What Is Local SEO & Why Local Search Matters If you want your business to be discovered by a local audience, then you’ll need to get to grips with local search engine optimization (SEO). Without it, you’ll certainly struggle to boost your brand online, which can affect offline sales, too. To understand just how important local SEO is, consider that 46% of all Google searches are made with local intent. What is Local SEO? Local SEO is a marketing technique that involves optimizing your online presence for better visibility within the local search results. This enhanced visibility is achieved through a variety of tasks, such as: ●
managing your Google Business Profile;
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developing your reputation;
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optimizing your website;
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building citations;
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monitoring your competitive search landscape;
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monitoring and exploiting changes in Google;
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local link building; and
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spam fighting.
We’ll explore these actions in more detail later. This type of SEO applies to ranking in the Local Pack, the Local Finder, the localized organic results, and Google Maps. Let’s take a closer look at each of these. Who needs local SEO? A number of different business types can benefit from implementing a local SEO strategy, such as:
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local businesses;
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SEO agencies working with local clients;
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multi-location brands and franchises; and
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service-area businesses (SABs).
Local Businesses It should go without saying that all local business owners will want—and need—to attract the attention of anyone who’s searching to use a business-like theirs in the area. If your business isn’t showing up in the local SERPs, then you’re missing out on a huge chunk of potential custom. Local business types that can benefit the most from local SEO include: ●
medical services;
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legal services;
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hospitality venues;
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real estate services;
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pet services;
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fitness and leisure venues; and
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many more!
GBP offers users the opportunity to choose from a wide range of categories, and can therefore be used by all kinds of different business types.
SEO Agencies Working with Local Business Clients There are several important differences between traditional SEO and local SEO. This means that agencies working with local businesses need to understand these differences and have a local-specific strategy in place.
If you’re an agency working with local business clients, then you’ll need to have the knowledge and expertise to help them reach their specific goals.
Multi-location Brands and Franchises Multi-location brands and franchises are in the complex position of needing to rank in many different places. This could be a handful of locations, or it could be hundreds. Succeeding at multi-location SEO will require a comprehensive strategy and a collective effort from all locations. Learn more about the multi-location SEO essentials that need to be considered.
Service-area Businesses Service-area businesses are those that deliver or serve customers in their own homes or businesses, across a wide area—as opposed to having a physical location that customers can visit.
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plumbers;
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electricians;
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builders;
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cleaners;
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pest controllers;
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locksmiths; and
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many more!
SABs will generally work in a range of different locations, some of which may be far from where they’re based. If you operate a SAB, then local SEO is an essential tool for getting your services seen in all of the locations that you serve. Learn how to help service-area businesses succeed in local search.
What are the benefits of local SEO? There are numerous benefits to implementing a local SEO strategy. They include being able to reach more people, drive more conversions, and build your reputation. When you successfully begin to achieve these outcomes, then it’s natural to expect that your business will grow.
Reach More People Better visibility in the local search results will lead to more people discovering your brand. From here, the searcher might visit your GBP, click through to your website, or decide to visit your business in person. Appearing in the Local Pack is one of the best ways to reach potential local customers, and successfully ranking here should be an SEO priority. However, it’s not just the Local Pack that you should pay attention to. Increased visibility in map apps—such as Google Maps and Apple Maps—can also increase footfall to your business. People who are searching for a business on the move, such as those looking for a cafe or restaurant to visit, will often do so via their map app of choice.
Drive More Conversions Taking action to increase search visibility will naturally lead to more people visiting your business website—and more web traffic can result in more conversions. Depending on your specific business type, a conversion may be one or more of the following: ●
product sales;
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service sales;
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account signups;
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newsletter signups;
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phone calls;
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free trials; or
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form submissions.
Since online consumers can often find the information they want within your GBP, they don’t always need to visit your website to convert. This increases the value of ranking in the Local Pack and means that businesses with websites that have low organic search authority can still perform well.
Optimizing Your Website Strategically optimizing your website for the local search algorithm is essential, and it’s an action you should prioritize early on. To optimize your website, you’ll need to: ●
create great content;
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build internal links;
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ensure the site is fully responsive on mobile devices;
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optimize image and content metadata; and
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provide a positive user experience.
Let’s take a closer look at these important actions!
Create Great Content Creating high-quality, relevant content for your website is a critical component of local SEO. Your content can take many forms, such as blog posts, videos, podcasts, animations, and more. The key is to make this content valuable for your audience and that’s why it’s important to undertake keyword research first. Although creating great content is a fantastic way to provide value to your audience, it also serves to generate links to your site, which is fundamental to your SEO efforts. When people enjoy and appreciate your content, they’ll link to it from their own sites. These links are an important part of earning and maintaining top rankings.
Build Internal Links Building internal links across your site is a simple yet powerful action, but one that’s easily neglected. Internal links are those that go from one part of your site to another, as opposed to external links, which come from other sites. Internal links help Google to better understand your website. They indicate which pages on your site are the most important and also help Google to identify what the pages are about. When you’re adding internal links, make sure they always point to relevant parts of your site and that the anchor text makes sense.
Anchor text is text on a web page that is clickable and links to another page, either internally within the same website or externally somewhere else on the web. It’s considered best practice for SEO that the anchor text is descriptive and relevant to the content it’s linking to.
Mobile Responsiveness
When your website is mobile responsive, then it will always adjust appropriately to look good and work perfectly across all screen sizes. This has become a key aspect of SEO because it ensures a good experience for the user. Know more about local seo