So we are going to answer this very simply right away and then explain the answer right afterwards. Reasons to focus on local SEO (search engine optimization) are as follows:
- Faster results. Getting to the first page locally will happen much faster than nationally
- Less Costly than National SEO. Local SEO in Ohio can range from $500 a month to thousands depending on the area and the key phrases.
- Less Competition. locally you always have less competition then nationally.
And those are the biggest reasons to focus on Local SEO vs National SEO. Let me give a few examples. Lets say you have a restaurant in Toledo Ohio and you want to be on the first page for the search phrase “restaurants in Toledo”. Obviously you are only fighting other restaurants that are in Toledo or are trying to draw new customers from Toledo. You will not have a restaurant in Columbus Ohio trying to come up for this phrase. Hence, less competition. As we have said on other articles, being number 1 on Google for a particular phrase does not mean having the best optimized site in the world, just better than your local competition.
Local Customers using Google and other search engines.
Also, think about your ideal customer. Are they willing to drive out of their way for your product or service? If you sell hammers, odds are that your customer is not going to drive very far to get a hammer from you. You could have the best hammer in the world and your customer is not going to drive for more than 15 minutes for a hammer from you. So targeting your local town makes the most sense for your hammer business.
These seem like simple concepts, however you would be surprised how many business owners are spending thousand of dollars trying to be on the first page across the country for all kinds of very broad phrases and never making any verifiable money from their investment. This turns a lot of business owners off when it comes to the idea of SEO. It has to be done right and properly. You need, not only a company that understands the technical SEO aspects, but the marketing knowledge to create a targeted phrase campaign so you know where to focus your efforts.