Does your service-based business serve a specific local geographic area? If so, your success is highly dependent on attracting local traffic.
Local SEO can be a great way to reach customers. While almost any business can benefit from SEO, keep reading to discover five areas where this strategy can really pay off to reap significant business rewards.
Are you looking for more local SEO strategies for your business? Read our article: 13 Strategies to Optimize Your Website for Local SEO
1. Medical and dental clinics love SEO
You can see a huge jump in search engine rankings by targeting local keywords around health or wellness.
Think about what to look for when you need a new doctor or emergency dentist: you’ll probably look in your city in addition to “family doctor” or “emergency dentist.”
However, you also need to target long-tail keywords on your website like “doctor’s office opens on Saturdays in Vancouver” to reach more potential customers.
2. Highly targeted hospitality business
Do you own a restaurant, bar or hotel? Local SEO is a must. People often use the Google “near me” prompt that pops up in the search bar, so make sure your content is targeted to your location wherever possible.
Also, many people will check reviews on sites like Yelp before they click on your website – more than any other type of business. Keep your business information up-to-date on these sites and respond quickly to complaints.
3. Home Services (I need help now)
A local SEO campaign works well for problem solvers.
It’s common for those looking for a plumber or locksmith to call the first listing to appear in Google, but it’s not quite as simple as creating a website with your contact information.
To reach customers, you need to focus on adding original content, optimizing your site and targeting long-tail keywords. Going with a paid SEM campaign is also a must for these types of businesses.
4. Neighborhood SEO for Realtors
Real estate is a very competitive category, especially with many major companies as well as platforms like Zillow.
You are likely to get a lot of your traffic from long-tail keyword searches, as well as “home for sale in Toronto” includes “apartment for sale downtown on the waterfront”.
Research your keywords and write down what families with young children should look for when buying a home or dog-friendly neighborhoods – whatever resonates with your audience.
5. Lawyers
Another highly competitive category! The good news is that potential customers are generally looking for very specific information.
So your local SEO strategy can be built around long tail keywords. For example, instead of “Lawyer Calgary,” go to “Probate Attorney and Trust South East Calgary” to convert searches into leads.
Get the long tail keywords
This is by no means an exhaustive list of companies that could benefit from local SEO, but it does give you a good idea of where they can really make a difference.
Focus on building your local SEO strategy and using long tail keywords and traffic will follow!