How to Measure the Effective of Local SEO Campaigns
Small businesses have a lot on their plates, from keeping up with day-to-day operations to worrying about their financial outlook for the year. Having to worry about a search engine optimization campaign, however, usually isn’t a concern for Main Street American businesses. Fortunately, these businesses can hire SEO consultants to manage their local SEO services for them. This allows local customers to find local businesses when they need them, including when they’re on the go with a mobile phone. In fact, today nearly half of all local internet searches are performed on mobile devices. Not tapping into that market means that businesses can lose out on potential customers.
If you’re running a local SEO campaign, then you need to know it’s working without having to monitor it 24/7. How can you gauge the effectiveness of local SEO for your business? Here are some signals to look out for from your SEO company:
- In-depth SEO reporting tools: You don’t want to be tethered to your computer all day having to figure out search rankings for yourself, so let someone else do it. SEO reporting tools should give you a quick idea of where you rank on local search keywords and also where your searches are coming from. You may also want to know where your backlinks are located, so you can ensure that you have quality (not spammy) placements that won’t get you kicked out of Google. These tools also let you track your progress, too, so you can see how your campaign has improved your rankings.
- Local listings beyond Google: Although Google owns at least 65 to 70% of the market share when it comes to search engines, it’s not the only listing you need to be concerned with. Services like Yelp, Google Maps, and even Facebook can all help point customers in your direction. You’ll also need consistency across all of these services with your business’s name and contact information, so ask about how this can be achieved, too.
- A solid SEO branding strategy: Once your name is in all of those different listings, you should see some consistency across platforms. Keeping your brand consistent with the same name, logo, and information for current and prospective customers is key. Another way an SEO service may do this is by improving your website design to make it high quality and mobile-friendly. By having a high quality website, you can improve the effectiveness of local SEO for your campaign.
Have more questions about the effectiveness of local SEO and running an SEO campaign? Get in touch with a trusted SEO service. You can leave a comment with your questions and suggestions, too.