Maybe you have heard a lot about local SEO; it is one of the essential aspects of digital marketing. Probably that is because of how organically you can take the benefits of your business with the local search engine optimization.
Here we give you a concise idea of what strictly local SEO is, its relevance in today’s techno world, and its impacts on businesses.
So read this local SEO guide that breaks down all that information for you.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is simply a variation of your run-of-the-mill SEO. Its main motive is to ensure that the business gets found on search engines like Google by searching for it in their locality.
The main thing is that it promotes your business’ visibility on location-based searches by improving your local search rankings.
It includes the searches with individual geo qualifiers, like zipping, code, city, state, service area, etc., and ‘near me’ searches. Google picks up the person’s geolocation and provides search results from that area.
Why is it important?
Allowing you to get a better ROI (return on investment) can help you penetrate your local market better.
Local SEO is essential, especially if you have a business with a brick-and-mortar store or one that provides a service in a particular service area.
It helps drive traffic to the physical location by making your business information visible to searchers in your local area (often more qualified).
A study shows that 95% of smartphone users have used their device to perform mobile searches for local businesses; out of the 61% who called the company, 59% visited.
And the SearchEngineWatch found that 70% of mobile users clicked to call a business directly from the Google search results through their mobile phones.
These numbers will tell you the number of leads from location-based searches is a significant route for the potential customers, and the numbers will always keep growing.
Since these leads are from the customers who are specifically searching for the products or services that exactly your business offers, it is safe to assume that they are qualified charges with a higher conversion rate.
That is why focus on the ranking factors that allow your local customers to find your business on the results pages is significant, especially for a small business.
Small businesses are still trying to make more clientele or get more traffic into your visibility; the physical location is the name of the game. When your business information shows on the search results, you will see an increase in your digital marketing’s organic products.
And this means more revenue and more business.
The Basics of Local SEO
As we mentioned about what local SEO is and why it is necessary, now is the time to look at what you can do to improve your local SEO.
The first thing you need to understand here is that SEO for location-based searches. That means a location or physical address is a condition for a business to show local search results.
However, your business has to populate on Google maps or other search engines when it is searched. If there is no geographical location, then local SEO would not work.
Additionally, if your business’ address is not updated in Google My Business and other online directories, in that case, that means it will not show up when a customer runs a “near me” or “in *locality name*” search.
You must have to ensure that your business’ NAP (Name, Address, and Phone number). It needs to be consistent across all the online directories you have enlisted in. If there are any differences here, Google will most likely avoid listing your business in the local 3-pack. If it is possible, it is best to remain on the top of the listings.
You can do it by yourself or choose to go with a tool. That will help you manage all your online listings for you to avoid the hassle of manually updating the directory.
And then another way to improve the business’ local SEO is via local citations.
A citation or we can say the business listing is when a third party website lists your business as a point of reference. That also contains your business’s location, name, or contact info. It does not need a backlink to the business’ website.
For example, the citation would be a food blog naming your restaurant an excellent place to dine in your locality. That lets Google know about your business and feel it is trustworthy, and it will be helpful for you to increase the chances of getting in the local 3-pack.
Citation is always the best way to build awareness around the business by expanding your content’s reach to new audiences.
You can find on Google a list of some most authoritative sites to have citations there.
Also Read: How To Increase Your Social Media Traffic?
Hello Sam, Thanks for sharing such a useful blog. When we talk about local SEO then Google My Business is the best option. It can help local businesses to get traffic from their local area. Based on my experience Google My Business really helps me to grow my business in my local area.