Today on Money Radio, Fasturtle digital pros Eric Olsen and Graham Ware explained why businesses need local SEO. In case you missed it, take a look at these stats:

• 72% of consumers visit a store within five miles after doing a local search.
• Almost 40% of people do all their searches on a smartphone in an average day.
• 94% of mobile/tablet searches are on Google, and Google “near me” searches doubled in 2016.
• As of June 2016, voice searches comprised 10% of all search volume and this number is only expected to increase.

So, it’s clear your customers are looking for you on the go, often using mobile devices and making decisions based on SERPs. Not optimizing local SEO is like having your windows shuttered and your lights off – you’re not going to attract business if people don’t know you’re there. How do you optimize local SEO? For starters, you need to list yourself on Google My Business. Verify your address, upload some photos and make sure your contact info and business hours are up-to-date.

Local Organic SEO Tips

In terms of organic SEO, your location should be present in the meta description and also in the title of the page. Do some keyword research to determine which geo-modifiers drive the most traffic to your site. If you’re a landscaper, people most likely search for “landscaping Phoenix” but it might benefit you to optimize for “landscaping Scottsdale” instead, depending on your service area.

Why You Need a Mobile-Friendly Website

Important note: SERPs look the same whether you search on mobile or desktop. In other words, Google doesn’t filter out non-mobile friendly sites when you do a search on your phone. Still, nobody likes trying to read a desktop site on a smartphone screen, and if your site isn’t mobile-friendly it may affect your bounce rate. Make it easy and convenient for customers to find what they’re looking for, or they’ll move on to the next result.

Tune in Mondays at noon for in-depth discussions with our digital pros, or listen to the podcast any time.