People want quick solutions these days. Can your business show up at the exact time when your local customer is searching for a service or product related to your industry? Well, a good-structured local SEO can help you do just that and help you reach your customers fast, when they want and wherever they want.
In local SEO, you perform keyword research that involves local elements which implies that you target local keywords. This means that it is more beneficial if you own a small business. It helps promote and inform the local prospects about your business or brand.
Basically, when one person is utilizing local SEO strategy, it means that he/she is trying to attain a high rank in the search engine result pages for, specifically, local searches. As there are few competitions at the local level, a good local SEO can help you drive more footfalls or enquiries or calls. If you can narrow down your area efficiently, you will face less competition.
What is Local SEO
In simple words, local SEO can be described as the process of optimizing your online presence to attract more traffic from relevant local searches. The most common tasks associated with local SEO are finding local keywords, optimizing your business profile and your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) citations.
Local SEO is also known as local search marketing. Local search marketing includes a set of various techniques and skills that can be used to increase your online presence among your local customers.
How does the local SEO work?
Local SEO generally works like a normal Google search. The only thing that makes it unique is that it uses a different set of ranking factors to ensure a high rank in the local search results. Here is a list of ranking signals for local SEO:
- The most important aspect involves the location of the person who is performing the search.
- Next comes your NAP citations (Name, address and Phone number)
- Google My Business listing is also important.
- The keywords that are utilised in Google My Business profile.
- The keywords that are used in online reviews.
- Google map star rating for your business.
- The number of shares gained on social media
- Quality of online reviews
How to do local SEO
If you want to Local SEO then location pages are a must for your website.
If your business has more than one location, creating more then one local pages is a must for your website. Location pages provide your audience with your name, address, phone number, business descriptions, customer testimonials, business hours and more such information.
One thing that you should take care of is that you should never duplicate content across multiple location pages. For every single location, you should create a locally descriptive ‘About Us’ page. This will help you fetch bonus points if you’ve already added a Google Map to your website on your respective location page.
1 Try Optimizing your Google My Business Listing
Did you know Google My Business has a central role to play when it comes to local search? If Google verifies your business as genuine and authentic, it can reward your business with a sidebar space in Google local search. Yes!
To make sure that you are optimized for Google My Business, you should try to use google posts within your account, motivate your customers to share reviews online and also respond to reviews, mentioning your location.
2 Try creating local content like a pro.
High-quality content is an important factor when it comes to enhancing your local SEO. You should always try and write about local industry news to attract the local audience. Try to concentrate on content that goes beyond what your company offers.
Focus on getting your business well acquainted with your city or area.
3 Your website should be mobile-friendly.
Local search and mobile search are interlinked. Generally, people use mobile phones to look up for reviews, find directions to your location or look for contact information.
Concentrate on points that can make your site mobile-friendly. Make sure that your website loads very quickly. Try to use bigger fonts that are easy to read.
4 Your NAP should be consistent.
It is essential to set up your Name, Address, Phone Number online. This makes it easier for people and search engines to find you. Make sure that the NAP is included as crawlable HTML text on your site. Also, you should avoid including the NAP within an image.
5 Relevant inbound links are a must.
If you want to boost your local SEO, getting quality inbound links is essential. It tends to increase your domain authority. Inbound links inform search engines that you’re a legitimate company.
You can obtain inbound links through partnerships, guest blog posting and many more ways. You can sponsor a webinar by promoting something local and building relationships with influencers.
6 Link building is an important factor that affects your local SEO.
Concentrate on optimizing your URL, title tags, headers, meta description and content. Whenever you create a piece of content, you should optimize it for search engines by using high-volume keywords in the URL, header, meta description and the content body. Try to come up with content focusing on the geographical area where you are located.
7 Understand the importance of citations.
It is very important that your mentions are made sensibly. If you manage to build citations on genuine websites and good listing directories, you can enhance the value of your local SEO.
Try to ensure that the citations about your business are 100% genuine and accurate, especially the NAP. Also, you should make sure that all the duplicate listings are removed from the listing directories.
Sounds good? Focus on building a good local SEO that can boost your business.
How to Leverage a Local SEO strategy
If you have a business that operates on a regional level, then local SEO can help you improve your ranking on the local SERPs. It helps you market your brand, products and services to local leads and customers. Want to learn what local SEO strategy can help boost your business? Have a look at the points listed below:
1 Try fetching regular reviews from happy customers.
This motivates your potential local customers to connect with you. Want to know how to ask customers for reviews? Follow these easy steps:
- You can send a post-purchase email or text and ask customers to write a review.
- Or you can respond to existing reviews where you can thank your reviewers.
- You can also ask the customer for a review after the purchase has been done.
2 You should also try optimizing for voice search.
You can optimize for how people ask questions while speaking into devices. Generally, people use long-tail keywords when doing voice searches. Therefore, you should try to create your SEO content in a more conversational tone.
3 Always use relevant local keywords
Always try to create content that includes relevant local keywords. Get an idea of relevant keywords that are popular for your geographical region. Include those keywords in your site’s meta description, copy and URLs. You can mention region-specific landmarks and hotspots in your content.
4 Create location-specific pages
If your business is located in more than one area, you should focus on creating a location-specific ‘About Us’ page.
