If you want your business to be found by people within a certain geographic area, you need to prioritize local search engine optimization, or local SEO, in your marketing strategy. Whether your goal is to increase in-store traffic, website traffic, phone calls or more, local SEO – if done correctly, will increase your visibility in the search engine results pages (SERPs) and enhance your brand’s reputation.
Before we dive into how to implement local SEO, let’s first explore exactly what it is and how it differs from regular SEO practices.
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website and digital presence for users in a specific geographic area. According to Go Gulf, nearly 46% of all Google searches are driven by local intent. Keywords such as “restaurants near me” or “plumbers in Grand Rapids” signal local intent, or interest, in geographically relevant content. Local search queries have different behavioral intent and are more likely to convert than non-local queries.
By understanding locally driven keywords and queries, you can integrate these into your website content to ensure potential customers find you when they are searching for something specific in their area.
The Value Local SEO Brings to Your Business
By optimizing for local search, you help potential customers find what they need quickly and easily. Search engines offer free tools, like Google Business Profile or GBP (formerly, Google My Business or GMB), Bing Places, and Apple’s Places on Maps, to create business listings to show up in SERPs. If your business has multiple locations, you can create a business profile for each one.
These business listings should display the same business name, address, and phone number (NAP) that are featured on your website. Consistent business information helps search engines know your business is up-to-date and credible.
Once established, a business profile will increase the volume of traffic to your website, amplify conversions such as phone calls, direction requests, filled-out forms, bookings, and more. Lastly, you’ll have a new platform to build trust and encourage local customers to leave positive reviews of your business, in turn increasing your authority and reputation.
How to Clean Up Your Local SEO
Once you’ve created a business profile, there are several features to fill out and use to your advantage.
- Link to your website
- Upload your logo
- Upload photos of your business location & services
- Update business hours of operation
- Select your category of work
- Complete your bio and describe what your business does
- Select service areas you work within
- Provide answers to frequently asked questions
- Share sales and company updates or content
- Respond to reviews from clients and customers
The most important thing to remember about your business profile is to keep it up to date. If your business will have different hours for an upcoming holiday or your phone number has changed, you can easily make edits in GBP, Bing Places, and Places on Maps. The number of times customers check a business listing’s hours before driving to their address, only to find out they’re not actually open… happens too often to count (looking at you, Electric Cheetah). Ensuring accuracy not only helps your business but the customer experience as well.
Integrating Local SEO Keywords on Your Website
Having an optimized business profile is an important part of any local SEO strategy, but your website copy should also reflect local intent. If your business has multiple locations, it’s essential that you have separate location pages for each area that include the location’s NAP. Additionally, local SEO best practices recommend that you include the city/county you operate within in applicable meta titles, meta descriptions, and in H1, H2, or H3 headings.
Ultimately, a website or business profile that is physically closest to a user’s current location when searching with local intent will show up highest in the SERPs. In other words, the closest to the pin wins. By taking the time to create well-optimized business listings, location pages, and local content, your ranking and visibility within local search results will dramatically improve.
If you want to learn more about how your business can implement a local SEO strategy, get in touch with our team. We’ll help you get in front of the right people who are searching for you right now.
