SEO For Local Companies

If your business is not an Internet company, should you worry about where your web site places on Google? If you are not a national company, should you care whether it’s easy or not for new customers to find you on Google?

Suppose you own a local business serving a local clientele. You have many repeat customers, and you have been doing business this way for years. Business may be slow due to the economy, and you hope to make it through this economic downturn. For all intent and purposes, you own a traditional, brick-and-mortar business. Should you care about your online presence, or is that something just for those online tech companies?

As many local business owners are finding out, it is important to attract new customers because their existing customers may not be spending as much in a slow economy. Furthermore, more and more new customers tend to search for products and services online as opposed to the phone books. Even when potential customers have a business in mind, they tend to search on Google for a few more comparisons just to make sure they are spending their limited amounts of money wisely.

This presents an advantage to local business owners whose web sites appear near the top of Google’s natural search results (not the paid advertisements). If you own a HVAC company in Seattle, how many more leads would you get if your web site pops up first when people search for “Seattle HVAC” on Google? If you are a foreclosure specialist in Miami, how many more potential buyers would you get if your web site comes up first under “Miami foreclosures” on Google?

Search engine optimization is not something that only benefits national companies or online businesses. As many smart local business owners are discovering, SEO is an outstanding way to attract more customers.