So you’ve decided that your business needs SEO, but you have yet to learn what it is, how it works, or how to go about it. Don’t worry! In this blog, I’ll explain what SEO is and why your local business needs it to succeed online.
Almost half of all Google searches(46%) include a location. People are always searching for local products or services daily, so if you’re not utilizing SEO, you’re simply giving business to your local competitors who are.
After reading this guide, you’ll be able to understand SEO clearly and how it can help generate more revenue online for your business!
You shouldn’t invest in SEO without a solid online presence first.
So, let’s jump into it!
Building A Solid Online Presence
Before any SEO talk or getting your business to rank on Google, you need to have a solid online presence so that once you start investing in SEO, you increase your chances of converting your website traffic. So, before investing in SEO, you will need a few things first.
- Verified Google My Business Profile
- Professional Business Website (Mobile Responsive)
- Relevant Social Media Pages (All Uniform)
- Add Your Name, Address, and Phone #(NAP) to local directories
As a busy entrepreneur, this might sound like a lot of work, but it is crucial to succeed online. If you need help getting your business online the right way, contact us! We’d love to help you!
Ready? Let’s get started!
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO or search engine optimization is the practice of “optimizing” your website for Google robots to better understand your website and what your business offers to be more visible in local search results.
How can SEO help your local business?
Any business that has a physical location or serves a geographic area can benefit from local SEO.
By following local SEO best practices, your businesses can improve organic traffic from searches by potential customers near you. For example, if you offer landscaping services in Boston, having a local SEO strategy and content that can help the local searcher come to a conclusion about your services can help you rank at the top when someone searches “landscaping services” in the Boston area, leading to more clicks and leads!
How much does SEO cost?
Today, most SEO companies charge a monthly fee for SEO services. On average, local SEO services can cost between $500 and $2,000 per month.
SEO is a never-ending race because even if you rank first for your service keywords, it will only last until your competitors start investing in SEO.
SEO vs. PPC.
PPC, which you know as Google Ads. PPC is when you pay your way to the top of a specific keyword, and for any click that you get, you pay Google. Paying for the first position is a no-brainer to get your business at the top of the SERPs, right? This one statistic might change your mind. And that is 94% of Google searches don’t click on ads.
So if you were to do PPC, you would either have to run the campaigns yourself, which is taking precision time from what you should be doing as a business owner, or you pay someone or a company to work on those campaigns plus the cost of paying google for the clicks.
SEO takes time to get traction, but most searches look not at the ads but at organic results. With SEO, you either do it yourself, which again takes away what you should do as the owner, or you pay someone or a company.
One of the most significant differences between SEO and PPC is that when you work on your SEO and climb the ranks, you can stay at the top until another website passes you, but then you are still second, which is better than not being there at all and you still have the chance of taking that #1 position again.
On the flip side with PPC, you are not technically climbing to the top or building a ranking, so the moment you pull the plug on PPC, you will disappear from the SERPs unless you are ranking organically.
So here are the pros and cons of SEO vs. PPC
SEO.
Pros – 96% of searches look at the organic traffic, only pay the person or company doing the SEO work, and your ranking stays even after you stop paying for SEO services
Cons – it takes longer for SEO to get results.
PPC.
Pros – pay your way to the top, appear above every other link on the SERP.
Cons – 96% of searches don’t click on Ads. Once you stop paying, you stop showing up; you have to pay Google and someone to run these, which is more expensive.
How long does it take to get results from SEO?
An average SEO can take 4-12 months to see significant results. Many factors can cause SEO to take a long time to see results, the biggest being the level of competition in your industry. As I said before, competitors are constantly working on their SEO, meaning that SEO is a never-ending race to the top.
The second main factor is how hard you want to push your SEO efforts. Like working out, the more you show up and the effort you put in, the better results you’ll see.
The best way to measure a time frame to see results from SEO is by researching your local competition’s SEO efforts. If your competitors aren’t utilizing SEO, that’s a great indicator that you can show up on top in just a few months or even sooner!
Conclusion
Whether you’re a new business owner or a long-time owner, implementing local SEO for your local business is crucial today. If you found this helpful or valuable, please read some of my other content on my website! If you have any questions about SEO or getting your business online, don’t hesitate to reach out!
