Is Local Search Optimisation Now Essential for 2010?
Local search has always been an important subsidiary of SEO. It fits in neatly with a whole raft of similarly important techniques, including link building as one quick example. However, in 2010 it could well come to the fore as a procedure that is not only recommended, but absolutely essential.
The reason why we are likely to become far more dependent on our rankings within the immediate vicinity of physical premises is quite simple; mobile internet. Whilst we might do the majority of our research on the larger screens of a PC or laptop, increasingly consumers are turning to their mobiles to help locate businesses, objects and goods within their surrounding catchment.
Whilst innovations like Google Goggles might be working to render some aspects of SEO nearly obsolete – it works by simply taking a picture of an object and providing direct search results – that’s no reason to give up on important areas of optimisation, not least local search. Non-Android powered phones, for example, won’t have Google Goggles or at least not for the foreseeable future, so using that as an excuse to abandon optimisation would be slightly headstrong to say the least.
The portability of the Internet and the increased usage of mobile devices for searching makes local search vital, almost essential. Today you need to make sure that your business is at the top of the heap when it comes to your area of speciality. If searchers are finding your competition first, then you are potentially losing out on some incredibly valuable custom.
When we search for businesses and services within our immediate area, we are far more likely to be tuned into actually contacting them and perhaps making a purchase. It is for this reason that getting yourself to the top in your local area, if not globally of course, for the keywords that go some way to defining what it is that you do and where, of course, you are based.
There’s no excuse for ignoring local search any more. If it isn’t already an integral part of your wider SEO and website marketing strategy, then it certainly should be. In truth it isn’t that challenging to do either. It just requires an awareness of keywords, how to optimise your site and link building.
As with all online marketing techniques, there are subtle variations and ways in which you can fine tune your efforts, but local search should fit in rather neatly with an existing site development and could well help you to get a whole new avenue of highly targeted traffic.
So is local search essential in 2010? Well, I’d venture to suggest that it is as vital as any other SEO or social work you might be considering – so in short, yes, yes it is.
