Local search is an essential component of any SEO strategy that targets customers in a particular region, city, or neighbourhood.

In simple terms, local SEO is where you should concentrate efforts to improve your rating and accessibility in local searches such as Google’s Map Pack/Local Pack.

Organic SEO is the process of improving webpage standings in organic search results. Your webpage echelons in those organic listings can also impact your Local Pack rankings.

When Google defines that the request has local intent, organic rankings are another good chance for your local business to show up in front of motivated searchers.

So, while organic and local SEO are linked in these aspects, each requires a distinct strategy with distinct optimization tactics.

Let’s start at the beginning: what is local SEO, and what makes it important?

Why is Local Search Important?

Here are some statistics that demonstrate how essential local search remains for businesses:

As per Google, 76% of smartphone users who undertake a local search visit a firm within 24hrs, and 28% among those lookups result in buying.

According to Google, 30% of all lookups it handles are related to location.

A recent search engine survey shows 61% of consumers search domestically daily.

According to the latest local SEO survey, 82% of customers read online feedback for business owners during a local search, and they spend nearly 15 to 20 minutes conducting so before making their decision.

86% of people use Google Maps to locate a business’s location.

92% of the time, Yelp appears among the top five search engine results for SMB searches.

Globally, 74% of in-store customers who searched before entering the store said they looked for objects such as the closest store nearby, locations in stock near them, and other hyperlocal information.

Over half of all Internet users worldwide conduct local searches on a mobile device.

To learn more about nearby businesses, 83% of search teams use Google Search; 55% use Google Maps, 44% use Apple Maps, 39% use Yahoo, and 31% use Bing.

Enhancing Your Local Search Visibility

As you’ll see, local search is an important channel for businesses serving local customers, including franchise stores, chain stores, so-called mom-and-pop stores, banking, finance product lines, network operators, enterprise brands, and SMBs.