What is Local SEO?
Local SEO (Local Search Engine Optimization), also referred to as local search engine marketing, is an immensely successful way to advertise your company online, because it lets companies sell their goods and services to local consumers at the exact time they search for them online.
This is done by a number of approaches, some of which are significantly different from what is practised in traditional SEO.
What Exactly is Local Search?
There have been a lot of conversations going on the difference between standard informational search and local search. Which is more important than the other, which one should you give importance to. Well, it depends on the business but should go in hand to hand.
While anyone in the world with ample SEO and authority can rank for a search query such as ‘how to get fit by going to a gym’, when the query has far more purchasing intent behind it, the search becomes more intended like “gyms near me” or “gyms in [location]. This is more towards user intent.
According to the latest stats by Google, 46% of the search has local intent behind it.
For such types of intended queries, which usually require a location or ‘near me’ (which is not even appropriate if you search using Google Maps or if Google knows your position and assumes that the request is intended locally), search engines realize that what exactly the search needs is location-based business recommendations or lists, and so that’s exactly what they give in the local search engine results. This behavioural and result difference is precisely why local SEO is important and worth investing in alongside the standard SEO.
Optimize Local SEO For Multiple Locations
If you have several locations, optimizing local search results isn’t that different from the above, although there are a few distinct variations.
First, you’ll want to make sure that each of your locations has a unique landing page on your web. Most Popular SEO experts have a saying that “one website, one intention” works better than ever. Optimization can be done on 2 phases
- Content
- SEO
Factors To Consider While Optimizing for Content
1.Create Descriptive Content
It is important to fill your location pages with in-depth content that is exclusive, relevant to potential customers and easy to navigate. Make sure the content has to offer something unique.
2.Make Sure To Include Location Data
This is something that needs to be taken into consideration. It is important to include business-specific information like location address, Location phone number and other relevant business information.
3.Add Specific Images and Videos
Adding location-specific pictures and videos can really boost up your local SEO efforts. Adding specific and location-based alt tags for the images helps the search engine to identify images that are relevant to. This also enhances user experience drawing them further down to the funnel.
4.Compel with An Unique Call To Action
Ideally, People who visit your website shouldn’t be confused about how to convert on your website. Include clear calls-to-action to motivate users to complete specific activities, such as calling your company, getting directions to your place, requesting a quote, etc. In addition to telling visitors how to convert, you should also make sure that the content is easy to search. All other elements being equivalent, pages that have logically and intuitively arranged key details are more likely to gain conversions.
Important Factors of SEO Optimization
1.Header 1 or H1
Header tags are like secondary titles that help organize the content of a web page and allow the search engines and users to communicate the key topics of the website. H1 tags should be as near as possible to the top of the page and should include geo-modifiers and targeted keyword phrases. For example; If you want to target a location the Location should be included in the Header 1 or H1 of the page.
2.Optimize The Titles
For your website, title tags serve as just that-a title. Using these tags to offer a succinct overview of your location pages to visitors and search engines including the company name, the store’s geolocation and the key service and/or product.
3.MetaDescriptions
Meta descriptions have for some time not had a significant effect on search rankings. Search engines, however, also display explanations for organic search results in the preview snippets, so it’s crucial that this copy entices users to click through to your site.
4.Optimize the URL
This is one of the most important factors that need to be considered on local SEO optimization. The structure of the website’s URL can have a significant impact on the local search engine rankings. For example consider you are using location pages, the best practice is to use the exact location along with the parent domain.
5.Schema MarkUp
Schema Markup is a common semantic vocabulary of tags (or microdata) that can be applied to your location’s HTML pages to help search engines read and understand Web content. These tags allow search engine crawlers to classify text as important local business information, such as Local business style Address Areas served to review and aggregate reviews Product details for business hours
6.Business Citations
A citation is any place where the name, address, telephone number, website URL, details of your company appears together online, usually in an online directory or database for company listings.
These are especially important to have in position for local SEO because if you don’t appear in the places people are searching for businesses like yours, the rivals that do will certainly overtake you.
Two types of quotation: unstructured and structured. Structured citations typically appear in business listings and come from fields of the form that are filled in when claiming the listing.
7.Reviews and Ratings
Genuine, truthful reviews are critical for both highlighting the efficiency of your service and sending signals to search engines that your website and service is trustworthy and helpful. All important criteria for local search rankings are the amount of feedback that you get, the overall consistency of the feedback and the credibility of the review sites themselves.
8.Get Quality Backlinks
Obtained naturally from well-regarded websites, backlinks help search engines identify your site as a reliable source of knowledge and improve the local search algorithm’s ‘prominence’ feature. Links from local newspapers, blogs and business groups, as well as quotes, can all help to boost awareness of your search.
To Conclude
By Implementing the above-mentioned optimization techniques the chances are high that you see an improvement in your Local SEO tactics.
It is critical that your information about your company is consistent no matter where it appears.
Many of the tactics listed here are SEO tactics which you may already be doing. It all depends on your business priorities. Larger organizations may have a strong organic search presence but lack some of the simple local SEO strategies that could add to the broader picture.
Choose what’s best for you, set actions in order and go for it!
Got questions? Reach out to us.
