Optimizing your digital ads for local SEO will help drive customers to your business
Search engine optimization (SEO) is important for your business to be seen when people search for topics related to your business or products.
Local SEO is the next level that you should consider because it helps drive awareness to your physical location. To level up one more time, optimizing your digital ads for local SEO will help your business grow in the local community and increase foot traffic.
Digital Advertising 101
Digital advertising is a great way to get in front of your customers. By knowing who your customers are and where they spend their time online, you can prioritize your digital presence and where you should allocate funds.
Google Ads is the most popular server for digital ads. You’re able to integrate your data into Google Analytics so you can determine which ads are performing the best and driving traffic towards your website.
It’s important to have a complete plan for your digital ads so you can create visually pleasing, effective ads to promote your brand.
Local SEO 101
Local SEO is important for your business to populate in “near me” searches. This is when someone uses a search engine to find a service or product near where they are in that moment.
Through search engine algorithms, they are able to determine where you are (if you enable location services) and what you want to see based on your search history.
If you want to optimize your business for local searches, you have to do a little behind the scenes work:
- Claim your Google My Business and Bing My Business accounts
- Include your location throughout your website
- Set up accounts for your business on review sites, like Yelp and Yellow Pages
- Ask satisfied customers to write reviews
- Create content based on events and news in your area
Why You Need Them To Work Together
Digital advertising should be a main cornerstone of your local SEO strategy.
With Google Ads, you can employ different methods to help your ads stand out to a local audience:
- Add location extensions
- Mention the community your business serves in your headline or descriptions
- Target your ad spend to the town that you’re located in
- Add keywords that reflect the area you’re located in and your business
Examples: You are a restaurant in Burlington, Vermont. You want your digital ads optimized for local SEO so those who are currently in Burlington and those planning to visit will see your advertisements. People in Burlington who search “restaurants near me” and those who are searching “restaurants in Burlington, Vermont” will see your advertisements.
82% of consumers who use their mobile phone for shopping conduct “near me” searches. This makes it critical for businesses promoting their physical locations to optimize for local SEO when using digital advertising.
Local SEO and digital advertising go hand in hand. It’s important to utilize them together to drive foot traffic to your physical location and promote your online presence.
Thanks for stopping by,
Laura
Editor’s Note: Originally published in March 2019, this article has been edited and updated for content in January 2022.
