Ignoring Local SEO Now Could Mean Regretting It Later
I have started and operated numerous small businesses over the last 30 years. If there is one thing about business that drives me crazy, it is regret. I either do something, or fail to, and wind up with future regrets. It’s not good. Take the prospect of investing time and money in local SEO. Ignoring it now could mean regretting it later.
I began pondering this particular idea after searching for SEO services near me. The goal for my search was to find a Salt Lake City provider capable of helping me grow my business among a local audience. I wanted a local provider because of the convenience. But then it dawned on me that a provider like Webtek Digital Marketing probably knows my audience better than an SEO company on the other side of the country.
A More Focused Approach
Local SEO was on my radar on that particular day because I came to realize that it’s a more focused approach to reaching my target audience. General SEO is fine, but it takes a broader approach to reaching audiences. My business is hyperlocal. I am not attempting to bring in customers from neighboring states. I am not targeting the entire country.
The intent to maintain a more focused local approach is partly what motivated me to search for SEO services near me. Yet a bigger part of my motivation was to keep my own business relationships local as much as possible. I believe in local business. I believe in supporting businesses in my own community before spending my money elsewhere.
The Effect of a Local Approach
You might be skeptical about the net effect of taking a local approach to doing business. I get it. But consider the annual Small Business Saturday observance that follows Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In 2023, Small Business Saturday was observed on November 25.
According to the American Express 2023 Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, consumers spent an estimated $17 billion at local businesses on that day. While the number certainly is impressive, it is not what sticks out to me most. Here is what does: 61% of survey respondents reported finding a small business or local restaurant they plan to return to, possibly becoming a regular customer.
The survey discusses a few more details that all point to the reality that Small Business Saturday drives home just how important small businesses are to local communities. Once consumers participate in the annual observance, they become more aware of local businesses and are more committed to patronizing them.
Competing With Global Brands
I suppose the big question is why small businesses ignore local SEO. I cannot speak for all of them, but I do know that some businesses mistakenly believe they cannot compete with global brands. They feel it is not even worth trying. So instead, they would rather spend their marketing budgets on other things.
Such thinking is understandable. However, there are highly effective ways to compete with global brands by focusing on hyperlocal SEO. For example, there is no point in competing with global brands for the most coveted keywords in a given industry. But there are locally oriented keywords that global brands do not pay any attention to. These are veritable goldmines for local businesses.
Searching for SEO services near me revealed a number of service providers, including the previously mentioned Webtek Digital Marketing. I invested in local SEO and am now reaping the benefits of that decision. Fortunately, this is one business decision unlikely to lead to regret ten years from now. I have seen the opportunity and taken advantage of it.
