Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website and online content to rank highly for search terms with geographic intent (searches that include a location). This type of SEO drives highly-targeted, qualified traffic that leads to more customers and revenue for your business.
Getting your website optimized for local SEO starts with identifying the keywords that your target audience is using to find your product or service. Conducting keyword research with a tool like Semrush is one of the best ways to do this. To optimize your website, add location-based keywords into your content (in titles, headers, and meta descriptions). Incorporate the keywords into a topic cluster that includes pillar pages, category pages, and blog posts. The more relevant and robust your site is, the better chance it will have of ranking in the local pack.
As with any form of content marketing, quality content is paramount to your local SEO success. Creating high-value blogs, videos, podcasts, and infographics that feature your business and the geographical area in which you operate will boost your rankings. Share your content on social media and with your email list to get more eyeballs on it. These types of assets will also boost your authority and credibility, which are additional ranking factors for local search.
In addition to writing content that includes local keywords, it is important to make sure that your business’s information on your website is accurate and consistent across all platforms and directories. This includes ensuring that your NAP (name, address, phone number) is correct on all websites and in all online directories. Google is known to penalize businesses that have inconsistent or inaccurate NAP data in online directories.
Another way to improve your local SEO is by building high-quality backlinks. This is a long-term strategy, but a well-established link profile can help your website rank higher in local search. Make sure that your backlinks are from reputable sources and that they are contextually relevant to your niche. You can also try doing a link-exchange with local businesses that are not in direct competition with you to generate more backlinks.
A final factor that can contribute to your local SEO rankings is voice search. As more people turn to their smart speakers to conduct searches, it is crucial that your business creates content for this new type of user behavior. Voice search is typically longer and more conversational, so you will need to ensure that your content answers the traditional question starters – who, what, when, where, why and how. Kanuka Digital, for example, implemented this approach with PlumbGas and saw their organic search conversions increase by 400% in the first month.
Any business that has a physical location or serves a specific geographic area can benefit from local SEO. However, some industries may need to focus more on this strategy than others. Here are a few examples of industries that would benefit from making local SEO a priority: