Although many consumers are relying on social media to learn more about your company, your website is still a critical component for new sales. In a recent Capital One survey of 400 small businesses, 44% of them don’t have a company website. Of those that do, a little over half of them were mobile-friendly. With so many potential customers searching for local businesses on smart phones, a mobile-friendly site is no longer optional—it’s a requirement.

When you work with an Atlanta SEO company, they’ll develop a strategy that will help improve your site’s visibility when local searchers type in words related to your business. In the meantime, here’s what you need to know about your site and local search.

1.    Consumers Use Sites for Research

After reading reviews online, consumers want to investigate the company’s website to form their own opinion. Typically, users can click straight from reviews to the company’s site. This reinforces the need for small businesses to have a user- and mobile-friendly website.

Despite other forms of media supporting consumers’ research, the importance of a website isn’t dead. A recent Local Search Association (LSA) study reveals that in major U.S. cities, websites are the second most popular platform that people use to research local companies.

2.    The Importance of Google Pack Listings

Depending on a searcher’s IP address and location, local businesses will appear on their search engine results page (SERP) in a “pack map listing”. With only three businesses displayed, the fight for space comes down to your website and Google My Business profile.

If you want to come up in this pack map listing, your website must rank in the top twenty listings. You can improve your ranking with a solid organic SEO strategy that includes more backlinks and clicks, plus a higher domain authority.

3.    Consumers Lose Trust Without a Site

The LSA study also uncovers that 30% of local searchers won’t even consider your business if you don’t have a website. That’s a lot of missed customers! It also states that most consumers want at least three sources before they make a buying decision, and one of those should be your website.

Your reputation is clearly put on display through online reviews and social media comments, but your site also plays a hefty role in your consumers’ trust. While these reviews are helpful, your website comes from you, not fellow consumers. By reading your site, potential customers will pick up on tone and company values that won’t be otherwise communicated in reviews.

4.    Your Site Impacts Your Ranking

Moz’s 2017 Local Search Ranking Factors states that the top ten components of coming up organically on SERPs all tie back to the trustworthiness of your website. Google checks factors like:

• Authority of your website
• Number of backlinks
• Who is linking back to your site
• Quality and relevance of your content

These elements simply can’t be fulfilled with your social media accounts. Your Facebook page will likely show up on organic search, but it’ll be buried deep in the results long after your website appears.

If you want to increase the amount of local traffic to your site, an Atlanta SEO company can work with you to develop a strategy. Blueprint has been in the SEO game for over a decade, serving local clients all throughout the metro-Atlanta area. Contact us to speak with an SEO specialist today.

By: Blueprint