Local SEO pertains to digital marketing that caters to small businesses with physical stores, enabling them to connect with their preferred customers via search engines like Google. For businesses providing certain services or products within a particular area, it is essential to appear in the search engine results when potential customers in the said location search for what they offer. Hence, having a local SEO approach will ensure that businesses can achieve this.
Loganix’s statistics indicate that nearly half of the daily search queries on Google are related to local searches. With millions of people conducting these searches every day, there is a significant possibility for maximizing your website’s potential to attract more customers within your local vicinity.
1. Create content with a local angle
When developing content for your website, aim to incorporate local elements as it offers search engines a clearer understanding of your business’s location. Content marketing is a proven approach to enhance your website’s search rankings, thus integrating local content can elevate your local SEO.
One possible rephrased version is: If you are a restaurant owner, showcasing the best dining options in your vicinity, along with your own establishment, can be a winning marketing strategy. Similarly, a pet store based in Winnipeg might offer useful information on nearby dog-friendly walking paths.
We should examine actual instances of regional content to find some inspiration.
An example would be the blog post by Canada Plumbing, an Ottawa-based company, that explores whether residents in the vicinity should contact a plumber in the event of a flooded basement.
As this guide is specific to Ottawa and not a generic piece about flooded basements, search engines can gather more information about the company’s location. Thus, when someone in the vicinity searches for a plumber, the website is more likely to appear in the search results.
Another example comes from Garden Services in Florida.
Although the site could have produced a universal manual for maintaining your landscaping as the optimal method is consistent regardless of location, they decided to present a guide on maintaining Florida landscaping with a regional perspective. As a result, the company has successfully demonstrated their location and target audience.
By doing this, you portray to search engines and customers that your business is based in Florida. You can replicate this approach for your own small business and give your content a more localized perspective.
2. Dedicate a web page to each of your locations
Even if a business has more than one location, local SEO is still important. In fact, it’s recommended to have a dedicated webpage for each location as this can increase the chances of search engines promoting the business to their targeted audience.
Ensure to incorporate the following components while developing a webpage for every location:
- The name, address, and phone number of each location
- A Google map showing the exact location
- Content that is specifically related to that location
Incorporating location-specific details in the title tags of your web pages is crucial to their optimization. As title tags are visible both in the browser’s tabs and search engine results, they serve as the initial point of contact for users seeking your website.
Suppose you had bakeries in various states and created a dedicated webpage for your Arizona store; in that case, your title tag could read as “Arizona’s Top-rated Bakery.”
The variety of their location pages allows search engines to classify each one according to its area. In particular, the Northern Virginia office page features detailed descriptions of their services, photographs of the local vicinity, an accurate map pinpointing the exact location, and text that emphasizes the county and surrounding region.
To gain actual recognition from search engines, it is essential to avoid replicating your location pages identically, with only slight modifications. Therefore, you must make an effort to distinguish them from one another.
Once again, it’s evident that this location page is tailored to the specific area it serves. It includes information about the services offered to residents, an image of the workplace, and relevant details such as the address and phone number of the facility in Colorado Springs.
When creating your location pages, be sure to take inspiration from these businesses and make sure they are distinctive, full of useful information, and optimized for local search.
3. Optimize your site for voice search
To keep up with the latest technology trends, it is crucial to optimize your website for voice search as nearly half of individuals rely on smart speakers and virtual assistants to obtain information about nearby businesses.
Recent studies have indicated that an increasing number of individuals are utilizing “near me” searches. With the advent of GPS enabled devices, such as mobile phones, search engines like Google are able to provide tailored results based on the user’s location.
To enhance your visibility for voice search online, it’s important to confirm your Google My Business profile and provide complete details about your location. This allows smart speakers to provide users with relevant information about your enterprise when they make “near me” voice searches.
4. Go mobile
It is unsurprising that the majority of mobile searches, specifically 82%, are location-based. This emphasizes the significance of mobile accessibility in terms of local SEO. A slow or unresponsive mobile website will result in a considerable loss of prospective mobile customers.
Making a website that is compatible with mobile devices is simple. Selecting a responsive WordPress theme guarantees that the content on your current website is easily legible on mobile screens. To create a mobile-optimized website with no hassle, consider using a third-party plugin like WP touch.
