A number of businesses still don’t understand the benefits of local search engine optimization (SEO) and how to do it properly. The fact that you are reading this post is a strong indication that you do understand the benefits, but just in case you’re still on the fence, here is my short take on why you should implement this local SEO guide for beginners and not just skim over it and move onto something more exciting.
Why Local SEO?
Not doing local SEO is like having a store in the middle of nowhere – no one will know it exists.
Did you know that over 60% of all Google searches are for local businesses? And that number is only going to continue to grow as more and more people turn to the internet for their everyday needs.
If your business isn’t found at the top of Google for your local products or services, you’re missing out on a huge chunk of potential customers.
In this guide to local SEO, I will explain what local SEO is, its importance to local businesses, and how to do local SEO properly so that your business can start ranking higher in Google search results.
What Is Local SEO?
Stated simply, local SEO is the process of optimizing a business’s website and online presence to rank higher in Google search results for local queries. More specifically, it involves optimizing a business’s website for local keywords, building local citations and links from other relevant websites, and creating localized content.
The goal of local search engine optimization is to make a business’s website show up as the top result when someone searches for a keyword related to that business’s products or services in their local area. For example, if someone is searching for “pizza delivery in Los Angeles”, the goal of local SEO is to make a website for a pizza delivery company in Los Angeles show up as the top result in the search results of Google search (or other search engines).
Why Is Local SEO Important?
In the same way as a local store benefits from being in a prime location where it receives lots of foot traffic, a website benefits from being in a prime location – at the top of the search results – where it receives lots of visitors. As we have already established, local SEO helps businesses to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
This makes it easier for potential customers in the vicinity of the business to find it, increasing the chances that they will visit and make a purchase or book an appointment directly from their website.
Here are just some of the benefits that businesses can enjoy when they rank for local searches in search engines like Google or Bing.
1. Increased Visibility And Reach
With local SEO, businesses can reach out to a wider audience within their locality, increasing their chances of generating leads and sales.
2. Greater Customer Engagement And Conversions
Local SEO can help businesses to connect with their customers at that moment when they are actively searching for their products or services. This is the time that these customers are most likely to make a purchase or request either an appointment or additional information.
3. Cost-Effective Marketing
Local SEO is a cost-effective marketing strategy that can help businesses to get the most out of their marketing budget by targeting a specific audience with near-laser precision.
4. Increased Roi
Unlike Google Ads, you don’t pay for each person that visits your website from Google Search. So, when done correctly, local SEO can help businesses to achieve a higher return on investment (ROI) from their marketing campaigns.
What Is The Difference Between SEO And Local SEO?
In case you are not familiar with SEO, let’s start by explaining what organic SEO is.
Organic SEO is the process of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), without the use of paid advertising. This is done by optimizing the website content, structure, and on-page elements like titles, metatags, and anchor text to align with the search engine’s ranking algorithm. It also includes link-building from other relevant, authoritative websites, which further boosts the relevance and authority of the website being optimized.
Organic SEO targets search terms that have national (or even international) search intent. These search queries can often be super competitive and it can require a good amount of time and resources to get a website ranking for these keywords.
Local SEO is a branch of organic SEO. It focuses on the same elements as organic SEO, but also adds a few other optimization techniques that are designed to help a website rank higher for queries that have local intent.
These include optimizing for specific location-based keywords or local keywords as they are commonly referred to, creating location pages, and adding local structured data markup to your website’s code.
Local SEO is often less competitive than organic SEO since it allows you to target a smaller, more specific geographic area.
Local SEO Building Blocks
There is a ton of information that can be offered on how to implement local SEO for your website. We are going to focus on local SEO basics that you can implement yourself with relative ease and without the need to understand in-depth technical SEO.
We will break this down into 2 major focus areas, namely onsite SEO and Offsite SEO.
Onsite SEO For Local Sites
On-site SEO is the foundation of any local SEO campaign. By optimizing your website for specific location-based keywords and adding structured data markup to your website’s code (don’t worry, you don’t need to learn to code for this), you can make it easier for search engines to understand where your business is located and what services you offer.
There are a few different factors that you need to take into account when it comes to local onsite SEO. Let’s break it down.
Local Keyword Research
Before you can optimize your website, you need to be clear on what you are offering and the location/s that you service. More importantly, you need to know what people are typing into the search engine when they are looking for a product or service from a local business.
