Does your service-based business serve a specific local geographic area? If so, your success largely depends on attracting local traffic.

Local SEO can be a great way to reach customers. While virtually any business can benefit from SEO, read on to discover five areas where this strategy can really pay off for big business benefits.

Looking for more local SEO strategies for your business? Read our article: 13 strategies to optimize your website for local SEO

1. Medical and dental clinics love local SEO

You can see a huge jump in search engine rankings by targeting local keywords related to health or wellness.

Think about what you look for when you need a new doctor or emergency dentist: You’ll probably look in your city for more “family doctor” or “emergency dentist.”

However, you should also target long-tail keywords on your website like “doctor’s office open on Saturdays Vancouver” to reach more potential customers.

2. The hyper-directed hospitality business

Do you have a restaurant, bar or hotel? Local SEO is a must. People often use Google’s suggested “near me” message that appears in the search bar, so make sure your site’s content targets your location whenever possible.

Also, more people will check reviews on sites like Yelp before clicking through to your website than any other type of business. Keep your business information on these sites up to date and respond quickly to complaints.

3. Home services (I need help NOW)

A local SEO campaign works well for problem solvers.

It’s common for those looking for a plumber or locksmith to call the first listing that appears on Google, but it’s not as simple as creating a website with your contact information.

To get in front of customers, you need to focus on adding original content, optimizing your site, and targeting long-tail keywords. Going with a paid SEM campaign is also a must for this type of business.

4. Neighborhood-Specific SEO for Realtors

Real estate is a highly competitive category, especially with so many big companies and platforms like Zillow.

You’re likely to get a lot of your search traffic from long-tail keywords, so in addition to “home for sale in Toronto,” include “waterfront downtown Toronto condo for sale.”

Do your keyword research and write about what families with young children should look for when buying a home or dog-friendly neighborhoods—whatever resonates with your audience.

5. Lawyers

Another highly competitive category! The good news is that potential customers are generally looking for very specific information.

Therefore, your local SEO strategy can be built around long tail keywords. For example, instead of “Calgary attorney,” choose “Southeast Calgary Will and Trust attorney” to convert searches to leads.

Get local keywords, get long tail keywords

This is not an exhaustive list of businesses that can benefit from local SEO, but it does give you a good idea of ​​where you can really make a difference.

Focus on developing your local SEO strategy and use long tail keywords and the traffic will follow!