Growing a local business is hard. You have a smaller target market than a national corporation and it can be tough to compete against the massive corporate budgets that the big guys have.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t win online!  People like to support local businesses and you can use that to your advantage.

In fact, 83% of shoppers would rather support local businesses over large corporations, and 57% are willing to pay more to do so.

Keep reading to learn the four ways to grow your local service business. (Hint hint! #4 is really good and really underutilized!). Let’s break down what the best businesses are doing to reliably grow and how you can do it too.

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Dominate Google For Your Target Areas With Local SEO

For most service businesses that are not impulse buys, customers are going to look for the fastest and easiest solution to solve their problems. For example, they are going to look for “auto repair shop near me” in their browser or maps app and find the shop that’s conveniently located near them that they trust enough to get the job done.

Location based search is crucial for businesses like this so ensuring your locations are indexed is crucial for your business discoverability.

By having a strong local SEO strategy, you can start ranking higher on Google and maps which will help you get in front of shoppers who are actively searching for your services.

Need some help with ranking your business on Google? Click here to get in touch with 253 Media: the leading Nashville SEO Agency.

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Build Trust And Credibility

Speaking of trust, being found is only the first step to earning a new customer’s business. Once they find you, they also need to have total trust that you can solve their problem.

The two biggest levers to pull with building trust are reviews and service information.

In fact, according to Statista, 62% of people read online reviews before selecting services and on average, people read 4-6 reviews! Build your customer reviews up and show people that you’re trustworthy.

Next, do you offer the service that’s needed? Building out your service pages on your website can detail more about what your business does and how you operate. Fore example, if you run an auto repair business, sharing what kinds of repairs you do is a great way to show expertise (and rank for more keywords!).

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Be Everywhere

Not everybody is ready to buy on their first search or first website visit. This is especially true for non-urgent services like landscaping, car shopping, and health and wellness services. 

For businesses like these, being everywhere from Google Search to Instagram and Facebook to email is crucial for staying top of mind.

By allocating some of your marketing budget to paid media, you can stay top of mind for in-market shoppers to ensure that when they are ready to buy or submit an inquiry, it’s with your business.

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Top of Funnel Education

Perhaps the most underutilized SEO strategy for local businesses is top of funnel education coupled with market lead positioning. 

The best way to break this down is with an example.

Let’s say you’re a plumber and you need more leads (who doesn’t?)

A very common search, especially around the holidays, is “how to unclog a sink”.

Now if you can educate your audience how to unclog their sinks, you can position yourself as the expert. Most people will try the basics anyways, but if you educate them and they still can’t get it done, you’re the place they are going to call.

For example, if you make content that says something like “in most cases, your sink can be cleared by doing X, but if that doesn’t work, chances are you need a professional to help.”

Content like this can help drive relevant traffic and build your authority with both Google and your audience.

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You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to grow your business. This isn’t rocket science!

By using a proven formula for attracting the right audience to your website, you can start earning more leads and growing your business consistently and profitably.

Not sure where your local business needs the most help? Click here to get in touch with our team of Nashville web design experts for a free growth audit

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