I know this sounds obvious, but there are a good number of businesses that use terminology that only they are familiar with. Terms that their target market never uses when searching online.
For instance, a person that repairs shoes is known as a cobbler. But if I typed the local keyword “cobbler New York City” into Google Search, the search volume shows up as zero. However, if I search for “shoe repairs New York City”, there is an estimated 880 monthly searches. It goes without saying then that it would be more beneficial for a cobbler in New York to obtain local rankings for “shoe repairs” as opposed to “cobbler”.
To understand what search terms you should be optimizing your local website for, you need to conduct proper keyword research.
There are a few different keyword research tools available that you can use for this. Here are some you can investigate.
- Google AdWords Keyword Planner
- SEMrush
- Ahrefs
- Moz Keyword Explorer Tool
- SpyFu
When conducting keyword research, start by entering seed keywords that describe your business. For example, “restaurant”, “plumber”, etc. Then, look at the list of suggested keywords that the keyword research tool generates.
From there, you can start to get an idea of which keywords have the highest search volume and low competition. These are the keywords you want to focus on first. Remember, that you are wanting to rank for local terms so make sure to include your city or state in the keyword as well.
For example, “plumber Los Angeles” or “restaurant New York City”.
Now that you know which keywords to target, it’s time to start optimizing your website. Here are some tips on how to do that.
Optimize Metadata For Local Search Intent
Add your location to your website’s title tag and meta description.
The title tag is the name of your website. It appears in the browser tab and is also what shows up in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Your meta description is a brief summary of what your local site is about. It also appears in the SERPs beneath your title tag.
Both of these areas are important places to include your target keyword and location. This helps to signal to both the search engines and searchers that your website is relevant to their search.
Optimize Pages For Local Search Intent
Create local landing pages.
A local landing page is a page on your website that is specifically designed to target a certain location.
For example, if you are a plumbing company that services the Los Angeles area, you would want to create a local landing page for Los Angeles. This page would be optimized for the keyword “plumber Los Angeles”.
There are a few places you will want to include a variation of your primary keyword, including:
- Meta Title
- Meta Description
- Title of Your Page (H1)
- Page Content
An important note is to keep it natural. Don’t stuff the keyword over and over again throughout your page. This will risk Google penalizing you and your site may be completely removed from the SERPs or buried so far back that no one will ever find it.
There are SEO Tools that can help you to optimize these pages optimally, but the best common sense way that will cost you nothing but time, is to analyze your competitors who are already ranking on the first page of Google to see how they have optimized their pages for their targeted keywords.
It would include things like your address, phone number, a map of your service area, and any other relevant information.
What If I Have Multiple Service Areas?
If you service multiple areas, you can create a page for each area. There is an ongoing debate as to whether the content for each area should be unique or if you can use the same content and just change out the area. The concern is that Google might ‘flag your site’ for duplicate content.
I have tested both with equal success, but it is always safer to play within the rule book. Each page does not need to be completely unique, but add some content that is unique to that area, like photos of landmarks, reviews from people in that area, or, if you have an office in that location, include a map with the details of that office.
Naps Are Huge For Local Businesses
As a local business owner, one of the most important things you can do for your SEO is to make sure your NAP (name, address, and phone number of your business) is consistent across all of your online listings. This helps Google to verify that you are a legitimate business and improves your chances of local rankings in the search results.
We will touch more on additional online properties like social media and business directories where you will want to list your business when we look at offsite SEO, but for now, let’s consider how and where you will want to include your NAPs on your website.
On Every Service Area Page Of Your Website
Be sure to include the relevant name, address, and telephone number for each of the location pages that you have created.
In The Footer Of Your Website
At the very least you will want to add your main NAP to the footer of your site. If you only have a few locations that you target, you can create the NAP for each of these locations here. However, if you target many areas, only list your main location/s here and add the rest to your contact information page.
In The Contact Information Section Of Your Website
You can add the NAPs for all your locations on this page.
Include A Map Of Your Business Location
Including a map on your local business website is a great way to help customers find you. Maps are especially helpful for businesses with multiple locations, as they can show customers exactly where each location is.
From an SEO standpoint, maps can also help improve your local site’s SEO by providing another avenue for Google to verify your business information.
