SEO For Local Businesses A-Z Guide

A local search engine optimization strategy is critical for small businesses that run on a regional rather than a national scale. While general SEO is more concerned with ranking in searches throughout the nation, local SEO is more concerned with appearing on search engine results pages (SERPs) in a particular area. This approach is based on promoting your brand, goods, and services to leads and consumers in your immediate area.

Because your local SEO approach is much more applicable to your base of local consumers, optimizing your local SEO results in increased web traffic, leads, and conversions. Consider this targeted approach as a method to assist you compete more successfully against bigger national companies that have limitless resources to spend on advertising and marketing. Local SEO to-dos that are unique to your business may help to counter the advantage of larger corporations that regularly optimize for broader keywords and depend on brand awareness rather than value propositions to drive visitors.

A 2020 research by ReviewTrackers estimated that 35 percent of all web search users come from inside a certain geographical area. Your company may be missing out on a substantial quantity of visitors if it does not invest in local SEO.

We have curated the top ten techniques to ensure that your local SEO campaign is a success.

What Is Local SEO & The Importance of Local Search

As the name implies, local SEO is the practice of ‘optimizing’ your online presence in order to attract more customers via relevant local searches. These searches are carried out on search engines such as Google and others.

People use a variety of search engines to find local businesses, including Bing, Google, Yelp, Apple Maps, and others.

Google, on the other hand, is projected to have an 87 percent market share (in US, at least). As a result, the vast majority of consumers are turning to Google when looking for local companies.

In order to address this issue, the majority of this article will be devoted to improving your local search presence on Google.

Here are some statistics that demonstrate how essential local search has remained efficient for companies throughout time:

• Within one day of doing a local search using their phone, 50% of those who did so visited a real shop.
• The same was true for 34% of those who conducted their query on a laptop or tablet.
• Local mobile searches result in a sale in 18 percent of cases within one day.
• 60 percent of people in the United States use tablets and smartphones to look for local services or information about products and services.
• 50 percent of mobile phone users who do local searches are searching for specific information such as a business address in their immediate vicinity.
• 78 % of local-based searches conducted on a mobile device result in purchases being done off the device itself.
• Seventy-one percent of those who responded to the poll said that they look up the location of a company in order to validate its existence before paying it a visit for the first time.
• One out of every three smartphone searches was done shortly before arriving at the shop.
• In 2017, 97 percent of customers searched online for local companies, with 12 percent of consumers searching for a local company on a daily basis on the internet.

What are some of the advantages of local SEO?

1. Increase the number of customers you serve.

At its most basic level, SEO is about promoting your company. As a result, the most significant advantage of doing things correctly is gaining more clients. The primary aim of search engine optimization is to elevate your company’s position in search results. The result is an increase in the number of customers to your online company profile, who may then be turned into paying clients.

2. Locate customers who are actively looking for your product.

There is a good chance that individuals are already searching for the service or product that you have to offer. Local SEO assists you in connecting with these suitable consumers who are still in the research phase of the buying process.

When done correctly, SEO enhances your website’s rating and positions your company at the front of the most qualified consumers, resulting in increased sales.

3. Increase the amount of traffic.

SEO is mainly concerned with increasing the volume of traffic or digital footfall that comes to your online brand or website. While it is true that not every traffic will result in purchases, it is fair to assume that the more the merrier. Increasing the number of individuals that visit your website improves the likelihood of your goods being sold. Additionally, increasing traffic helps to spread the brand awareness naturally.

4. Improve Your Ability to Connect With Customers

Because SEO utilizes relevant keywords to promote your company, it increases the likelihood of reaching a larger number of people who are interested in your products or services. People who are looking for a certain product or service will be led to your business’s website or online marketplace, which is basically what this implies in practice.

5. Increase the number of conversions.

In order to increase conversion rates, local SEO for small businesses is essential. This is mostly due to the fact that SEO attracts targeted visitors who are already enthusiastic about your goods. As a consequence, the likelihood of making a sale rises, resulting in a higher conversion rate.

6. Get a significant advantage on your competition.

Consider the case of two businesses who both offers a similar product in the same geographic area. But one has a well-developed local SEO presence, whereas the other still depends solely on conventional marketing methods. Which one do you believe will see the greatest increase in consumer traffic in this age of digital connectivity?

Using proper SEO tactics, your company may achieve a long-term competitive advantage that puts it miles ahead of the competition.

7. Raise overall awareness of the brand

People who are looking for certain goods using keywords could most likely discover your company at the top of the search engines results pages. The more people who view the findings, the greater the likelihood that your brand will be recognized. This implies that they are more interested in visiting your website or search for you specifically in the future.

