Local SEO (search engine optimization) is an ideal way to attract website visitors and customers from within your immediate geographical region. Whether your business operates a physical location or just serves clients from this particular geographic region, local SEO provides your best opportunity to compete against competitors and rank above them.
Local SEO includes offsite content like directory listings, reviews, interviews, blog posts and guest articles which helps establish credibility and foster customer trust.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is an essential element of any SEO strategy, and when applied to local search, its significance becomes even more pronounced as keywords you select will impact whether your site ranks organically or within a local pack.
Brainstorm and compile a list of pertinent local search terms. This can include product or service keywords with geographic modifiers (for instance “plumber in Seattle” or “auto repair near me”). Also be sure to keep an eye out on your competitors to identify what keywords they’re targeting.
Once you have identified relevant keywords, conduct online research to ascertain their popularity and relevancy. Ubersuggest can help identify popular related searches; Google Autocomplete will show what suggestions it generates when entering keywords; customer surveys or feedback may offer insight into the language your customers use when searching for businesses like yours.
On-Page Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) marketing can be an invaluable way of reaching the people searching in your target region for goods and services offered. Local SEO marketing provides an ideal means of doing just this.
Start off by conducting an on-page SEO audit using tools such as Semrush or BuzzStream, which help identify optimization issues on the page and provide advice for fixing them.
Make sure that the NAP (name, address, phone number) of your business is included as crawlable HTML text on all pages of your website and online listings–including social media and review sites–appear identically.
Online reviews are an integral component of local SEO, signalling to Google that your company can be trusted and authoritative. Receiving positive reviews builds trust while helping boost organic searches. Encourage happy customers to leave reviews through signage or email follow up campaigns – they could leave reviews in no time!
Local Business Listings
Local business listings refers to any mentions of your business online in directories, maps, social media apps and websites such as YellowPages that contain your information such as its name, address phone number and website URL. They play a key part of Local SEO Marketing by making your company visible for local searchers.
Establishing business listings on popular directories like Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor and Angi can increase the visibility of your brand in search engine results pages (SERPs), helping more of your target customers find you. Listings also establish credibility by showing potential clients you have an established presence in their community.
Consistency and accuracy are keys to creating successful local business listings. Make sure all NAP data (name, address and phone number) matches across listings while your description accurately represents your products or services. Also be sure to update frequently your listings to encourage customer reviews!
Reputation Management
One of the key components of local SEO is consistency. That means ensuring your name, phone number and address (NAP) remain identical across the web — including business directories such as Yelp or Yellow Pages where searchers may locate you.
A good local SEO agency should regularly audit your NAP to make sure all mentions and citations of your business are correct, using tools like Position Tracking to monitor local keywords at both ZIP code level and within Google’s local pack, in order to stay abreast of ranking fluctuations and ensure optimal performance for you business.
Local SEO marketing offers many advantages; higher Google search ranking means more foot traffic to your physical office/storefront, better leads from your website, and new customers from local searches. A local SEO agency will work hard to maximize results and put you in the top spot for geo-specific searches.