Where Should I Add A Map To My Local Site?
It would make good sense to add a map everywhere that you have included your NAP. Depending on your footer and the number of NAPs you have there, this may not be practical, but be sure to include it in your local area pages and your contact section.
Use Schema’s Geographic Markup
Schema’s geographic markup allows you to indicate to Google which geographical areas your business services. This can be especially helpful for businesses with multiple locations, as it can help Google determine which location is the most relevant to serve up in the search results.
You can use Schema’s geographic markup by adding a <div> tag with the itemscope attribute and the itemtype=”http://schema.org/GeoCoordinates” attribute to your page. Within this <div>, you will include the coordinates for your business location.
If you are not familiar with coding and have a WordPress website, you can use a plugin like Easy Schema to implement your schema geographic markup (and other local schemas you may find useful).
Be sure to add Schema’s geographic markup to all of your local pages, as well as your contact page.
Ensure Your Website Performs Well On Mobile Devices
According to Statistica, “more than 60% of searches now take place on mobile devices”. Looking at this graph as given by Statistica, we can see that mobile search has grown significantly over the years and there is no indication that it is going to plateau.
Google recognizes this too and has a mobile-first index, which means that they have added a lot more weight to how well your site performs on mobile devices as one of the factors on which they are basing their rankings.
If you want to rank in the local search results (and this influences both mobile and desktop rankings), it is essential that your website is mobile-friendly. If you are not sure, you can test how well your website performs on mobile devices using Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool.
You can also continue to monitor your site for mobile friendliness from inside of your Google Search Console.
Offsite SEO For A Local Search Optimization
Now that you have established the foundation with your onsite SEO efforts, it’s time to move on to offsite SEO.
Off-page SEO refers to all activities that you undertake on other websites to improve your site’s visibility and ranking. This includes link building, social media, and creating citations on other websites.
Let’s get stuck in.
Register Your Business With Google My Business
A Google Business Listing is a free and easy way to let customers know where your business is located and find your contact information. It also allows you to verify your business information with Google, which can help improve your site’s ranking in local search results.
If you have ever conducted a local search on Google, you will have seen a section where 3 or more businesses show up in a section near or at the top of the page with a map. These businesses have created a Google Business Listing.
Having a business listing does not mean that your business will automatically show up in those top map results, but it goes without saying that you cannot rank there without a listing.
In order to create a Google Business Listing, you first need to create a Google My Business account. Once you have registered for an account, you can then add your business information.
You can add the following information:
- Business name
- Address
- Phone number
- Website
- Description of your business
- Photos of your business
- Categories that best describe your business
After you have added this information, be sure to submit it for verification. Google will then either send you a postcard with a PIN that you will need to enter for the activation of your listing or they will arrange a video call where they will want you to show them your physical premises. Once verified, this listing will appear in searches on Google Maps and Google Search.
It is a process, but it is worth the effort.
Customer Reviews Give A Local SEO Boost
There is still some debate as to whether Google ranks businesses higher in the maps results based on the number of positive google reviews the business receives. What is sure is that they play a big role in converting prospects into customers.
Five-star customer reviews are important for the credibility of your company. People trust what other people say about your business far more than they trust what you say about your business.
So, encourage your customers to leave positive reviews on your website and on third-party review websites like Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook.
There are a few things that you can do to encourage your customers to leave reviews:
- Include a link to your review page on your website’s footer.
- Include an invitation to leave a review in your email signature.
- Include a request for a review on your receipts.
- Make it easy for customers to leave reviews by providing them with QR codes or short links.
Build Citations For Local SEO
Citations are important for local SEO because they help Google match your business with related businesses in the area.
Citations are simply mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites. They are one of many factors that Google uses to determine how relevant your business is to a particular search query.
The more citations you have, the more likely it is that Google will rank your business higher in the local search results. This is because they see your business as being more established and credible.
That’s why it’s important to make sure that your business information is accurate and consistent across all of the directories where it appears. You can use a tool like Moz Local to help you manage your citations and track their accuracy over time.
Here are some sites where you can get business citations:
- Google My Business
- Bing Places for Business
- Yelp
- Yellow Pages
- Foursquare
- Manta
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
Submit Your Site To High-Quality Local Directories
Local business directories are web-based listings of local businesses. They are similar to online Yellow Pages, but they also include other business information like business hours, payment methods, website addresses, and customer reviews.