8. Develop a website that is user-friendly.

A more positive consumer journey on your website is associated with enhanced SEO in the eyes of the majority of search engines. According to Google, for example, the kind of content provided on a website is extremely important if the page wants to be placed higher in SERPS. This successfully converts into a webpage that really is user-friendly and includes all of the necessary information for high search engine optimization results.

In the end, a user-friendly design attracts more consumers, which increases revenue and increases profitability.

9. Lower the average cost per acquisition.

When contrasted to other marketing initiatives like as advertising, one of the most significant advantages of SEO is its cheap cost. If you are able to do it yourself, it is almost entirely free. For those who are not confident in their website coding abilities and algorithms, hiring a small biz SEO firm to assist you is the greatest option available to them. This is a good investment in the development of your company’s brand.

10. Achieve Rankings That Will Last a Long Time

In contrast to conventional marketing, where the effect of ads only lasts for a limited period of time, SEO benefits are long-lasting and dependable. While you must keep all of your information up to date in order to improve your local SEO, if you get a high ranking in the search engine results pages, you will likely retain that place for an extended period of time.

Obtaining long-term search engine rankings is possible, though not always a guarantee, as long as you continue to put in all of the necessary work.

11. Continual expansion of the business

Local SEO activities are always aimed at increasing traffic while simultaneously boosting search engine rankings, which is the ultimate goal. As a consequence, marketing and sales leads are more productive. Improved sales attract more interested consumers, resulting in a self-sustaining loop of commercial development for the company.

Investment of time and money towards local SEO strategies is thus a critical success factor for small businesses seeking to expand.

12. Search Engine Optimization Results Are Measurable

Data is king in today’s business and marketing world, and it will continue to be so. Having the right information and analyzing it to get useful insights are two of the most important steps you can take to take your company to greater heights of success. When it comes to local search for small businesses, it gathers critical information on how your website is doing and gives you with an adequate knowledge of how you can grow.

As a result, SEO offers you with quantifiable data which can be used to improve your bottom line even more.

12 Easy Ways to Improve Local SEO

Register a Google My Business Account

Enhancing your Google listing (including your Business Page) is probably the best method to rank above Google Maps and get visible local results in Google Search. Nevertheless, you need to have a Google My Business account with this profile to access your company page to make these improvements. Once all of the required information is included in the Google My Business Account Panel, it’s all uploaded to your Google Search Local Results, Google Search Knowledge Panel and Google Maps profile.

To improve your Google My Business profile, ensure that you:

• Register a new Google My Business profile and monitor the company’s ownership
• Provide accurate and current information
• Include your logo, operating hours, accepted means of payment, the service or product you offer, and many images
• Encourage your consumers to check online
• Answer customer reviews honestly
• Use the Google My Business panel to publish posts (announcing goods, events or promotional deals) to your business profile.

Solicit regular testimonials from satisfied customers.

Making it easy for your clients to provide positive reviews for your company not only helps you improve the Google My Business ranking, but it also encourages additional local consumers to do business with you. According to BrightLocal’s 2019 Local Consumer Survey, 85 percent of consumers trust online evaluations as much as they do personal recommendations from friends and family.

Here are some suggestions to help you encourage consumers to write reviews on your website:

• After a transaction has been completed, request an in-person evaluation.
• Post-purchase emails or texts inviting consumers to submit reviews (but only after you’ve vetted them through an internal poll to verify that you’re not contacting unhappy customers) are effective.
• React to reviews in a respectful manner, expressing gratitude to reviewers and resolving concerns in unfavorable reviews.

Optimize your website for voice search

In the next years, voice search will continue to expand at a fast pace. For this reason, optimization as to how people ask queries when they talk into devices is critical in local SEO, as opposed to optimizing for how individuals write out their searches.

When doing voice searches, your consumers are more likely to utilize long-tail keywords than when conducting conventional searches.. As a result, you’ll need to modify the SEO of your information to match the more conversational style of the person speaking to you. Take, for example, the typical inquiry starters. You’ll want to make provisions for them.

While optimizing for voice searches, it’s also important to consider the user’s purpose, because these queries are most frequently done when the user is looking for a particular piece of information. If they’re cooking then ask Alexa to translate tablespoons to cups, they’re hoping for a fast and helpful response that will save them time. Similarly, if a prospective client uses voice search to inquire about your company’s hours of operation, this information should be easily accessible.

Develop content based on current news or events in your community

There’s nothing quite like creating material that speaks directly to or is directly related to a local problem to capture the attention of your local consumers.

Among the strategies are the following:

• Blog articles on local news items, activities, and events are a great way to engage your readers.
• Video productions highlighting local organizations or issues that your company supports are a good idea.
• If you serve various areas of a region, you should consider creating location-specific sites on your site containing high-quality local information.

