What is Local Search Engine Optimization?
“Local SEO” is a term that is well-known among SEO professionals, but is not used wisely. People tend to do traditional marketing in order to expand their business in their local area, such as putting up banners, sharing pamphlets, and exhibiting their products at local exhibitions, but did you know that 97 percent of users search online to find local businesses, and they not only search but also visit the location? According to a survey, consumers visit 1.5 billion physical locations each month based on Google searches and reviews. I believe that after seeing these statistics, you will want to leverage Local SEO and Google Business Profile. And having the best tips for local SEO can boom your online presence with a significant percentage.
SEO and marketing agencies, that provide services to people looking to expand their businesses in their local area, are opting for paid advertisements because according to Google Business Profile policies, they only show the top three listings, but we forget that after the Business profile, we can see our website and our business in various directories.
So, how exactly can we use LOCAL SEO to boost our visibility? Here are some tips to help you expand your business in your area.
Why we need Local SEO?
Regardless of how many people prefer online shopping, a sizable proportion still prefers shopping at local and nearby stores where they can visit, touch, and understand the condition of the product. As a result, performing local SEO can help increase walk-ins and overall revenue.
Another advantage of local SEO is that you can establish a presence on online platforms such as Google Business profile and local business listing without having a website, which increases user trust.
According to a survey, 86 percent of people ignore paid banner ads in favor of organic search results. Local SEO can help you become more visible organically in less time.
Local intent searches are on the rise, with 4 in 5 consumers now using search engines to find local information, and search result information directing a whopping 70% of consumers to a physical store.
This also influences people’s decisions in your favor. The more information they have about your company before visiting, the more trustworthy you appear to them.
Tips to Boost Local SEO
Yes, once again, no SEO or marketing strategy guarantees instant success, but consistent efforts do. Here are the top 7 tips for improving your LOCAL SEO.
Update Business Profile:
If you’re wondering what a Business Profile is, it’s nothing more than a Google My Business account. In November 2021, its name was changed. The best way to improve your local presence is to keep your business profile up to date. Create some posts that are related to your niche. Respond to all reviews, positive or negative, as soon as possible. The one mistake we make is to include our keywords in the Business Profile alongside your company’s name, which is not a good practice. As a result, avoid including keywords directly in your title. Connect it to the appropriate landing page. You are not required to link to your website’s home page. You can also create and link to a relevant landing page.
Local Business Schema:
Structured Data, or Schema Markup, is one of the most important aspects of Search Engine Optimization, but many people fail to take advantage of it. Schema Markup, like many others, is not a ranking factor, but it plays an important role in our ranking. So, Schema Markup is a piece of code that is placed in the HTML tags that provides additional information about the content of your web page to search engines such as Google and Bing. Using Local Business Schema informs Search Engines that a specific webpage is about local business, which aids in the ranking of that webpage.
Local Citation:
Local citation has a significant impact on Local SEO and Local Search Ranking. The question of what the citation is arises. As a result, a citation is any website or page where your company’s Name, Address, and Phone Number are mentioned. As a result, when ranking Local Businesses, Google takes into account a variety of factors. Popularity is one of them. When your business is found in numerous other local directories, and business listings, Google learns that it is popular, and when many websites refer to you, you must be a reliable business. Many SEO professionals are perplexed when they hear that citation is a method of generating backlinks. So, in Backlink, the URL of the webpage and the anchor text are important, whereas in Citation, the business name, address, and phone number are important. So, when creating the citation, make sure the name, phone number, and citation are all the same for each website.
Additional Categories in Business Profile:
Most businesses make the mistake of creating their listing under one category and then waiting for the magic to happen. Just as we try to rank our website in many keywords, we can rank our business profile in many categories, so in addition to the primary category, choose additional categories that are relevant to the services you offer.
Local business Listing:
When we look for local businesses, we get two kinds of results. The first is a Google Business Profile, followed by Local Business Listings such as yellow pages and local guides. Google’s Business profile displays results based on the closest location, but these business listings remain the same regardless of location. These are the best places to add your business information because these listings are reliable. Share all relevant information, such as the company name, phone number, address, services and products, price (if applicable), and website URL (if applicable) You can choose between paid and free local business listings based on your needs.
Relevant Landing Pages:
Having a relevant landing page is one of the best tips for local SEO. What searches do we get after GBP and Local business Listing? Organic results, of course. So, even if you don’t rank in the top three GBP results, you can always rank in organic search results. You can create pages on your website based on location, for example, if you provide your services in the Greater Toronto Area, create a page to target the Greater Toronto Area, and conduct proper keyword research using tools like Ubersuggest and Ahrefs. Provide all of the information on that page, such as services, benefits, and reviews. Take advantage of on-page SEO ranking factors such as title and meta description, H1-H6 headings, and content. Remember to create unique and relevant content for each page, rather than simply copying and pasting content for each location and changing the name.
Embed Google Map:
Embedding Google Maps with your company’s name, address, and phone number assists users and Google in determining your location. So, if you serve customers in multiple locations, but only have one physical location, you can embed a Google map on the page where your physical location is mentioned, and the rest can be left with just the city name.
Take Away
These are some suggestions for growing your local business. Keep in mind to be consistent in your efforts and content for local businesses.