5 Leverage business directories
You can take advantage of online business directories. Include your accurate business name, address and phone number. You can also provide a backlink to your website.
Follow these easy tips and take an initiative towards creating a better local SEO strategy today.
Benefits of local SEO
There are multiple benefits of local SEO :
1 Greater visibility with local SEO
- When you list your business online, it will appear when any user within your local area makes a search related to it. This helps you increase your visibility in Google Maps and local search results.
- For instance, if you run a cake shop and someone in your vicinity needs a cake. He will search for ‘cake shop near me’ or maybe ‘cake shop nearby.’ When your business is already listed, you can expect your listing to appear.
- Local SEO strategy helps you compete with other local businesses. When you do your local SEO the correct way, it helps you rank above your competitors on local SERPs.
2 Local SEO marketing can generate more leads and sales
- Local SEO strategies can help you attract your potential lead and boost your conversions. Local SEO can help you appear in front of many customers.
- Also, you will be able to analyse your conversions appropriately.
3 Build your business reputation with a local SEO campaign
- You can utilize a creative local SEO campaign to build your business reputation. You can engage and interact with your potential customer by providing them with the best offers and services.
- You should know how to take advantage of your business listing in the most effective ways possible.
4 Gain better website traffic local search engine optimization
- When your business shows up in local search results, more people visit your website.
- One essential thing that you need to keep in mind is that your website should be mobile-friendly. As most of the local searches are made from mobile, it becomes important for your site to be mobile-friendly. This ensures better customer experience and motivates your customers to stay on your site for a longer time.
Sounds nice? Craft your local SEO strategies today and earn great profits for your business.
Local SEO management
Have you been struggling to increase your local traffic? Worry not! Local SEO strategies can help you mark your presence online in better ways.
DO’S OF LOCAL SEO
1 Always use geo-modified or local keywords.
- When you search for a specific service in your area, Google detects your geographical location either through GPS or IP address of computers. It will show you only those results that are close to your location. Therefore, it becomes essential to stay at the top of your local search engine results.
- Attaining a higher rank becomes easy when you use geo-targeted keywords or local keywords in your local SEO strategies. You should focus on optimizing your on-page SEO to ace the proximity factor better than your competitor.
- Proximity is highly relevant when it comes to local search engine factors. Let me take a hypothetical example to explain this better. So, suppose, you own a cake shop in Park Road, you can use geo-modified keywords like ‘cake shops near Park Road’.
2 Motivate your clients to write positive online reviews about your business.
- Reviews are an important part of local SEO marketing. Positive reviews can help you earn greater profits for your business. The way customers talk about your brand on the internet makes a lot of impact on your reputation.
- There are chances that your potential customers will browse through your reviews before availing your services. Therefore, it becomes important to ask for positive reviews from your clients. Good reviews help you generate more traffic to your site and boost your conversions.
3 Local citations are a must for Local SEO
- Local citations help Google and other major search engines know about the physical existence of your business. Basically, it is the online mention of your business name, address and phone number. Make sure that you have provided the right information in the Google My Business profile.
When you have an accurate phone number, address and business name, Google believes that you are a reliable platform and worth-mentioning. - Appropriate and accurate citations can help you target your potential local customers in a better way. Local citations can provide you with a better ranking, reputation and revenue.
DON’TS OF LOCAL SEO
1 Never add a wrong category in your Google My Business profile.
- Never ever overlook the importance of GMB categories. Google adds and removes categories regularly. Make sure that you add the most relevant category to your business for local SEO.
- It is your primary category that gives you better ranking power. Be careful while choosing it.
2 Never over-stuff the footer with zip codes.
Adding city or zip code as keywords in your footer is now an old-fashion trend. Earlier, many site owners used to stuff location-based keywords in the footer to rank in local search pages. But then, Google came with an update to penalize the sites that attempted to manipulate the results.
Keep the above-mentioned points in mind and you are set to go. Craft your local SEO plan today!
Conclusion
Building your local SEO is like climbing a mountain. It is a bit difficult and time-taking process. But once you reach the top, you gain the best sense of satisfaction. Every effort counts. Take a step towards your peak of business growth today!
Good luck to you!
FAQs
What is local SEO?
Local search engine optimization can be described as a strategy that helps your business or brand be more visible in local search results. It can be defined as a subset of SEO that focuses mainly on optimizing a site so that it can be found in local search results. Local SEO can help you promote your products or services to your local prospects. In a nutshell, local SEO can be defined as a practice of optimizing your website to increase your traffic or potential leads. Local SEO is a great strategy that can help you boost your business.
How to do local SEO?
There are many ways to build your local SEO. Maybe, you can start with optimizing your website. Focus on creating a contact page wherein your name, address and phone number are accurately mentioned. Consider adding a map on your site and enrich it with testimonials. Also, try creating local content. Work towards link building and collect online reviews. Building citations is also an important part of local SEO. You can even focus on optimizing for voice search. Also, always optimize your site for mobile. Take a step towards building your local SEO and attract more traffic to your business.
What is local search marketing?
Local search marketing can be defined as anything that you practice online to promote your physical business. It can also be called local SEO or local search engine optimization. Local search marketing is extremely beneficial for a small business. It can help your business transform into a top local household word in your geographical space. Local search marketing includes a set of multiple techniques and skills that can be utilized to increase your online presence among your local customers.