Loading speeds are just as crucial as functionality. Keep in mind that over half of mobile visitors, 53%, will leave a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Having a slow website may result in losing nearly half of your potential customers.
In addition, desktop websites have been measured on their page speed as a ranking factor for an extended duration, and Google has currently included mobile sites in this evaluation. Enhancing the performance of your website on mobile devices could lead to improved SERP rankings and decreased bounce rates.
If despite making optimization improvements, your load speeds are still slow, you may want to think about upgrading your present website hosting plan or even better, investing in a dedicated server. While it may be pricier, both your website and visitors will benefit from better performance.
5. Optimize web page SEO
Although we have previously discussed the significance of having a responsive website, quick loading times are not the sole factor in enhancing your search engine ranking. Optimization of your website is crucial, and if you assume you are familiar with optimizing a website for SEO, you may be astounded to discover that techniques for local optimization vary.
Naturally, certain techniques remain consistent. Adhere to excellent SEO strategies, like creating clever linking systems and utilizing titles, headers, and meta descriptions with optimized keywords. To enhance your local SEO, it will be necessary to elevate your approach. Integrate customer reviews, the business citation, and a dynamic Google Map onto your webpage.
To maximize effectiveness, businesses should create unique landing pages for every targeted region within their local area. For instance, if our bakery wants to appeal to customers in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, they ought to create two separate landing pages.
To avoid being penalized by the Google algorithm, ensure that each landing page has distinct content rather than copying and pasting content.
6. Ensure consistent citations
A NAP citation, which stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number, is also referred to as a business citation.
Although this fundamental information proves useful for customers, it carries even greater significance for search engines. As a matter of fact, it is a significant factor in determining the ranking for local SEO. By incorporating your citations into your website and across your business directories, you create chances to reinforce your credibility and legitimacy as a company.
The search engine algorithm may have imperfections and discrepancies between two NAP citations can lower their efficacy, even a mere comma can distinguish citations. It’s important to keep track of citations while adding your own and obtaining new ones. If they are not precise matches, it’s advisable to modify them.
If you come across a citation that is situated on a platform that you do not possess, it may not be feasible to make changes to it. In such instances, it is recommended that you promptly contact the website proprietor and ask for a modification to be made to the citation.
7. Land local backlinks
Improving your website authority and Google ranking significantly relies on local link signals. The more links pointing to your business website, the higher your credibility appears to search engines.
Acquiring backlinks from top-notch websites is a challenging task. Initially, you must explore prevalent domains within your niche, focusing on blogs, reviewers, and news sites.
Now that you have the list ready, it’s time to determine the approach you’ll take for building backlinks. While it may be effortless in certain instances to reach out and propose writing a guest blog, for media outlets and evaluators, the task may require more effort.
One possibility is to organize a community activity to generate media attention or provide a complimentary item to elicit a testimonial.
8. Include structured data
To find important details, such as operating hours, for a business through an online search, you can rely on the meta description. This information is made available to search engines via data markup.
Coding can intimidate numerous marketers, but luckily, schema markup or data markup employs uncomplicated language. It is essential to designate vital business particulars like the business location, client feedback, and contact details.
There are numerous third-party plugins that can assist you in organizing a schema markup if your website is built on WordPress. By enhancing ranking elements, providing information that is conveniently accessible for search engines could be beneficial. Primarily, schema markups simplify the process of potential customers seeking information about your company.
9. Get social (media)
Google emphasizes that local listings are determined by three key factors: relevance, distance, and prominence. While our previously recommended tactics can help with relevance, and distance is largely out of our control, what can we do about increasing prominence?
According to Google, prominence gauges how popular a business is. It makes this distinction by identifying signal links and online buzz. That’s why a heady social media presence is an important component of any local SEO strategy.
Achieving social shares, sparking discussions, and securing a desired spot in Google’s local listings is the aim. Learning the ins and outs of social media for business can be challenging, but ultimately, generating a significant buzz is necessary.
Notes written on the margin
For small businesses that have a physical location, implementing local SEO strategies can be crucial. When executed effectively, this approach has the potential to expand your business and increase your presence among local customers.
It is important to proceed with caution and avoid haste while performing SEO tasks for your site. Ensure that you comprehend the actions and their impact on your site’s SEO to avoid any potential mistakes. If needed, seek assistance from individuals who possess expertise in delivering successful SEO for websites.
