We all know how crucial SEO is to digital marketing success and local SEO is the unsung hero of successful SEO strategies.
Local search engine optimization is about searches specific to a particular geographic area. Google automatically prioritizes certain search queries to show local results first, or customers can query local businesses.
Local SEO usually refers to a search term that has a geographic restriction : Service + Location is the basic formula.
Why is local SEO important?
Why is local SEO so important? With the ever-increasing global e-commerce, can’t customers patronize businesses all over the world?
Local SEO can benefit your business in three main ways :
Increased visibility
The goal of SEO is to get your business ranked higher in the SERPs. Local SEO is not a panacea when it comes to getting more pageviews and higher rankings on Google because your competitors are far fewer in a given region.
For example, your store may be one of only three stationery stores in your city. By making sure your SEO strategy includes local optimization, you guarantee that local searchers will see your listing at the top of the SERP.
Encourage residents to take action
According to 99Firms , 78% of local mobile searches result in an in-person purchase. Consumers who search for local businesses are often actively searching for a service and are likely to take action. If your business isn’t showing up in their search results, you’re losing all those motivated customers. This is where Local SEO comes in.
Strengthen local authority
Optimized listings (we’ll get to how to do that in a moment) inspire confidence in searchers that your business is established and credible.
But it’s not just about getting real customers to find your business credible – SEO is about convincing Google’s crawlers that your business is who you say it is and that you’ve got something. relevant to offer to all these local researchers.
So how do you get the most out of your local SEO ?
Local SEO Ranking Factors
What makes something classified as local SEO? The components are quite intuitive, so we’ll start by breaking them down.
Who is closest? Local business SEO searches prioritize listings that are closest to the customer’s search. A customer looking for carpet cleaners will see the businesses closest to their city, followed by those in the surrounding area.
Popularity
This is where backlinks become crucial for local SEO. Do other sites link to yours? Are these quality, reputable backlinks? Google uses these references to rank your site.
Customer Feedback
Local search finds local businesses, and customers want to know if people like them have been happy with the business. A survey indicates that 63.3% of customers say they often check reviews on Google before visiting a business.
Relevance
Finally, Google always strives to show people what they are looking for, which is partly determined by the specificity of the query. If you run an ice cream shop, it probably won’t show up in the SERP for “pizzerias in Memphis”, but it might show up in the SERP for “activities to do with kids in Memphis”.
How to Improve Local SEO
- Now that you know how local business SEO can help you, it’s time to learn how to do it better.
- Here are some of the most important steps you can take to improve local search:
- Optimize your Google My Business listing
- Adapt your on-page SEO; for local search
- Make sure your site is mobile-friendly
- Consistent name, address and phone number (NAP)
- Optimize other (non-Google) ads.
- We’ll cover each of these in detail and explain why they’re important for local SEO.
- Step 1: Google My Business
- If you only do one thing for your local SEO marketing, we implore you: claim your Google My Business page.
What is Google My Business?
GMB is a free internet directory that shows hours of operation, services, contact details, website links and a brief description, and is directly integrated with Google Maps. This is the modern telephone book, but with much more information.
Today, GMB is often the first place customers visit when looking for a local business or service.
Business owners can easily boost their business in the SERPs by ensuring that all information is accurate and complete on their business listing.
How do I edit a GMB listing? You must first “claim” it.
Although estimates vary, it is estimated that approximately half of all Google My Business listings go unclaimed. This means that these companies have no way of sharing the most important information about their business with local searchers.
It’s very simple to do. If your business has an existing listing on Google, just click on “Owner of this business?” on the sheet. You will then be asked to provide information to verify that you are the owner.
- If there is no listing on Google, you can create one through the Google My Business admin page here .
- Here is an example of a company that has not optimized its GMB listing for local SEO:
- Unclaimed GMB Listing
- You can see that the option to claim the business is still available.
- Once this first step is completed, here are other steps to optimize your Google My Business listing:
- Consistent information
This is an obvious point that is often overlooked. Check that your basic information – services, contact details, hours of operation and location – is up-to-date and consistent across all your marketing channels.
It only takes a few minutes, but goes a long way in building trust with your customers. Conflicting information erodes trust.
