Local SEO puts your business in front of nearby customers who are actively searching for your products or services on mobile devices. Over 60% of local searches are done on mobile, and applying local SEO techniques helps your site appear in those results, increasing the chance of converting a searcher into a sale.
Why does local SEO matter for small businesses?
Most local consumers search for services in their area, and local SEO puts your business at the top of those results and drives customers to your office. Local SEO also pushes your call-to-action above competitors, and inconsistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) citations can cause the search engine to pass you by entirely.
How do you optimize your website for local search?
Use the right meta tags so Google can rank your site and customers understand your business. Make sure your site loads quickly and is mobile-friendly, because your local business competes against big companies and needs to be seen by as many people as possible. Include your location and address on every page, place local keywords in your title and meta description, and keep your NAP consistent throughout the site, since NAP consistency is highly valued by Google.
What kind of content should you publish for local audiences?
Create content targeted to your local market and add a local spin to your product or service to attract local consumers, introduce your brand, and convert them to customers. People are hungry for information, so publish on your website, social media, YouTube, podcasts, and white papers, and incorporate links back to your site in all of it. If your content reflects information about your area, it will attract local readers and is more likely to be listed in local search results.
How do reviews and backlinks affect local rankings?
People trust a business when they read a review, and Google looks for this in its rankings. Negative reviews can hurt your business, so respond to low-quality comments and other feedback. Links from credible sources help, and while a large amount of backlinks can help your local search rankings, low-quality links can hurt you.
How should you use Google My Business?
Google uses the information in your company profile to make its results, and a complete profile increases your chances of being featured in searches. Use the Google My Business directory and localized organic results, and use Google Maps to target specific areas within a city. A high-quality website with a high Google local ranking increases your chances of attracting new customers.
How has Google’s algorithm changed local SEO?
A major change came in the form of Google’s Pigeon update, which improved the speed and precision of local search results with better ranking parameters and stronger understanding of context. The update also changed the way Google Maps indexed websites, making local SEO more important than before and requiring your strategy to evolve to keep up.