Your Guide To Local SEO, From Google My Business to Local Keywords
If you have a brick-and-mortar business that appeals to a specific locale, you have probably heard about implementing local SEO. This refers to how companies can optimize their online presence to attract more businesses from community searches.
For instance, think of how many times you have asked “Siri, where is the nearest coffee shop?” Local SEO can not only help you find what you are looking for nearby, but it can also help your customers find you.
Here is what you need to know to use Local SEO to your advantage:
How Does Local SEO Differ From General SEO?
General SEO, often simply called search engine optimization (SEO), improves your website’s visibility on a global scale. For example, a keyword for our business might be “Affordable SEO services” which may show up in our home city of Houston, Texas, but it could also appear anywhere in the world.
This makes sense to us, but what if you do not want to only target the customers in your city? While you cannot fully dictate who will see your website you can optimize it for local search results.
The benefits for Local SEO include:
Enhanced Visibility: Show up in Google Maps and local search results.
Increased Conversion Rates: Users who find you via local searches frequently have higher conversion because of their specific intent.
Competitive Advantage: Make an impression on local competitors who may not be optimizing their websites for local search results.
Google My Business Optimization
One of the premier ways to appear in local search results is by creating a Google My Business page. You likely have come across A Google My Business page when looking for a local business yourself, especially when using Google Maps.
You can utilize this free service to have a robust website presence while also being able to respond to Google reviews, get listed on Google Maps, etc. To get started setting up a Google My Business set up your free Google Business Profile.
You will want to follow all the steps to completion, including verifying your business and ensuring your phone, email, and other contact information is accurate.
Finding Local Keywords
As mentioned, one of the biggest differences between Local SEO and general SEO is the inclusion of local keywords. These local keywords help search engines understand the nature of your industry, including what geographic area you might be specific to.
For example, if you own a pet boarding business in Charlottesville, North Carolina, then the local keyword “Charlottesville dog sitter” would be considered a Local SEO keyword you can employ.
There are many different keyword search tools you can utilize, such as Google Keyword Planner, a free tool with Google Ads (you do not have to run ads to use it). You can use the local ads you find in your content strategy, whether through localized landing pages or by incorporating keywords into your already existing copy strategy.
Just be sure to ensure that all your content is relevant and engaging to your users.
Building Local Links
You should ensure that your NAP (name, address, and phone number) is predominately displayed on your website. This helps when getting into local citations, or rather mentions of your business on other websites.
These backlinks can greatly help increase your website’s authority, which then helps with your indexing and crawling. You can also submit your business to places like Yelp, and Yellow Pages, or join industry-specific associations or directories.
The more links you have from user-trusted sources, the more both search engines and your potential customers will trust you and the services you offer.
Tracking Local SEO Performance
There are many different ways and methods to track how successful your Local SEO offers are. For instance, you can monitor the amount of traffic that is coming from a source like Google My Business. Remember, this website also has its business insights so that you can learn how your GMB profile is performing.
If you have pages that are for specific Local Keywords or geographic locations then you can measure how these perform against other pages. For example, we previously worked with a client who wanted to see what city was performing the best to determine what ad campaign to do.
You can also set up conversion tracking to see what actions are being taken by users, such as phone calls or email form fills.
Once you have enough data you can then refine and optimize your current Local SEO efforts.
Use Local SEO To Find Customers In Your Community
Local SEO is an essential tactic if you want to gain a bigger presence in your local market. By optimizing your Google Business Profile, including local keywords, building local citations, and overall increasing your local efforts, you are more likely to increase your local search visibility.
You can also partner with us. We can take the burden of Local SEO off, from optimizing your Google Business profile to pulling local keywords.
