Do you have a business in the USA? Not only is it the most competitive market but also very advanced when it comes to technology. In any developed society, you have to be on top of the internet to be successful with the audience. But how do you market yourself in the US with so many competitors in the field?
SEO is the most important thing when marketing your business online. If your website is not able to top the ranks among local search results, it is very difficult to make it big in the USA. Luckily, a professional local SEO agency can help you get around this.
What does a local SEO agency do?
While SEO broadly looks at the keywords and search phrases used by users on the internet in general, local SEO is a more detailed approach. It is very important if you have a business that provides food delivery, flower supplies, or anything else that depends on a local customer base. A local SEO agency will zoom in on the very things your target audience is interested in. They will also take into account what your rival businesses in the same area are doing with their websites to top the search rankings.
Also Read: Top 10 SEO Companies in the USA
After all, building up a local audience will be the fastest way to build a wider audience. When more and more people start trusting and endorsing your brand around your immediate business area, audiences beyond that area will begin to trust you more. The bigger your local customer base, the more sustained your chances of success in the industry.
Let us now see what local SEO agencies do to actually enlarge your local customer base:
- Understanding local customer intent: This is the first thing a good local SEO agency will do. Based on your business, the agency will see what exactly your target customers are searching for. If you have a cake shop, for example, your local SEO experts will be looking for the exact cakes that customers around your shop are looking for. Based on that, they may adjust the content on your website to include the names of those cakes, be it promoting them from your own menu or mentioning them in passing references in website content.
- Optimizing for location-based keywords: A local SEO agency will make sure that the keywords used on your website are optimized with exact location names. If your business is in North Carolina, for example, your SEO expert will add the name of the place in your website content organically to make sure that customers searching for the services you can offer with North Carolina in their search phrases can find you easily.
- Managing listings: A local SEO agency will also help you to claim and optimize your presence on platforms like Google My Business Profile. This is very important for visibility to local customers.
- Generating targeted leads: A local SEO agency will try to include keywords that signal that a customer is ready to convert and not just browse, rather than taking just a promotional approach that is suitable for general SEO services.
- Reputation management: A local SEO agency will put more emphasis on local customer reviews and feedback to make sure that your business can create a positive impression online.
Finding a good local SEO agency in the USA
Other than the basic functions all SEO agencies have, a good local SEO company should have some specialized skills that work for your local business. So what are a few tips you can follow while choosing a local SEO agency for your business in the USA?
Experience and results
You have to look for companies that have a clear track record of success with clients similar to your business. You can see examples of other businesses like yours that have had success with the help of the agency you are considering.
Exploring case studies can be a good way to figure out whether you should choose the SEO company or not. The company should have enough knowledge about the local market and the trends followed by target customers for your business.
Client reviews and communication
A good local SEO agency will always keep track of reviews from other clients they have worked with. You can look at reviews from other businesses that can give you information on the working style of the agency and the results they have gotten with their help.
Other than that, you should also focus on the kind of communication the company is willing to follow throughout their services. Are they going to inform you of details regarding specific tools they use for SEO? Are they going to discuss progress with regular meetings? Are they going to show you written and illustrated reports regularly? These are some important questions regarding client communication that you can ask the team you are going to work with.
Asking the right questions
The list of questions about client communication is by no means all that you need to ask before making your final choice. Partnering with a local SEO agency is a big decision that can possibly affect your reputation in your immediate market. Here are some more questions you can think of asking your potential local SEO team:
- How are they going to handle local listings? How are they going to take care of your company’s reputation using your website?
- Can they provide any examples in document form of how they have generated leads for other clients with businesses similar to yours?
- How do they tackle the challenge of staying updated with evolving SEO trends?
If the agency you are considering can give you satisfactory answers to these questions, it is one step ahead for you toward partnering with them.
Summing Up
Choosing a local SEO agency in the USA is not an overnight job. You have to understand whether the approach to work of the agency is aligning with the goals of your business. You should also check their track record and try to understand their experience of the market before considering partnering with the company.