What Is Local SEO and How Does it Work?
According to HubSpot, 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information.
This means that if you’re a small business owner, local SEO is essential to being found online and getting your business in front of the right people.
In this guide we’re going to explain local SEO and how it works.
What is Local Search Engine Optimization?
Local search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of getting your website to appear in the search results pages, for Google and other search sites, so your business can be found by local customers.
All major search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo have primary search results, where web pages and other content such as videos or local listings are shown and ranked based on what the search engine considers most relevant to users.
If you own a business and want more traffic and sales from your website, then investing in local search engine optimization should be part of your marketing efforts.
How is Local SEO Different From Regular SEO?
Local SEO is focused on appearing in search engines for terms that local customers would be using, regular SEO is focused on appearing in search engines on a national level.Â
Regular SEO tends to use generic keywords (“cheap flights”) rather than long-tail phrases (“cheap flights from San Antonio”) and focuses on getting traffic from across the country.
Local SEO relies heavily on long-tail keywords — i.e., three or four word phrases that include the location where you’re doing business.
For example, if you’re a dentist in San Antonio, you’ll want to optimize for “dentist San Antonio” or “best dentist San Antonio” not just “dentist.”
While national or regular SEO deals with the whole country, local SEO focuses on specific towns and cities. If you run a business that relies on customers in your area, then it’s essential to implement local SEO techniques.Â
How Does Local SEO Work?
As mentioned above, local SEO is all about optimizing your site for searches that include a location name.
For example, if you run a clothing store, “Vintage Clothing Store San Antonio” would be a searched term (depending on where you are and what the person is searching for).
Search engines are looking to show the right results for their users.
How does Google Determine Local Ranking?
The three main factors are:
- Relevance
- Proximity
- Authority
Relevance
Is what the user seeing the most relevant answer to their search question?
Proximity
Geographically speaking, is what the user seeing the closest in distance to their current location?
Authority
Are the businesses being displayed the most authoritative for the product or services the user is searching for?
How to Show Up on Local Google Maps
The best way to get your business listed on Google Maps is by creating a Google Business listing. This allows you to provide a host of information about your company, including your location and contact details.
You can also encourage customers to leave reviews for your business on your Google My Business listing. These reviews will then show up alongside your listing when it appears in search results, which may help convince other users to visit your store.
It’s also worth mentioning that many customers search for local businesses using the Google Maps app, rather than typing queries into the regular Google search engine. So having a Google My Business page could be beneficial even if you already have a good SEO strategy.
How to Show Up on Local Google Search Results
The Google Search Results (SERP) are the list of businesses below the Google Map. Ranking in the top 10 (preferably top three and #1 of course) for local search results are key to increasing your website traffic, leads and sales.
A Quick Guide to Rank on Local
Follow this local SEO guide so you can do the things needed to get your business to appear on local search.
Optimize Your Site for SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is all about making your website easy to find by presenting relevant information to the users who are searching for it. Writing wording that relates to your customers has a big impact on whether your website will appear on search engines. This means that on your pages, you want to include keywords that your target customers might be looking for, as well as some of the other things we’ll talk about below.
Create Your Google My Business Listing
As mentioned above, Google Business is a free business directory. It’s an important part of local SEO and is essential for any business looking to rank higher on Google Maps and Google’s search engine results page (SERP).
Collect Client Reviews
Reviews on sites like Yelp and Google My Business help build trust with potential customers, especially if you have a lot of good reviews and a high average rating. This makes it easier to generate leads for your business.
Generate Local Citations
Citations are mentions of your company name and address on other web pages including directories, social media platforms, local publications or industry-specific websites. Citations help search engines establish the location of your business and the authenticity of your online presence.
Build Links From Highly Respected Third Parties
Depending on the amount of competition, link building can still be necessary, but quality matters more than quantity when it comes to local SEO.
Look to earn links from reputable publications within your area or industry, focus on locally relevant resources such as neighborhood blogs or local news outlets.
How to Optimize Your Website for Local SEO
If you’re a local business, optimizing your website for local SEO can increase your chances of being found by prospects who are nearby and ready to buy.
While national search engine optimization is crucial for some businesses, local SEO is important for companies that want to increase foot traffic and boost in-store sales.
While there are lots of other things that should be done, are some key things you can do right away, to optimize your business website for local SEO results.
Use the geo-targeted keywords
People looking for local services use different search terms than those looking for products or general information, so you want to make sure that your site uses keywords focused on your location.
For example, that might mean including “San Antonio plumber” on the home page of a San Antonio plumbing company’s website or “San Antonio plumbing repair” on the “Repairs” page.
Then make sure the page URL has the keyword programmed in.
For example: https://www.yourwebsite.com/plumbing-repair-san-antonio .
Optimize the “About Us” page
This is a great place to add relevant keywords — both the name of the city you’re targeting and other terms related to your business — while also explaining what makes you unique and why customers should choose you over your competitors.
Optimize the “Contact Us” Page
This is the page that ultimately tells search engines if you’re local or not.
Make sure to include your business name, complete address and local phone number(s). This is also known as NAP.
You should use the exact same NAP information on your website, Google My Business listing, social media accounts and all local citation listings.
Add title tags and meta descriptions on each page
This helps search engines identify each page of your website so they know what it’s about and can tell potential customers what they’ll
Conclusion
Local SEO is a group of tactics that work together to improve your website’s visibility in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
The sooner you implement these into your website the sooner your business will appear on search engines and improve your local ranking results which will lead to an increase in traffic, leads and sales.