There has been a tremendous upsurge in local searches over the past few years. The Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to even more local searches as people look to shop online from the comfort of their homes. This uptrend worked as a gold mine for those businesses having a well structured local SEO already in place. It is safe to say that these businesses had done the homework beforehand and worked with local SEO companies to build upon the gaps within their local SEO structure. This resulted in high volumes of traffic and therefore increased returns.
If you are still trying to get on the bandwagon as far as local SEO is concerned, don’t worry we have got you covered. In this article we shall give an overview of a few reliable local SEO companies to help you in choosing the best one that suits your needs.
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of local SEO companies, let’s give you a quick refresher of what local SEO actually is. This basic refresher shall lay the groundwork for you to make an informed decision with regards to the choice of a local SEO company especially if you are new to the world of local SEO.
Local SEO – A Basic Refresher
In the simplest terms, a type of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy that ensures local visibility of your business in local search results on Google is called local SEO. It is therefore a subset of conventional SEO.
The local SEO services focus on optimization of your website in local terms using the locations in which your business operates. For instance, if you own a rental property in San Diego and wish to increase traffic for those people searching for renting a property in San Diego, you would go for local SEO pertaining to this very city. This will include local seo keywords related to your business and the location you operate in.
Now that you have a basic refresher of local SEO, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of good local SEO companies.
5 Best Local SEO Companies to Consider
JetRank
JetRank has been consistently ranked as one of the best performing SEO agencies in the U.S. and is headquartered in San Diego, CA. The company was founded in 2015 and has a team of 22+ people that help deliver amazing results to their clients.
They offer a wide range of digital marketing services including local SEO, web design, copywriting, and conversion rate optimization. JetRank has a clientele that includes both small and medium businesses. A quick Google search will reveal amazing customer reviews for the company.
Thrive Agency
Thrive Agency is an SEO agency based out of Arlington TX. The company was founded in 2016 and consists of a team of 10 people that help deliver amazing results to their clients.
Leapfroggr offers a wide range of digital marketing services including local SEO, web design, copywriting, and conversion rate optimization. Leapfroggr has a clientele that includes both small and medium businesses. A quick Google search will reveal amazing customer reviews for the company.
WebFX
WebFX is more or less like Searchbloom; creating custom solutions based on the local SEO appetite of the client. Analytics is a core component in the services offered by WebFX. They deploy technical expertise under their scheme called Revenue Acceleration Platform to give these custom packaged services. Moreover, they offer the Return on Investment (ROI) tracking through their platform as well.
The pricing for custom packages can be requested through a quotation via their website, however, they have provided general prices for each location on their website for ease of understanding. If you have one location, the prices start from $350 and go upward to $600-$900 for 2 to 3 locations with the highest being $10,000+ for more than 200 locations. Therefore, it is pertinent that WebFX caters to all levels of businesses; be it small, medium, or large. You can discuss your local SEO needs and get a custom package for a set price.
Instaboost Media
Clutch.co has listed this as one of the top SEO companies having an average of 4.5 online reviews. Instaboost Media specializes in two domains: Local SEO and paid advertisements i.e. Social Media ads, Google ads etc. However, they started off their services as a local SEO company with a small team focused on providing value for money.
One of the main reasons Instaboost Media is so successful owes much to the pricing of its local SEO services. The pricing on their website simply ranges from $299 to $499 per month. Therefore, they offer a budget friendly solution for lead generation for small local businesses.
The main point, however, is that Instaboost Media is primarily focused on driving leads and traffic for small sized businesses. That is why they have 750+ business clients from small companies. Hence, it is not a viable option for medium-sized or large businesses having multiple locations.
Searchbloom
What Searchbloom does is, they optimize the technology stack of their client and from there they focus on a technology that they call the ART for local SEO optimization. ART stands for Authority, Relevancy, and Technology. The company’s philosophy is simple; if the users of your website find it easier to use your website, the more likely they will use it.
The team at Searchbloom basically consists of very experienced technical specialists. As mentioned earlier, they work on the web stack of their client and make use of the technical side of things to get the best possible local SEO optimization. No wonder they have an average review of 4.9 stars on their listing.
The pricing plans are not mentioned on their website, rather you need to request a quote by contacting them. They try to take your input, understand your needs, and outline a ‘Search Marketing Plan’ as they call it, and offer you relevant pricing for the same.
8 Tips When Evaluating a Local SEO Company
1. Diverse Portfolio
To get the insights into a local SEO company’s standing within the business community, have a look at their portfolio. A portfolio gives away a lot of indicators as to the reliability and professionalism of the company. It tells you about the type of clients they work for, and well-known clients indicate a good company with a high work ethic. Simple is that!
