Local SEO is the kind of strategy that helps optimise the search engine to allow a business to be a lot more visible on the local search results on Google. It will enable any business with a physical location or business that serves any particular geographical region to capitalise from its usage. Local SEO services might also be beneficial if any important keyword related to your business gets used in a google search. There comes a map underneath with three listings, as doing so might help grow your business. Local SEO experts use these methods, which help them in growing their business. Thus, any local business that serves a geographical region should try to reach out to any Local SEO expert or chat with any company with SEO services for small businesses.
How is Local SEO different from Organic SEO?
When people talk about Organic SEO, they refer to the tactics or methods used to achieve a high placement (or position) on a search engine results page in unpaid, algorithm-driven results. In contrast, businesses using Local SEO also incorporate a geographical component/factor to their marketing campaign. For example, suppose someone is looking for a good barber in Los Angeles. In that case, businesses that use local SEO services Los Angeles will have a better chance of attracting that particular customer as they have a more targeted marketing campaign.
The functionality of Local SEO:
Local SEO functions similarly to a regular google search, just on a higher level. When someone searches, Google bots search its database to get the most relevant results; however, the ranks of local search results use a different set of ranking variables.
Local SEO, in reality, has its own set of ranking signals, which are:
- Location of the person while searching
- Listing of NAP (Name, address, phone number)
- Google My Business listing presence
- Use of Keywords on Google my business profile
- Online reviews to have client sentiments
- Presence of keywords in online reviews
- Number of check-ins on the location
- Social media shares and mentions
- Star rating of the business on Google maps
How to make your business Local SEO friendly?
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Optimize for Google My Business-
The first and foremost step to get a working Local SEO plan is to Optimize for Google My Business. To ensure your business is best Optimized for Google My Business, you will need to:
- Create and verify a page for your business in Google My Business.
- Usage of Google posts in your account.
- Asking customers to share reviews online
- An authentic response to the client’s reviews is a plus point.
Also, if Google could verify the authenticity of your business, the search engine might provide you with a premium sidebar space in the Google Local search.
It is suitable for any business to improve the potential customer’s experience and reduce their trouble finding your business by providing them with reviews, keeping contact information and working hours up to date, especially since the 2020 pandemic.
2. Engage target customers on Social media also post on Google My Business page-
Google has begun to consider posts on social media more important. Thus, businesses should also have a presence on these social media platforms and post there regularly as it already has their potential target audience. Now that your business page is ready and working, try to promote it on your social media handle. Doing so would allow both the social and search aspects of the business to work side-by-side.
3. Make sure the NAP listings are consistent throughout online-
Your duty as a business owner is to make it easy for your customers and search engines to find you. To ensure that, set up a NAP listing, the short form of Name, address (Zipcode included), and phone number. Also, NAP should not be in the form of an image but as crawlable HTML text as search engines like HTML cannot crawl images.
4. Optimization of online directories and citations-
Misspellings, abbreviations, a lack of a suite number, or an incorrect phone number might all be troublesome.
If Google cannot establish which information about your company is correct, it may not display your company in search results at all. Also, be sure to delete any duplicate listings you see.
5. Performing Local SEO audit for your business-
Now that your website is running and Local SEO is working, it is good to have a comprehensive performance audit to analyse your current position and determine what things work for you and what things need change to achieve your goals. The list for a Local SEO audit could include:
- Audit of Google My Business- The way your Google My Business page appear on the SERPs. Is the information visible and correct
- Auditing Google Search Console- Can the bots crawl your site? Is there any error in the site that might hinder its indexing?
- Auditing for On-Page SEO- Does your site include all the necessary elements required for the site’s ranking?
- Citation’s audit- Are the citations on all top directories correct?
- Competitor analysis- How is your website compared to your competitors in terms of inbound links, content, design, and placement?
- Auditing your website- Is the website working correctly on different devices or not?
Add location pages to your website-
If you have more than one physically accessible location for your business, create location pages for different places. Having a locations page also allows readers to find your business name, address, phone number, business hours, unique store descriptions, parking/transit information, specials, and customer remarks.
Ensure that your potential customers could access your website with their smartphones-
Both the Local searches and searches on mobile go hand in hand. Some of the most common things people might do with your website on their smartphones are looking for reviews, finding the direction to your location and searching for your contact information. Thus, making it necessary for every business with a parameter of physical accessibility and wishes to grow makes their websites mobile-friendly.
