Globally there are more than 2 billion people online and over 90% of those people start their day on a search engine like Google. We have truly entered the digital age, with some people conducting their whole life online and in the digital realm. There are over 3.5 billion searches done online every day, but what does this mean to a local business trying to take advantage of the traffic in their area? To be perfectly honest not a lot. The numbers sound amazing, but a local restaurant or retail shop aren’t looking at the global picture they need to focus on bringing in business from the local area and that’s where Local SEO is vitally important.
Small businesses need to be looking at a local SEO strategy so that when local consumers are looking for services online that your business is ranking well. Good local SEO in Burleigh Heads will result in an increase in your rankings which will lead to an increase in page traffic and then your sales and conversions will increase.
Why is Local SEO in Burleigh Heads important?
The publics absolute reliance on the smartphone is the main reason that Local SEO in Burleigh Heads is so important. People use their smartphones for absolutely everything nowadays, whereas in the dark ages of the early days of the Internet searching was done solely on a home PC. After years of ploughing through the data, Google noticed the importance that the location of the person searching was. Google has added a new element to their algorithm for local search to include a proximity factor.
You will notice that when you search for items on Google, that locations closest to your location at the time will come up. This will obviously change if you move to another location. Say if you were looking for a “chicken Shop” for some lunch when you were driving, shops in the local area would show up in the search results. You don’t want to miss out on any possible traffic and the right local SEO strategy will ensure that anyone searching for your services will see your listing.
Keys to good Local SEO in Burleigh Heads
- Google My Business Listing
- Mobile Optimisation
- Reviews
It is essential that if you don’t have a Google My Business Listing that you get one right away. First and foremost, you will have to claim your My Google Business Listing, this might take a few days as they send you a postcard in the mail that you have to action. Once listed you will then start to show up in Google Maps. This is FREE so this is a great place to start your Local SEO Strategy in Burleigh Heads.
As mentioned earlier, most people search Google from their smartphones so your website must be optimised for mobile. Almost one-third of all online sales come from a smartphone and you don’t want to miss any of those opportunities. In this fast-paced world, we live in consumers are more likely to move on from a website if it takes too long for a page to load. Most of those will never return to that site again.
Ensure that you are asking your customers to write positive reviews of the experience they had dealing with your business. Research has shown that more than 85% of consumers will read the online reviews of a business before choosing to use its services. Managing your reviews is an important part of your online presence and will help with your local SEO in Burleigh Heads.
It’s easy to see why a Local SEO strategy will be of great benefit to your business. The holy grail for all small businesses is to be an essential service in their local area and with the right Local SEO in Burleigh Heads, you will see your business rise up the rankings in Google.
About the Author: Matt White
Matt is the king of content! He is responsible for many of our blogs, as well as all of our SEO content and content for client websites. Matt brings years of experience to the team – having run several businesses himself, as well as writing for major advertising clients and reviewing films for various publications, just to name a few. He brings some much needed balance to an office full of big personalities with his relaxed attitude and timely humour.
About Straight Up Digital
Straight Up Digital is a full service digital marketing agency based in Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast, Australia. We specialise in Web Design, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Social Media, Paid Ads (AdWords & Facebook Ads), Email Campaigns and Video Marketing.
Straight Up by name. Straight Up by nature. We prefer to tell it how it is and we aren’t afraid of the difficult conversations with our clients. Our goal is to become the most transparent and results focused digital marketing company of the third millennium!
We have been helping businesses for over 10 years across a variety of industries including restaurants, real estate, construction, manufacturing, certified trades, professional services, podcasts and events.
Whilst based on the Gold Coast we service clients all over Australia and around the World. If you have any questions about your website, social media or lead generation please get in touch.