Is Your Business Making this Expensive SEO Mistake?

Sometimes marketing mistakes are not about what you’re doing wrong, but rather what you’re not doing.

If your business has a local component to it, meaning your sales are not 100% online and you offer some kind of products or services to customers in your local area, you need to be focusing on local SEO . Businesses lose billions of dollars every year by ignoring this crucial aspect of search engine optimization.

Have you ever noticed that if you’re on your phone while you’re out running errands and you search for “coffee shops near me”, you’ll often see a lot of local places on the map, but not many of the big chains you might normally expect in your search results?

That’s not a coincidence— Google’s algorithm prioritizes local results when people search on mobile devices, but most companies with more than one branch (and especially nationwide chains) don’t prioritize local SEO for their individual locations.

This is where your business can take advantage of their expensive mistake. If you make local SEO a priority, Google will make your business a priority when customers are searching via their phones.

How to Increase Your Local Visibility

If you want to make changes to your local SEO strategy , here are three great places to start:

1. Your website. Optimize your site for keywords favoring local intent. This could mean including your location in certain keywords, but also addressing the specific problems that local customers might have. For example, if one of your target keywords includes “organic skincare”, you might also consider keywords including “dry skin” or “chronic acne” when addressing potential customer pain points.
2. Your Google Business Profile. It’s important to add local keywords to your business description, as well as making sure that your address, phone number, and other location information in your profile is accurate. This will help Google understand where you are, and match your listing to relevant searches.
3. Your social media channels. Use your social platforms to engage with people in your local area, especially responding to comments in a timely matter. If any comments are critical, be sure not only to respond promptly, but to keep your responses professional and productive. You can also join groups or forums in your area to grow an even larger local audience, by helping others in the group and sharing your expertise where appropriate.

As we start to head into the holiday season, local search will become even more important. If you’re already overwhelmed with your marketing prep list for the holidays, our team can help — contact us for a free consultation , and we’ll help you get the ball rolling in the right direction to finish 2024 stronger than ever!

COGO Interactive is an award-winning digital marketing agency specializing in online marketing strategy , web design , SEO and social media marketing . We work with clients in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC and across the nation.