The Importance of SEO for Local Businesses
The Internet is an incredible invention, one that has allowed people from around the world to connect with one another. It also gives users access to a wide variety of information. Businesses have been transformed as well. There are billions of people that use the Internet, and as time goes on, it is expected that nearly everyone across the globe will log on to the Internet at some point.
Search engines are heavily used online. There are hundreds of millions of websites on the Internet; therefore, search engines exist to help users find what they are looking for. There are a number of search engines, including Yahoo and Google. Typically, these search engines display about 10 results for a search on each page of the results. Users tend to stick with the first page of results, rarely looking beyond that to find what they need.
Ten results is not a lot, especially given how many websites exist. Therefore, a business that wants to be profitable and find new customers online has to get a high rank on the search results when it comes to keywords that are related to what they do. Pay per click advertising is one way to get traffic, but this method is notoriously expensive. As a result, businesses need to come up with other ways to draw in potential customers.
An Overview Of Search Engine Optimization
There are more than 200 factors that Google takes into account when they categorize web pages. If a business wants to get a high rank on their website, they need to try and target these factors. If they are able to do so effectively, they can get quite a bit of traffic coming in from the search engines, which should make their business more successful.
SEO has to do with knowing what factors the search engines are looking for and being able to effectively manage them in order to get a higher website ranking.
Search engines do not, however, release the algorithms that they utilize when figuring out the rankings. Therefore, it is a little bit of a trial and error process when trying to figure out which factors are the most important when it comes to rankings.
Most people have a smartphone on their person as they go about their daily tasks. In fact, studies indicate that more than half of all adults in the United States have one of these devices, and more are getting them every day. What this means is that a large portion of the population has constant access to the Internet, no matter where they are.
In addition, the vast majority of consumers go on the Internet to research before they buy something. They also look up information; around 90 percent of people with a smartphone look up the address or phone number of a business they are going to visit. In addition, 60 percent of the time, a local search translates into a purchase. Therefore, local businesses need a website, they need to be active and they can generate business for themselves.
Years ago, there was no need for a local business to have a strong online presence. They did not need to utilize search engine optimization tactics; it was better to invest in other marketing strategies. However, in order to be successful in today’s world, that has all changed. Consumers go online and they use search engines. If they can’t find a particular business on the Internet, they are simply going to move on and patronize a business they can find.