Why is Local SEO So Important?

For a business in Port Macquarie, SEO is critical to the process of gaining new customers while simultaneously extending the value of existing ones. Data collected by SEO associations and online search juggernauts, such as Google, collaborates this. Figures demonstrate, that as of 2016, over 60 percent of people use online search as their preferred method for sourcing local products and services. That means that local print and traditional media advertising are no longer the primary source for leads on new customers.

A further indicator that such trends are what will be true going into the future is that 50 percent of consumers in moderately sized markets, such as Port Macquarie, use online local search on a daily basis. Clearly, any local business seeking success cannot ignore their need for an optimized online presence.

It is unfortunate that many businesses in Port Macquarie still fail to place a high value on local SEO. Some adhere to the notion that local SEO consists of nothing more than making some minor changes to their website in order to rank highly. Others compound their problems by tackling local SEO themselves. In the latter example, not only do they take important time from the operation of their business, but they also expose themselves to fundamental and costly mistakes. Effective local Port Macquarie SEO comes from an agency that is fully knowledgeable not only about the minutiae of technical details involved in the process, but also with the nuances of the Port Macquarie market and its demographics.

What Exactly Does a Local Port Macquaire SEO Agency Offer?

The simple answer to this question is that a local SEO agency will have full knowledge of the local market and will be able to offer a comprehensive SEO solution for your business. In order to understand the value in this, a more detailed overview is required.

First, an agency versed in SEO specifically for the Port Macquaire region will help establish your company's SEO strategy. Once the strategy is developed the agency implements it and continuously monitors it in order to assure that it is being sustained properly. If a business has a pre-exisitng SEO strategy, the agency will usually perform an audit of the current process. Areas for improvement are identified, as too are areas that require fresh implementation. For companies that do not have an active SEO strategy, a need analysis is conducted in order to structure one specific to your business.

What Is the Primary Purpose and Goals for a Local Port Macquaire SEO Strategy?

The primary purpose of a local SEO strategy should be to consistently rank above your competitive set on search engine results pages. The main goals of the strategy should be:

- Improving upon your current organic search results

- Increasing the number of conversions

- Maximizing your traffic from desktop and mobile sources

- Improving the structure of your website

What Can Realistically Be Expected From My SEO Strategy?

By improving your organic search results, your business will begin to rank higher in the SERPs for as many locally relevant search terms as possible. This means that your business will experience an increase in exposure to potential customers. This in turn will begin the process of helping to solidify your brand with the public. This helps to build trust, a sense of validation in the eyes of the consumer when they are still undecided. Depending on your specific industry, it can take from five to as many as fifteen brand associations before a new customer selects a new company. The more consistently you appear at the top of the search results, the more that this subconscious connection is made with your prospective client. When the decisive moment comes for them to make a choice, if they have seen you rank higher for longer than your competition, the more likely that they are to choose your company over the others.

A higher search result ranking also serves to capture those prospective customers that are ready to make a decisive purchasing decision immediately. Businesses that are able to rank highly locally can expect to receive results on par, or sometimes even better, than PPC campaigns. This is mainly due to the fact that people searching online for a local solution will place a higher perceived value on the legitimacy of a local organic search result as opposed to one that is clearly a paid placement. Think about the last time that you searched for a local supplier -- didn't you place more trust on the local organic result as opposed to the more generic paid result? The response is most likely, yes. While PPC can be very effective in non-local searches, such as those for regional and national companies, organic search is still extremely powerful at the local level. This is another reminder as to why finding an SEO agency with thorough knowledge of the Port Macquarie area is so important.

Another effect that you will see is that the number of customers coming to your business from mobile searches will increase. A properly itemized local SEO strategy inevitably results in this. Having a more prominent presence in mobile search is another excellent way to rise above your competition. Mobile search is also, by as much as two to one depending on the industry, more effective in drawing in a prospective customer compulsively through your door than desktop search. This is due to the fact that mobile search is more frequently used when the client is at the most active stage of seeking out a good or service. Bottom line, the optimized local search on the desktop gets them interested in you when they are going through the all important research phase -- the optimized mobile search gets them when they are physically out and about seeking a solution.

Since the majority of local SEO strategies are dynamic and continuous, your business will also begin to experience ancillary benefits associated with the sustained higher rankings. The tactics used to realize the strategy will result in solid content that adds to your brand authority, Your website will be fully optimized in every way; visually, in navigability, and in quality of content. Your local company will eventually be seen, by both the search engines and the public, as the "go to" source for whatever you specialize in providing.

Simply put, as a local business local SEO is of paramount importance. It is simply not possible to remain relevant, much less outrank your competition, if you do not have a proper SEO strategy in place. While SEO services can be procured from many sources, finding an agency that is keenly aware about the specifics of the Port Macquarie market should be seen as a pre-requisite. It is the only way to be assured that the entire process, from strategy formation to continuous implementation of a tactical methodology, will be conducted in such a way that your business will obtain quantifiable results.