What You Need to Know About Localization

By now you know how important search marketing can be for a jewelry business. It has evolved greatly since the days of the Alta Vista search engine and Netscape browser. Google, Bing, and Yahoo are battling it out for market share of this billion-dollar industry. Competition brings out the best in everyone, which means that these three giants are continuing to evolve. This has led to a heavy focus on user experience. And when it comes to search results, it means that they are doing everything in their power to offer the most relevant results.

We’ve reviewed the importance of having an efficient website and 10 Reasons Visitors Are Leaving Your Website. Now, it’s time to direct people to your website and away from competitors.

Local Queries

Gone are the days of needing to search “jewelry store, boston, ma”. A simple “jewelry store” search term can return results for the top retail jewelry stores in a consumer’s area. And how do you ensure your store is showing up first? Localized search options. 

This Rise of Localization

In June 2010, nearly 20 percent of online searches had local intent. Now, even nationally focused keywords are starting to provide localized results. While this can hurt companies that sell to industries or consumers on a national level, it’s also an opportunity to better target online consumers in selected areas.

By targeting keywords in the geographic area surrounding your store location(s) you can maximize your cost per click (CPC) and your advertising budget.

Mobile searches often happen on-the-go, so as more and more searches are happening on mobile devices, the need for localized searches increases.

A recent study reported that 25 percent of people search exclusively on their mobile device, meaning websites should also offer a mobile version for easier browsing on smartphones. This has proven to lead to higher conversion rates on your website and is more likely to lead to in-store visits if you are a retailer.

How to Improve Your Local Listing Results

Having a strong SEO foundation will give you a leg up on your local listing. However, Google looks at many factors when determining which companies to feature on a search. Here are 3 of the known factors:

Citations

Citations tell Google that you are a legitimate business. Citations must have the same name, address and phone number across multiple sources like Yellow Pages, Yelp, Merchant Circle, etc. Services like Localeze or Yext are great resources to help manage multiple listings all at once.

Location

You can’t change the location of your physical store, but Google does automatically categorize your business based on it’s location.

Reviews

Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews. There is an old saying that someone who is unhappy will tell 10 people. This was based off of a report in 1981, but due to the accessibility to social media and countless review sites, that number can now be in the millions. Knowing that consumers are more likely to leave a negative review, being proactive in getting positive reviews can do wonders for your business.

Conclusion

Local search is here to stay. To stay ahead of the game you MUST adapt your marketing strategies. Working with localization experts and professionally integrating your marketing strategies is the most efficient way to spend your advertising and marketing dollars. When possible, it’s always recommended to work with a well-rounded digital agency, like GemFind, to maximize your opportunity for online success.

For more information on localization, digital marketing, or web design contact GemFind today!