If you serve customers in a specific geographic area, Local SEO should be an essential part of your online marketing strategy. Whether you're running a coffee shop, a plumbing service, or a retail store, local SEO is the key to driving foot traffic and gaining visibility in your local market.
In increasingly competitive local markets, local SEO ensures that potential customers find your business over your competitors. Without it, you risk being overlooked, even if you're the best option in town.
Optimizing for local search results helps you reach the right audience, at the right time, and in the right place. If you're not optimizing your business for local, you're missing out on crucial opportunities to stand out in your local market!
What Is Local SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an online marketing strategy that aims to improve a website's ranking in organic (unpaid) search results.
Search engine optimization efforts can be tailored to attract the target audience a business wants, but it's possible to use SEO to get a website seen almost anywhere in the world.
Local SEO is an important subset of SEO that helps connect local businesses with customers by getting them found in local search results, or results for search queries with local intent.
While SEO as a whole applies to all types of businesses, including ecommerce and other online-only businesses, local SEO is mainly relevant to businesses that provide goods and services to customers within a specific geographic area. Examples are brick-and-mortar retail stores, restaurants, and service area businesses (SABs) like plumbers and contractors.
Here are a few of examples of the types of local search queries that local SEO is concerned with:
- "Emergency plumber in [City]"
- "Best pizza in [Neighborhood]"
- "Hardware store near me"
How Local SEO Works
The goal of local search engine optimization is to improve a business's ranking in local search results in a specific geographic area (or across multiple areas). The focus is often on improving rankings at a granular level within a hyperlocal area, which might be as small as a commercial district or even a city block.
When potential customers search for nearby businesses within an area or using geo-modified keywords (keywords with place names) relevant to the area, a business's local SEO helps determine where it appears in the search results that the users are presented with.
In other words, the more you optimize a business for local search, the higher up it appears in search engine results pages (SERPs).
When it comes to brick-and-mortar and service-area businesses, the most important local search ranking is that of its Google Business Profile (GBP).
Google accounts for more than 80% of online searches, with at least 46% of those searches looking for local information. When someone performs a search looking for a local business, they almost always click on one of the GBP results from the Google Maps results, also known as the local pack or Google's 3-Pack.
It's also important to optimize your website as part of any local SEO strategy, but the top local search results that people see on Google are always going to be three businesses chosen by Google to be featured in the 3-Pack.
Appearing in the Google 3-Pack is a sort of "Holy Grail" for most local businesses, but the competition is fierce. It's sometimes nearly impossible to outrank large competitors for the most competitive keywords.
However, by implementing strong,consistent local SEO strategies, you can identify vulnerable areas where you may be able to outrank competitors and gradually make optimizations to improve your position within the local market.
What Does a Strong Local SEO Strategy Involve?
There are several key components of local SEO that contribute to its effectiveness:
- Google Business Profile Optimization
- Citation Building
- Localized Content and On-Page Optimization
- Local Link Building
- Mobile Optimization
- Local Schema Markup
- Local Rank Tracking
1. Google Business Profile Optimization
Because of the prominence of GBP listings in local search results, Google Business Profile optimization is the first element of local SEO you should focus on.
GBP is a free tool provided by Google that allows businesses to list their business and manage their online presence across various Google platforms, including browser-based Google Search and the Google Maps application.
Optimizing your GBP goes far beyond just claiming and taking ownership of it. Here are some examples of optimizations that can improve your Google Business Profile ranking in local searches:
- Accurate Business Information: Ensure that your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are accurate and consistent.
- Categories and Attributes: Choose the most relevant business categories and add attributes that describe your business features, such as "wheelchair accessible" or "free Wi-Fi."
- Business Hours and Special Hours: Keep your operating hours updated, including any special hours for holidays or events.
- Customer Reviews and Ratings: Encourage and respond to customer reviews. Positive reviews not only boost your credibility but also contribute to higher local search rankings.
It's important to note that even if you're the owner of a GBP listing, anyone can potentially make unwanted edits to it using the "Suggest an edit" button. If left unchecked, these changes can hurt your rankings, so make sure to watch out for unauthorized GBP edits to safeguard your local SEO.
2. Citation Building
Citation building is the practice of getting your business's name, address, and phone number (NAP) listed on third-party directories, websites, and other online platforms. These citations help establish your business's credibility and relevance to search engines, which in turn can improve your rankings in local search results.
The most important aspect of citation building is ensuring both consistency and relevancy. Your NAP info must be the same across all platforms, and you should focus on building citations on only the most relevant, authoritative ones.
Some common citation sources include local business directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and industry-specific sites. Additionally, regional and community-specific sites, such as Chamber of Commerce sites, can be valuable for reinforcing your business's local presence.
3. Localized Content and On-Page Optimization
On-page SEO deals with optimizing all the content that is visible to potential customers on your business's website.
To improve local search rankings for your primary business site, it's essential to incorporate relevant localized keywords into as much of your website's content as possible.
This includes optimizing meta titles, meta descriptions, headers, and body text with location-specific terms that potential customers might use when searching for your products or services.
Here are a couple other localized content and on-page optimization strategies for local SEO:
- Locally Relevant Content: Create content that is relevant to potential customers in your local area. This could include local news, events, or stories that connect your business to the community.
- On-Page SEO Best Practices: Implement best practices for on-page SEO, such as using header tags, optimizing images, and creating a mobile-friendly website. Google rewards websites that provide a seamless user experience.
4. Local Link Building
Building a strong network of local backlinks is another key aspect of local SEO. Local backlinks are links from other websites relevant to your community and target audience that lead back to your business. Local link building strategies include:
- Local Directories and Citations: Ensure that your business website is listed accurately on other local directories.
- Local Partnerships and Sponsorships: Forge partnerships with other local businesses or consider sponsoring local events. This not only strengthens your community ties but also provides opportunities for valuable backlinks.
- Guest Blogging: Guest blogging is a content marketing strategy that involves creating blog content for other sites in return for that content linking back to your site.
5. Mobile Optimization
Considering that mobile searches account for at least 63% of all searches, optimizing your website for mobile devices is crucial for local SEO success. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites in search results, so ensure that your site is responsive and provides a seamless experience across different devices.
6. Local Schema Markup
Schema markup is a type of code that you add to your website to help search engines understand it better and provide more informative results for users. Local businesses can use schema markup to provide additional details about their products, services, and location, ultimately boosting their visibility in local search results.
7. Local Rank Tracking
Tracking your local SEO performance is crucial to understanding how well your strategies are working.
Local rank tracking allows you to monitor how your business appears in search results for location-based queries, helping you identify areas for improvement and measure success. By tracking your local rankings, you can see where you need to adjust your strategies to stay competitive and ensure that your business is appearing in the local pack.
Local Falcon can help boost your local SEO efforts by providing advanced local rank tracking tools that offer highly detailed, AI-powered insights into how your business ranks across different geographical areas.
By analyzing your visibility in local search results, Local Falcon helps you identify high-value opportunities to improve your rankings and optimize your approach, ensuring that you're always ahead of the competition in your local market.
Wrapping Up
Local SEO is not just optional for businesses that rely on foot traffic or serve a specific geographic area. It's essential if you hope to compete effectively in local search.
Optimizing for local search helps you improve your visibility, reach more potential customers, and ultimately drive more traffic and sales.
With the right approach and tools like Local Falcon, you can stay ahead of the curve and ensure your business is always visible to those who matter most; your local customers!
