The internet has given businesses the ability to target specific locations with their products and services. This is known as local SEO, which is an important aspect of any business’ digital marketing strategy. Local SEO is a process of optimizing your website, producing local content, acquiring citations and earning reviews to rank higher on local search engine results pages (SERPs).
The main benefit of using local SEO is that you can target a specific audience in a certain area, which is important for some businesses, such as those that sell physical goods or service providers that require an appointment to be scheduled. People rely on search engines to find what they need and are looking for, so it’s crucial to be listed in local results. In fact, according to a study from Google and Ipsos, four out of five consumers who conducted a local search visited the business within the day.
Increasing your visibility in the local search results can lead to more customers and business growth. It’s also less competitive than organic search, which makes it a great option for small businesses and businesses that want to target a specific market.
Local SEO requires the use of local keywords to attract audiences in your target area. These words are used in the title, meta description and body of your website to ensure that you’re visible to the right audiences. Using local keywords will also help your site rank for local searches on Google Maps and the search results page.
Optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) listing is a must for any local SEO strategy. It’s a free tool that allows you to control and update your business information online. A GMB optimized for local SEO is more likely to appear in the Google Map Pack and can help you boost your visibility on search engine result pages (SERPs). In fact, a study by Moz found that listing visibility was one of the top factors in determining snack pack rankings.
In order to optimize your GMB for local SEO, you must include your NAP (name, address, phone number) in the listing. You should also add a clear and concise description of your company and its products or services, along with photos. You can also add click-to-call buttons to your GMB and website, as this could make a difference for users.
A local SEO website includes the addition of city, state, or region keywords throughout your site’s content to signal to search engines that your website is relevant to a user’s location. A strong local SEO website can rank highly in the organic search results, which are displayed below the map pack in Google.
To check the health of your website’s on-page SEO, try using Semrush’s On Page SEO Checker. It’s an easy-to-use tool that checks the different on-page SEO factors for your website and displays them in a dashboard. It also gives you tips and suggestions on how to improve them.