Why Local SEO Will Be Crucial in 2022

Most small business owners receive the majority of their customers from the town or city they’re based in. These customers are most likely to purchase products or services from your business, so you must have a high ranking in local web searches.

Local searches are more important than ever in 2022 as more consumers do business online with local retailers. Here are a few ways to improve your strategy this year.

What Is Local SEO?

You already know the value of search engine optimization (SEO) as it pertains to your business. Local SEO is the act of optimizing your site to appeal to a local audience, meaning those people in your specific geographic area.

Local SEO is crucial, because it’s this audience that is most likely to patronize your business when in need of goods and services. Local results appear in a box at the top of the page and feature other similar businesses in your area. Users can also click “more places” to expand the results.

For example, if you own a plumbing business and a customer in your town searches for “plumbing company (city)”, your website must appear at the top of the search engine results. The closer to the top you appear, the more likely it is that the customer will reach out to you for services.

How Will Local Search Trends Change in 2022?

One of the most profound changes projected during the coming year is the emphasis on search intent, which can have four distinct purposes:

  • Informational – Searches conducted with the goal of finding out more information about a product or service.
  • Navigational – Searches conducted to find a specific website.
  • Transactional – Searches conducted with the goal of buying a specific product or service.
  • Commercial – Searches conducted to research a specific product or service for a future transaction.

Tailoring local search marketing to each of the above search intents ensures you meet potential customers at all phases of their buying journey. This not only increases the visibility of your website; it may also improve your conversion rates.

Creating an impressive and comprehensive Google My Business listing is also crucial when you want to improve your local search rank. These listings are how Google populates local searches, so the more information they have, the better they rank. Additionally, you must update your listing whenever there are changes at your business to ensure it remains relevant to local users.

Do you have questions about your local search strategy? If so, SonicSEO.com is happy to answer them. Our SEO team uses the right tools and techniques to get your website to the very top of search rankings. We also perform in-depth market research to identify your specific target audience. Please give us a call today to discuss your current strategy.