Local SEO is a set of practices that increase online visibility, particularly in a specific geographic region, thereby generating new leads and sales for local businesses. These tasks, primarily focused on website optimization, include adding locally-focused content and building citations on major directory sites like Google My Business (GMB), Yelp, Bing Maps, and Facebook.
Benefit 1: Getting Your Local Brand Noticed
Searches for local products and services are typically highly actionable, with 48% of searchers visiting a store within a day of their online search and 56% purchasing something. This means that if your local business isn’t properly optimized for local search, you are missing out on a huge opportunity to grow your customer base.
Fortunately, you can optimize for local search by following some simple best practices. First, ensure that your website is fully optimized for local SEO. This includes ensuring that your NAP information (name, address, phone number) is accurate and consistent across all platforms and locations. This is essential for establishing your credibility and achieving top rankings in local search results.
In addition, your website should have relevant and authoritative localized keywords that your customers are searching for. This can be done by utilizing keyword research tools and surveying your target market to understand what terms they use to find the products or services you offer.
Finally, your website should contain a comprehensive and up-to-date list of all your local locations. This should be clearly displayed on the contact page of your website, and a link to each location should be provided in the footer of your site. This way, your potential customers can easily navigate to the location nearest them.
Benefit 2: Getting Reviews & Ratings
The next local SEO technique involves making sure that you are listed on the major online review and ratings sites, including Google Business Profile, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and more. Not only does this help people find you, but it also establishes your credibility and builds up your backlink profile.
Another way to generate more reviews and ratings is to publish a blog on your website that covers local news, events, and other happenings in your community. You can also partner with local organizations, teams, and events to promote them and encourage their audience to leave a review or rating on one of your listings or social media pages.
Finally, don’t forget to monitor your local search performance using Google Search Console. This free tool helps you see how searchers are finding your website, as well as gives you tips to optimize your site for local search. You can use this to check for issues like duplicate listings, incorrect NAP, and other factors that could be negatively impacting your ranking.