Consider the following scenario: you own a local real estate firm. You may build various sites, for each one of your sites, where you can highlight hyperlocal information related to news events or developments in the local property market. You can also construct distinct pages for each one of your locations. This approach may also assist you in improving your ranking for each particular region.

Optimize Your Site for Mobile Accessibility

According to a Stone Temple research conducted in 2018 that compared mobile and desktop patterns in 2017, the transition to mobile is happening at a quicker rate than anticipated. Visitors to websites using mobile devices increased from 57 percent in 2016 to 63 percent in 2017, while total visits to websites using desktop computers decreased from 43 percent in 2016 to only 37 percent in 2017.

Another research conducted by Acquisio in 2017 discovered that traffic derived from local searches may be particularly profitable, with a staggering 75 percent of all mobile search queries that show local intent actually resulting in in-store, physical visits within 24 hours of the search.

This shows that you must optimize your website for mobile in order to be a player in local search engine optimization.

Here are some pointers to help you accomplish your goal:

• Make certain that your website loads fast.
• Make use of larger fonts that are simple to read.
• Reduce the amount of information you communicate with pictures and text by using them sparingly.
• Make certain that the UI is intuitive in order to provide excellent UX.

Concentrate on Keywords Specific to Your Area

Your keywords ought to be relevant to consumers in your local area. Isn’t it obvious that this is the case?

Google’s own Keyword Planner allows you to limit keyword searches depending on geography so that you can get a sense of the most popular search keywords in a certain area. This allows you to compile a list of keywords that are relevant to your area of interest. Once you’ve obtained them, they should show in the meta data, copy, and URLs of your website.

In addition, incorporate references of landmarks and hotspots that are unique to the area in your article. To illustrate this, consider using references to “dining near the Space Needle” or “simply meters from the Space Needle” on your website if your local café offers dining in downtown Seattle.

Make use of location webpages or a “About Us” page that is specific to a certain location

If your company has more than one facility in a given region, location pages are an absolute necessity. At a bare minimum, these pages must have the following information:

• Hours of operation
• Names, location, and phone number are required.
• Descriptions that are tailored to the individual
• Testimonials
• Promotions
• Parking availability
• Each location page includes a link to a Google Map.
• Be cautious if you have numerous locations, since you will need to write distinct material for each page on your website.

Create a “About Us” section that displays information about your business that is specific to your area if you just have one location. A good place to highlight your participation in providing flowers for festivals in your town or city, for example, is your “About Us” page. If you operate a florist shop, the “About Us” page is an excellent place to discuss your store’s involvement in supplying flowers for festivals in your town or city.

Participate in the activities of your local community.

Participating in your local community will increase your chances of receiving positive internet publicity. In order to get press coverage, brand recognition, and inbound links, you may collaborate with a charity on a campaign, have a volunteer day at your company, sponsor any event, or appear in local media as an expert in your field.

As an illustration, consider the fact that.

Why not include a program in your geographic area and gain some links in the process? Education connections are indeed the bee’s knees when it comes to domain authority. Due to the backlinks from educational institutions, it should be related to your sector and provide the appropriate signals to your website.

Obtain inbound links that are relevant and authoritative.

Internal links are very effective ways to improve your local SEO since every incoming link signals to Google that you are a reputable business; furthermore, inbound links have the potential to increase your domain authority. Here are some strategies for obtaining inbound links:

• Partnerships or sponsorships are two different things.
• Scholarships for guest blog posts are available.
• Begin by building your personal online community, which include the business group, business development zones, licensing bureaus, trade organizations, resellers, suppliers, and/or manufacturers, as well as other affiliates and partners.

In addition, try hosting a webinar or meet-up as well as supporting something local you are passionate about and establishing connections with important individuals and influencers in your field of expertise. Additionally, develop the confidence to approach partners and request inclusion in their partner directory.

Additionally, serving as a guest blogger may assist in attracting links. Involve yourself in the lives of others in your business and serve as a resource for them (always in a good light, of course!). Become an active voice in community discussions, and you’ll see a noticeable increase in the amount of buzz around you, including backlinks, social media development, and media attention.

Take Advantage of Business Directories Located on the Internet

Websites such as Glassdoor, Yelp, MapQuest, and YellowPages, to mention a few, are examples of online business directory services. There are many others.

The inclusion of your company name, location, and contact information in these directories will not only improve exposure, but it will also improve your local SEO.

The following elements should be included in your business listing:

• Business names, addresses, and phone numbers that are accurate and consistent throughout all directories
• A hyperlink pointing to your website
• A detailed explanation of your company’s operations

Create a separate landing page for every product or service that you provide

Despite the fact that it may be tempting to group all of your goods or services together on a single page, refrain from doing so. Instead, create a page for each individual product or service that you provide on your website.

