How Local SEO Can Impact
Your Business
By: Cassidy Richey, Updated 8/9/2024
The more we rely on the internet as a society, the more crowded it gets. According to a 2021 Statista report, nearly 2 billion websites exist on the internet, which has undoubtedly grown since this report was published. To stand out from the 2 billion websites, you need to make your business’s website and brand stand out. The best way to do that is through search engine optimization.
However, some SEO tactics may not seem relevant to all businesses, especially small businesses looking to boost more foot traffic in their area. After all, small business owners want customers who live in the area, not someone across the world who simply uses a specific keyword. Luckily, there’s a solution: local SEO. Local SEO involves optimizing your website, your Google My Business listing, and link building practices to draw in more local traffic and customers. The more local traffic you receive, the more your sales will soar, helping your small business to grow.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO (Local Search Engine Optimization) is a specialized strategy within SEO that focuses on optimizing a business’s online presence to attract more customers from relevant local searches. These searches typically occur on Google and other search engines, where users are looking for services, products, or businesses within a specific geographic area.
Unlike traditional SEO, which aims to improve visibility on a global or national scale, Local SEO targets searches that have a geographic component. This means it helps businesses appear in search results when someone in the vicinity searches for a relevant keyword, often without even specifying their location (e.g., “coffee shop” or “plumber”).
Google’s local search algorithm considers a variety of factors, with proximity being a significant one. For example, if someone searches for “pizza near me,” Google will use the searcher’s location to show results for pizza places that are nearby. This proximity factor ensures that users are connected with businesses that are geographically close to them.
Local SEO is especially crucial for businesses with a physical location or those that serve specific regions, as it helps drive local traffic, increases visibility in local search results, and ultimately leads to more foot traffic, inquiries, and sales.
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Why Is Local SEO Important
Local SEO is just as important as any other type of marketing, as it can help boost your business’s services when searchers look for specific keywords. Google will often recommend trusted services in their area first, which searchers will often look to before scrolling further on the search engine result page (SERP). As a result, prioritizing local SEO efforts can help spread brand awareness in your area and boost your overall authority. This directly translates into more traffic to your website and, even better, conversions.
How Long Does Local SEO Take?
Overall, local SEO efforts can take six months to a year to see any effects. However, this estimate may also fluctuate depending on various factors, including:
- Your backlink profile: Backlinks can help boost your website’s overall authority. The more authoritative your website, the higher it will rank in the SERPs for relevant keywords.
- The quality of your website: Search engine crawlers can rank user-friendly websites with SEO-optimized content more favorably than those who aren’t.
- How frequently you update content: By frequently updating your content, you can keep up with common search queries and topics in your area and your audience that may adapt over time.
- Your competition: If your efforts aren’t outperforming your competition, or you operate in an overly saturated market, it may take longer to catch up and see improvements.
- Reviews and engagement: The more people who work with you and leave positive reviews, the more likely Google will recommend you to searchers in your area.
Even if you analyze these factors, external factors such as algorithm updates can also affect your SEO results. Regardless, you must look at the long road ahead. The longer you optimize your website, SEO efforts, and Google profile, the more website crawlers will realize your site is trustworthy and recommended to local searchers. These efforts may be easier if you have Resolve to assist you!
Local SEO vs Global SEO
Unlike local SEO, global SEO or traditional SEO efforts won’t necessarily help you rank for local search queries. Instead, global SEO targets a broader audience who may live across the country or, as the name suggests, the globe. Still, global and local SEO efforts share common efforts, such as optimizing your content with relevant keywords, building your backlink profile, and investing more in technical SEO.
That said, global SEO is often more advantageous if you operate an enterprise business with multiple locations or if your business operates remotely. You don’t necessarily need more local foot traffic to your website; you simply need any kind of traffic to boost your authority. On the other hand, local SEO efforts can directly translate into local sales conversions, which can make or break a small business.
Both efforts also differ in the actual keywords you use in your content. For local SEO efforts, you may need to conduct keyword research on terms relevant to your area. In contrast, global SEO keyword research may involve terms relevant to a broader audience.
An example of what local listings look like in Google’s SERPs.
How To Dominate Local SEO
If you’re interested in increasing local traffic, follow these steps:
Create Your Google My Business Listing
Your Google My Business (GMB) listing is the description that Google provides when people directly or indirectly search for your business. It should include the following information:
- Business name;
- Business description;
- Services and products;
- Address;
- Phone number and other contact information;
- Website;
- Hours of operation;
- Images and videos.
If your GMB is missing any of these elements, it may confuse the searcher or prompt them to look elsewhere. If your business has been operating for a while, Google likely has already generated your GMB. If it hasn’t, you can simply build your business profile by filling out a form. From here, Google will verify you’re the owner, and you’re good to go!
Category:
Make sure you’ve got the correct category for your business.
Description:
Have a detailed description of what your business provides. Include keywords that people might use to search for you. Refer back to our keyword research tutorial for tips on what keywords to use.
Reviews:
Positive reviews make the world go ‘round! Google wants to highlight companies that have a great reputation. Google Reviews is the best way to demonstrate that.
