One of the major challenges from local businesses that have had success with local search engine optimization is that many small business owners do not have the tools available or processes in place to measure customers that are coming to their business after searching for their business online.

Several recent polls have indicated that 80 percent of users searched for a product or service online and then purchased offline. That means in many cases your business was found and the visited because they found your website. Chances are you, as a business owner, had no idea the customer came from the web.

Recently, Localtek, a St. Louis SEO company that focuses on working with small businesses in rural areas, discussed a customer who they had spoke to who was having a hard time understanding why orders were not being placed on their site. After reviewing the site in question and finding several thousand visitors had actually came from the search engines to the businesses website through specifically targeted terms focused on the products the business sells and the specific area it was located in a review was done with the customer.

Based on this analysis the customer is starting to work towards putting processes in place to track customers coming from the web who come in their door. Being a retail business, no matter what anyone says, it is impossible to track this 100 percent but training for employees can be a big factor. Asking the right questions on checkout is one great way to make sure you have some indication of feet in the door from the web.

Make sure your website is optimized for local customer searching for you through local search engine optimization techniques and customers will come through the door.