The local searches which are being performed on mobile devices such as smartphones are increasing at an exponential rate. It’s estimated that there are now approximately 47% percent of mobile searches which are local specific.
When it comes to searching, this new mobile breed of consumers rely heavily on their mobile devices to find products and services, prices and reviews which are local. What this does is it presents a huge opportunity for each and every business on the block.
However, the majority of these local businesses don’t realize this, they’re having a difficult time implementing a plan, or they don’t have a clue whatsoever.
What needs to be in place is an effective search strategy which is directed strictly for mobiles. All local business owners should be taking complete advantage of this opportunity.
What this begins with is having a website which is mobile specific, this followed by a strategy which is local search based.
Begin With Creating A Mobile Optimized Site
An entirely separate mobile site is now an absolute essential and should be completely separate from your conventional desktop website.
The reason being that a mobile optimized site makes it a lot easier for these users to convert into buying customers. Allowing for a poor Web experience will damage the reputation of your company brand, product or service, screaming that you’re not with the times.
Increasing Your Conversion Rates
With the traditional desktop websites, if you provide a good user experience, what that does is it increases the probability that the consumer will convert into a customer or take some type of action. The same is more true when it comes to mobile sites.
A recent survey resulted in close to 70% percent of mobile users confirming that they’ll be more than likely to purchase a product or service from a site which is mobile-friendly.
The main reason being they get a positive mobile experience which allows them to easily find the information that they’re looking for, such as, a location, a phone number, office hours, or a coupon. All of these factors significantly increases that the users will convert into a buying customer.
It’s All About Protecting Your Reputation
When a user navigates your traditional desktop site using a smartphone, they get completely frustrated and it becomes a turnoff. What they do is click away immediately to a competitors site.
In addition to potentially losing a customer, when you neglect to have a site which is mobile optimized, it can hurt the reputation of your company and brand.
In fact, close to 55% percent of the users reported that a poor mobile experience makes them not likely to engage and will avoid that brand or company in the future.
All what this means is that not having a mobile optimized site will have a negative impact on your business. A simple mobile site has proven to increase conversions, while protecting as well as improving the overall perception of your company. The next step is getting these mobile users to find your optimized mobile site.
Developing A Local Mobile Search Strategy
Developing an effective search strategy which is able to directly target a specific location is absolutely essential for any local business which relies on a local customer base.
Searches which are local and mobile are expected to take over desktop searches in a few short years, most likely sooner than later.
Local Search Engine Optimization
A SEO campaign which targets a specific local location is the key and the most effective way of ensuring that customers with mobiles will find your business when they’re doing a search.
So a well executed and localized mobile SEO strategy means that you’ve already got a mobile site which is optimized for specific local keyword terms, such as “Vancouver Catering Company.”
You then need to optimize the site in the various local business listings and directories, as well as Bing Local, Facebook, and Google+ Local.
Performing an SEO campaign that’s effective ensures that your site will be visible to the users who are performing a local mobile search, this specific for the product or service which you provide.
Since the majority of these mobile users are typically out on the road, and because of their smaller screens and less text, getting your site listed at or near the top of the search results is pretty much crucial.
This is where being listed on Bing Local and Google+ Local comes in handy. Both of these search engines have now allocated the top search results for local listings, especially when the search is from a mobile device and has local intent.
So, the first step is getting listed on Bing Local and Google+ Local, this in order to take full advantage of the free valuable traffic which being on the top of these search results can provide.
Try Using Local Pay Per Click PPC
As well as having a presence in the organic mobile search results, also consider paid search as well which can be equally as effective. The key being that your PPC campaign is targeted specific to your location.
Make sure that you include your phone number as well as your street location in the PPC ad, which allows the mobile users to be able to easily “click for directions” or “click to call” your business.
Since the screens of the smart phones are so small, these PPC ads will appear either at the very top or at the bottom of the search results page. So it becomes vital that you test as well as monitor your ad rankings on where they appear.
Once you combine SEO and a PPC strategy, this can result in your mobile site being listed multiple times. The listing would appear in the organic search results, the local business listings and directories, and the PPC ad.
To be the most effective when it comes to your local search strategy, you would then be leveraging both SEO as well as local PPC to attract these mobile users.