With all of the different advertising mediums out there, how is a small business owner to know which ones will offer him or her the greatest benefit? The truth is that there really is no way of knowing. Marketing experts will tell you that a successful advertising campaign hinges on a number of factors, many of which have nothing to do with the actual campaign itself, but more about the way the general public perceives it. However, when it comes to advertising locally, local SEO is still the preferred method for getting the word out about local businesses and bring customers to their front doors.
Here’s why.
Studies have shown what many consumers and business owners already know…more and more people are using devices like tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices to handle their internet search functions. But, here’s where things get a little bit tricky. Mobile devices don’t look things up in the same manner as your laptop or desktop computer. Instead, in order to operate more efficiently, mobile technology utilizes a different browser format to perform basic search functions. While the end results are much the same, search engine companies quickly began to realize that they could use the differences in mobile browsers to create more value for their users.
Search engine companies like Google, Bing, Yahoo! And others were quick to realize that mobile devices, unlike desktop and laptop browsers, have the ability to utilize GPS technology when performing searches. In the past, this GPS functionality was reserved specifically for tracking the whereabouts of the device in particular as well as provide functionality to navigation apps in order to help you get the turn by turn directions you need. However, it could also be used during internet searches to provide additional information about search results such as where a business is located. Further development of mobile browser technology now enables users to perform a keyword search and be provided a list of local businesses that offer the goods or services the user is looking for, their hours of operation, directions to their location, links to their websites and so much more, making mobile browsing a boon for local businesses. Because of this additional GPS functionality, local businesses no longer had to work so hard to compete against global websites in order to find customers and it leveled the playing field for local businesses that may not have had an opportunity to establish an online presence as they could simply employ some standard local SEO techniques and still have their physical businesses show up on online searches when relevant keywords are being used.
So, as a small business owner, performing local SEO is one of the most important things you can do to promote your business and bring in new customers. Many techniques are easy to perform and don’t require the use of highly qualified marketing personnel to employ. And, the return on your investment will be much greater than any other marketing strategy you can launch. There is simply no better way to promote your business.