If you put everything on one page, your local SEO strategy will be less effective since search engines will not recognize your company as an expert in a particular region. As a result, your chances of ranking are reduced.

In the case of a company with no distinct goods or services, but several locations, you may simply use location-based content on each page. For example, the term “dental marketing” will be renamed “New York dental marketing” or “Buffalo dental marketing,” respectively.

Improve the internal linking structure of your website.

Internal linking structure optimization can help you rank higher in search results, even if external links going to your site are preferable.

What is the significance of internal linking? It performs the following functions:

• It helps with website navigation.
• Aids in the development of data architecture and web hierarchy
• Disburses page authority and rank authority across pages in a hierarchical fashion.

Best Local SEO Tools

1. Whitespark Local Citation Finder

A localized reference is any online reference of a company’s name, location, and phone number that is specific to the area in which the firm is located.

Because they aid in the discovery of local companies in online search, citations are important. Whenever local businesses actively maintain their citations to guarantee data integrity, it encourages confidence in the trustworthiness of these online listings.

Whitespark is well-versed in this area — in fact, it is an expert. For improved local search results, Whitespark provides local listing management, makes recommendations about where your company should be listed, analyzes your competitors, and vigorously develops and analyzes your citation growth.

2. Screaming Frog

This desktop application scans websites’ connections, pictures, CSS, script, and apps from the viewpoint of search engine optimization (SEO). I was wondering whether you have experienced 404 errors. Are you concerned about the lack of meta tags or H1 tags? Screaming Frog can analyse approximately to 1,000 URLs for free, while a premium version with limitless URL analysis is available for $200 per year.

3. MozLocal

Moz Local is less costly than its competitors, and it will guarantee that your company listing has been validated on Facebook and Google, as well as distributing your listing throughout the search engine landscape.

Moreover, Moz Local will refer to data aggregators to assist in pushing listings, ensuring that your company is seen by as many people as possible.

4. Ahrefs

It is possible to examine backlinks using Ahrefs, which is beneficial because these backlinks act as an indication of the authority of your website.

As well as providing competition analysis and keyword research, Ahrefs also offers insight into the title tag that the other websites use for referring to your page.

5. Buzzstream

It is possible to earn local backlinks with the help of BuzzStream, which assists you in identifying and developing relations with local influencers by exploring influencers, tracking discussions, and providing detailed reporting insights into the success of your outreach campaigns, the performance of your team, and the placement of links.

6. BrightLocal

BrightLocal is a complete SEO tool package that was created especially for the marketing requirements of small and medium-sized businesses.

The application may assist you in generating and monitoring reviews on local websites, analyzing your local search results, and identifying and analyzing rivals in your area.

BrightLocal also provides client access as well as white-labeled reporting, making it an excellent choice for both agencies and companies alike.

7. Yext

Yext offers a wide range of goods and solutions that may assist your company in improving its local SEO. Your company data and information are constantly up to date because of the integrations with numerous of directories that Yext has been made possible.

Among Yext’s most prominent local SEO tools are the following:

• Knowledge Manager: A centralized repository of answers to frequently asked questions about your company, including your employees, open hours, addresses, and promotions. Knowledge Managers are also known as “knowledge bases.” Some of this information is generated automatically, while other information may be entered manually.
• It’s simple to update listings with Yext Pages, and the information supplied is always up to date. With the integration of Yext Pages and the Knowledge Manager, you can provide consumers with more knowledge about your business and lead them along your sales funnel.
• Yext Listing: Gain control of the data about your company that is shared through search results and digital services such as Facebook and Glassdoor via the Yext Listings service. For example, you may use this feature to plan real-time changes, do analytics, discover listing enhancement recommendations, and build up connections with other applications. It is possible to connect the Yext App Catalogue with apps such as Slack, HubSpot, and Zendesk.
• Yaext Reviews: A method for collecting client feedback that may be used to enhance the user experience on your website. It also makes it simple to keep track of and react to reviews posted on the PowerListings Network website.

In addition, Yext’s solutions and services include the following:

• Analytics is the process of gathering insights, activities, and data in order to make reporting simpler.
• Preventing the creation of duplicate listings.
• Data cleaning is necessary to ensure that facts are consistent.
• Management of Google My Business with Google Listings.

Final Thoughts

SEO is evolving at a fast pace. You rarely predict when Google will add new features to its search engine results pages (SERPs) for local queries, but you can bet that these improvements will happen sooner or later. That is why it is critical to remain ahead of local SEO trends at all times. By putting these ten actionable tactics into place, you will guarantee that your company not only takes advantage of profitable local searches, but it also has a strong foundation on which to build as new SEO capabilities are implemented. In addition, if you don’t have the time or resources to make these changes, you may want to consider hiring a small company SEO service provider.