The numbers do not lie.
Statista released the results of a study that demonstrated more than 50 percent of all Internet traffic comes from a mobile device. One-third of all searches conducted using Google’s almighty search engine are for local businesses. Microsoft claims the percentage of local searches is higher, as Bing reported 53 percent of mobile searches using its search engine have a local purpose.
With a growing slice of the Internet pie going for local searches conducted from mobile devices, your business needs more than just an SEO company. It needs a local SEO company that gets you noticed by potential customers that live and/or work close to you.
What Should You Look for in a Local SEO Company?
Google changes its algorithm for determining search engine results about as often as Congress changes its mind about tax cuts. One of the most important factors when choosing a local SEO company is determining how adaptive the company is to rapid online changes. How you market your business locally today might not be the same way you go about online marketing locally tomorrow.
Let’s review six additional factors to help you choose the right local SEO company.
Company Focus
You can work with a local SEO company that focuses almost all of its attention on local SEO or go with an agency that offers a wide variety of digital marketing services. If you decide to work with a specialist, you will have to shop elsewhere for other types of online marketing services. An agency that offers a wide variety of digital marketing services can manage your entire online marketing strategy.
If you choose a generalist, make sure the company has established itself as an expert in local SEO marketing tactics.
Knows the Local Market
The company that you select to run your local SEO strategy should have an office in the city where you live, as well as employ digital marketing specialists that live in the city as well. To achieve a successful local SEO strategy, you have to think as the locals do.
Knowing the local market can help you target the right audience for your business.
Industry Experience
Developing a local SEO strategy for a restaurant is different than developing one for a computer repair shop. For example, the local reach for the restaurant might not be as large as for the computer repair shop. There typically are more restaurants operating in a city than the number of computer repair shops.
You want the local SEO company that you choose to work with to possess experience running local SEO programs for businesses that operate in your industry.
Responsive Communication
When you hire a digital marketing consultant, you are hiring someone to collaborate with you. Some online marketing agencies do not communicate well with their clients. The local SEO company that you choose should assign one employee to be your communication link. You should receive prompt responses to emails, text messages, and phone messages.
You can determine how responsive a local SEO company is by the end of a free consultation.
Provide You with References
When you screen job candidates for your business, you ask each candidate for references and then you contact the references. You want to take the same approach when you consider hiring a local SEO company. Ask to speak with current and former clients to get insight into the reputation of the company. The interaction with current and former clients can be in person or over the phone.
Online Reviews
You should never make online reviews the only criterion for selecting a company to run your local SEO program. However, checking online reviews can provide you with supporting evidence that a company is the right one to manage your local SEO strategy. Consider companies that have established a large number of positive client reviews that go back several years.
Learn More About What WSI Has to Offer
After a free consultation with the local SEO experts at WSI, you should come away impressed that we meet the criteria we have listed in this post. We can help you reach more customer prospects locally by implementing tactics such as completing a Google My Business profile
Schedule a free consultation today with WSI to put some bite into your local SEO strategy.
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