2. Service Packages:
SEO consists of a wide variety of techniques and methods. Looking at the local SEO company’s service packages, independent of their pricing, tells you which level of techniques and methods the company is willing to give for their services.
3. Local SEO Keywords
One of the most important aspects of local SEO is keyword optimization. You need to check whether the company is offering keywords research and implementation services. Local SEO keyword research is vital because it takes the best keywords for your location and implements those local keywords for optimization, thereby increasing the local traffic to your website.
3. Google My Business Optimization
If the optimization of your My Business page is not offered in the package, consider it a red flag. The reason is straightforward, whenever you search something local on Google the very first thing that pops up is a Google Map with different listings of businesses in your desired location. Those listings are fetched from Google My Business page. Therefore, the optimization of your My Business page is very crucial for local SEO.
4. Google Reviews
These are the reviews that you see with your Google My Business listing. A large number of people depend on these reviews for making informed decisions regarding any product or service offered by your business. Therefore, review management services should be a core part of the local SEO package.
5. Pricing
Your budget holds the utmost importance especially if you are a small or medium sized business looking to get the best value for your money. Normally the companies have categorized different packages and listed their respective prices on their website for easy comparison. However, some companies ask you to request a quote by contacting them. The upside of such companies lies in the fact that they often tend to offer customized local SEO packages. Custom packages can be ideal for your SEO needs if you like to tightly manage your business resources at your disposal for maximum utility in terms of budget.
6. Team Size & Experience
When you decide on a local SEO company, you work directly with the team of that local SEO agency. These are the people that will generate leads and build your business with traffic driven local SEO solutions.
Make sure the team is experienced, professional, and supportive. Experienced team would give you the best possible solutions, likewise a professional team would get the job done, and a supportive team will make sure you don’t get left out in the wild when things go a bit tough. In simple words, these team traits will give you a robust local SEO optimization with continuous successful SEO deliverables. As SEO is an ongoing process, therefore, a good team is as important as your budget!
7. Company’s Own SEO
The best way to judge a company is by looking at the SEO of their own business. A quick Google search, their Google My Business listing, and corresponding reviews will tell you if they practice what they preach or not. The answer is simple, if you find irregularities within their own local SEO listings, it is a red flag. Avoid such companies.
8. Additional Services
Local SEO is not only limited to the above mentioned services. It consists of various add-ons that are complementary to these services. The upside of these complementary services is that it helps in maximizing the local SEO optimization. Although it will cost you extra money and you may need to revise your budget, the investment is worth it as it will help your SEO campaign in out performing itself.
Some local SEO companies provide these complementary services ‘free’ as well. Arguably nothing is free as the prices are covered in other basic services on offer.
Typical services offered alongside local SEO
Website Design
An outdated User Interface of your website is a sure and easiest way to lose potential customers. Website design is a science in itself that keeps on evolving with every passing hour. Therefore, you need to stay ahead of the game and keep your website design updated for leads to grow and stand out as a brand.
Imagine you lose out on potential customers due to an obsolete style of your web pages, icons, menu bars, and even font. This will be a disaster in itself; losing clients because you did not get the basics correct. Hence, investing in design will have long term benefits although the investment might seem irksome at the start.
Content Writing
Content is king! Both SEO and content are not mutually exclusive. They both go hand in hand. Content can be in various forms like blogs, articles, videos, and infographics etc. Well written content in any form can generate leads to your website and you may capture those customers that you do not catch otherwise. Let’s put it this way, investing in content writing services will exceptionally boost your local SEO campaign by generating unique leads and driving traffic from sources that otherwise may go untouched.
Copywriting
Keeping the content on your site up to date and engaging is a sure way to drive traffic. This is exactly what copywriting does that helps complement a local SEO campaign. A copywriter will keep your audience engaged with the latest information, valuable and engaging content for each product or service offered by your business. This in turn would help in increasing traffic to your site which is exactly what the doctor ordered for maximizing potential returns from your local SEO campaign!
Now that we have outlined characteristics of a good local SEO company, let’s dive into a few real life local SEO companies that fulfill the criteria set above.
Which Local SEO Company Should You Choose?
In conclusion, local SEO companies are in abundance out there. As demand for different products and services increase, more businesses are entering the fray, thereby increasing the need for more local SEO optimization solutions. This in turn has given rise to different types of local SEO solution based companies. Most of them are new in the game and therefore you need to be vigilant and picky in deciding a local agency for your needs.
The best strategy in deciding what company to work with shall be to make a list of characteristics governing that company as mentioned above. These characteristics will serve as a checklist for you to tick the boxes that fulfill the criteria of a good company. Afterall it is your hard earned money that is at stake in return for more revenue through local SEO services!
