way, the results will yield the highest return on investment (ROI).

One primary reason local SEO continues to be a powerful marketing tool for businesses is its impressive ROI. Social media advertising or pay-per-click (PPC) can effectively reach audiences but come at a higher cost than SEO. 

By collaborating with a professional local SEO agency like RankandScale, you can achieve greater ROI, more sales, and sustained business growth.

How Local SEO Helps in Scalable & Sustainable Business Growth?

Investing in local SEO lays the groundwork for long-lasting business growth and success. As consumer search behavior is changing, a strong local SEO approach enables businesses to maintain their visibility and competitiveness in local markets. 

Strategies such as optimizing for mobile, actively engaging with the community, and partnerships with influencers and bloggers are scalable, making them beneficial even as a business expands.

Local SEO helps build a loyal customer base by positioning a brand as a trusted resource within the community. By continually refining and updating local SEO methods, businesses can remain relevant, gain a competitive edge, and pave the way for sustainable business growth. 

[Also Read: Tracking Local SEO Performance: Metrics, Tools & Continuous Improvement]