Local SEO helps brick-and-mortar and area-specific businesses appear in neighborhood search results on Google. The work falls into three main areas: claiming and optimizing your business listings, building citations and reviews, and creating localized content. Getting these right puts your business in front of the 60% of searches that happen on mobile devices.
What does a local SEO campaign actually involve?
The bottom tiers of the SEO pyramid cover the basic tasks of a typical local SEO campaign. Because your competitors are already handling these areas well, you have to look beyond them to stand out and find opportunities your rivals haven’t explored. The rest of this post breaks down the key tasks that go into a local SEO campaign.
Local SEO matters because it helps local businesses show up in search results. Whether your business has brick-and-mortar locations or only operates in certain areas, local SEO helps consumers in the neighborhood find you online. Core tasks include claiming business listings, making sure franchise locations appear in local searches, managing online reviews, and running local social media.
Why does local SEO take time and ongoing monitoring?
Local search queries are tied to a specific location, and Google wants to send users to the correct one. A website that matches its Google My Business (GMB) listing is much more likely to be trusted than one that doesn’t. Google has also cracked down on excessive use of Google Maps, so tactics need to stay clean.
Improving your rankings is not a one-time job. You have to maintain ranking over the long term and keep working to bring in more traffic. Google changes its search algorithms on a regular basis, so reacting to and anticipating those changes is part of the work. Tools like BrightLocal can help you monitor competitors’ backlinks, citations, and review profiles. There is no substitute for ongoing monitoring.
How do backlinks, NAP, and the local pack fit in?
Backlinks are vital to local SEO because Google uses references to determine rankings. If a searcher is looking for a local restaurant, the result that appears is likely to be a local business. The more reviews you have, the more likely Google will prioritize your listing above others in the area. The more relevant your listing is, the higher you will rank.
You also need to optimize for Google’s local pack, Google Maps, and the local finder. Your website and Google Business Profile both need to be tuned for these channels. If your business doesn’t have a Google Business Profile, your website might not even appear in the local pack.
Keep a consistent NAP (name, address, phone number) across all platforms. If your NAP results are inconsistent, Google won’t recognize your business as trustworthy, and competitors can sometimes use inaccurate information to boost their own ranking. Consistency builds website authority and improves rankings in search results.
What kind of content should a local SEO strategy include?
Create content that is localized rather than just a blog. Resource guides, technical specification sheets, and presentations all count. Anything relevant to your target market helps. The content needs to answer the questions local users are asking, avoid fluff, and stay helpful.
Structured data markup helps Google display important information about your business on the SERPs. This is useful for restaurants, catering services, and delivery networks. It helps Google analyze the content of your page’s code and can boost local SEO. The Google Structured Data Testing Tool lets you optimize your pages, and using structured data markup in your local marketing campaign can improve reputation and reach.
FAQ
What are the three main steps to local SEO?
The three main steps are claiming and optimizing your business listings (including Google Business Profile and Google My Business), building backlinks, citations, and online reviews, and creating localized content such as resource guides, technical specification sheets, or presentations.
Why is consistent NAP important for local SEO?
NAP stands for name, address, and phone number. If your NAP is inconsistent across platforms, Google won’t recognize your business as trustworthy. Consistent NAP builds website authority and improves rankings in search results.
How does structured data markup help local SEO?
Structured data markup helps Google display important information about your business on the SERPs. It allows Google to analyze the content of your page’s code and recognize the schema of your products and services. The Google Structured Data Testing Tool can be used to optimize your pages.