Images & Videos:
Don’t just tell, SHOW! People want to see your business, your team, your products, and your services. Add photos and images to provide the best reflection of your company or business.
When, Where, How:
Include current hours for your business. Link to your website. And always confirm that the address on your site is consistent with how it’s listed on GMB.
Optimize Your Business or Company Website
Even if you create your GMB, it may go unnoticed if you don’t have a website to back it up. Your company and business website are integral to offering more information to searchers and can boost your ranking in the SERPs as long as you consider the following actions:
- Create linkable content: Linkable content is any kind of engaging, practical, credible, and unique content. These factors can help balance out your content, inform your audience, and build backlinks — all of which can build your authority as a website, thus earning more local traffic.
- Build location-specific landing pages: Building pages that list the services or products you may sell in a specific location can help users understand your business and where they can find you.
- Make your website accessible: If your website isn’t user-friendly, especially for mobile users, users are likely to turn to competitors with easier-to-use websites.
- Optimize your content for local keywords: Just as important as linkable content is, it’s essential to create content with specific keywords in mind that are relevant to your high-traffic keywords in your field and your area. Algorithms will evaluate your content’s keywords and usefulness and help you rank for these exact keywords.
Once you build your website, customers will likely engage with your business more.
Here are some additional options you should pursue.
Mention The City/State/Location In Which You Operate
Mentioning the city, state, or specific location in which you operate (especially in your title tags) is helpful for Local SEO because it signals to search engines that your business is relevant to users searching within that area, helping you rank higher in local search results and connect with potential customers in your community.
Include Consistent NAP on All Platforms
Including consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) across all platforms is essential for Local SEO as it ensures search engines and customers can accurately identify and trust your business information, leading to better visibility and higher rankings in local search results.
Optimize Your Business Schema
Optimizing your business schema is vital for Local SEO because it helps search engines understand and display key information about your business more effectively, such as your location, hours, and services, leading to enhanced visibility in search results and rich snippets that attract more local customers.
Grow Your Local Presence!
Ready to elevate your local search rankings? Get started with a free Local SEO audit today and discover how we can help your business attract more local customers and increase your visibility. Take the first step toward dominating your local market now!
Generate Positive Reviews for Your Services
After interacting with your business, many customers may go on with their lives, especially if they had a mediocre experience. On the other hand, customers with a highly positive or negative experience are more likely to leave a review on your GMB, according to a 2023 Search Engine Journal article. These reviews are compelling, as they can influence future customers. With that in mind, do the following to encourage your customers to leave more positive reviews:
- Provide exceptional customer service: The better service you provide, the more impressed your customers will be, which will then encourage them to leave a review.
- Ask customers to leave reviews: Sometimes, asking is all you need to do to remind customers to leave reviews. It may be simple, but it works!
- Create an incentive program: Customers will be more likely to return if you offer incentives or discounts for anyone who leaves a review.
- Make the process easier: Sometimes, customers don’t know how to complete a review online. Make the process easier by providing a QR code with their receipt.
That said, negative reviews are inevitable. Even if you do your best to follow these tips, accidents happen, and customers may leave unsavory comments. Don’t let it get you down, though. The more reviews you get, the higher your average rating will be, which potential customers tend to trust more, according to Search Engine Journal. If someone does leave a negative review, respond to it soon. Not only will a positive response show the negative reviewer that you care about righting any wrongs, but it also shows potential customers that you care.
How Resolve Helps Boost Local SEO
At Resolve, we know how influential local SEO is to small businesses, and we’re committed to providing a comprehensive approach to boosting local conversions. With an analytical audit, we can recommend a game plan to enhance your local SEO efforts — whether that includes content creation, link building services, and more. So, if you’re curious, contact us today!
FAQs About Local SEO
Why Is Local SEO Important for My Business?
Local SEO is crucial for small businesses that want to reach customers in their area. Local SEO efforts increase your visibility in search results for those nearby, who will then go to your website, thus boosting more foot traffic at your physical location.
How Does Google Determine Local Search Rankings?
Google uses various factors to determine local search rankings, including your business’s relevance to the search query, your business’s distance from the searcher, and your business’s prominence online.
How Can I Optimize My Google My Business Profile?
To optimize your Google My Business (GMB) profile, update your business name, address, and phone number. Select the appropriate categories for your business. Add photos of your business and products and services that will engage customers.
What Role Do Customer Reviews Play in Local SEO?
Positive reviews can boost your business’s visibility and credibility in local search results. Search engines consider the quantity, quality, and frequency of reviews when ranking businesses.
How Can I Create Locally Relevant Content for My Website?
To create locally relevant content, write blog posts about local events, news, and issues related to your industry. Create location-specific landing pages for each area you serve. Highlight local partnerships, case studies, and testimonials. Use local keywords and phrases naturally in your content.
How Can I Track the Success of My Local SEO Efforts?
You can track the success of your local SEO efforts by monitoring your local search rankings for relevant keywords and tracking website traffic and user behavior with Google Analytics.
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