There are a number of advantages to listing your business in online directories:
- They help improve your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs).
- They help you build backlinks to your website.
- They give you an opportunity to include more information about your business than what is possible on other listing sites like Google My Business.
- Some directories, like Yelp and TripAdvisor, also offer customer reviews, which can help improve your credibility and visibility.
Here are some local business directories that you can submit your business to:
- Yelp
- TripAdvisor
- Angie’s List
- Citysearch
- Foursquare
- Yellow Pages
- Manta
There are many more. Get listed on as many as are relevant to your area or niche. These local business listings will not only help boost your local rankings; they can also be a great source of traffic to your website.
Social Media Listings For Local SEO
Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are also important for local SEO. This is because they help you build a strong online presence and improve your brand awareness.
As a bonus, they also give you an opportunity to build links back to your site and include a NAP. But more importantly, it is natural for an established business to be on social media, so by doing so, you give Google positive signals about your business.
When people see your business being active on social media, it helps build trust and credibility. It also encourages them to interact with your brand, which can lead to more customers and sales.
Make sure that your business is listed on all of the major social media platforms. And, if you have the resources, consider creating and managing profiles on niche social media sites as well.
Here are some social media sites that you may want to be on, depending on your type of business:
Build Backlinks That Occasionally Include Location In Anchor Text
One of Google’s primary ranking factors for local SEO is backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites that link back to your website.
Google uses them as a signal of the quality and credibility of your site. The more high-quality backlinks you have, the better your chances of ranking higher in the search results.
When building backlinks, it’s important to make sure that your anchor text (the text that is hyperlinked) occasionally includes your location. This helps Google understand that your site is relevant to people in that area.
For example, if you are a plumber in Los Angeles, you would want to include the word “Los Angeles” in some of your backlinks. This could be something like “Los Angeles plumbing services” or “plumbers in Los Angeles”.
Make sure that you don’t overdo it, though. Google penalizes sites for keyword stuffing, so only include your location in a small percentage of your backlinks.
Local Organic Rankings
The aim of local SEO is to get local organic rankings. This means that your website appears in the search results when people in your area search for keywords that are relevant to your business.
When it comes to local search visibility, there are 2 main places that your website can rank:
- The Local Packs – This is the 3-pack of local businesses that appears at the top of the search results for many local queries.
- Organic Search Results -These are the regular organic search results that appear below (and occasionally above) the Local Pack.
Getting ranked in the Local Pack is the main goal for many businesses because it gives you a ton of visibility and can lead to a lot of customer traffic.
On the other hand, there are many businesses that receive the bulk of their customers from organic rankings.
Ultimately, you want to rank in both the 3-pack map listings and the organic search results. This gives you an extra chance to be seen by potential customers and increases your chances of getting traffic to your website.
Monitor Progress With Rank Tracking Software
Rank tracking software is an SEO tool that allows you to track your website’s progress in search engines. It’s important to use this type of software because it lets you see how well your SEO efforts are paying off.
With rank tracking, you can see which keywords you’re ranking for, where your website is ranking, and how your rankings are changing over time. This information is vital for understanding your website’s progress and making necessary changes to your local SEO strategy.
There are many different rank tracking tools available. Here are a few you can investigate:
- ProRankTracker
- SERPWatcher
- Nightwatch
I personally use ProRankTracker. From a local SEO perspective, it shows how well you are ranking in specific locations in both the organic results and Google maps (3-pack).
Conclusion
Local SEO is the only way to improve the visibility of your business in search engine results pages for local searches, short of making use of paid advertising. It is especially important for businesses that rely on customers in their local area. Visibility leads to traffic, which leads to prospects, which leads to sales.
There is work involved, but by following the tips in this guide, you can quickly get started with improving your local SEO. These tips will help you get more traffic to your website and improve your chances of getting customers from your local area.
If you see the importance of local SEO but don’t see a chance to implement this for your business, reach out to me and let’s see how we can assist you.
Local SEO Checklist
To sum it up, here is a local SEO Checklist, based on the information covered in this post.
OnSite SEO For a Local Website
- Conduct Local SEO Keyword Research
- Optimize Metadata for local search intent
- Optimize pages for local intent
- Add NAP to your service are pages, contact section, and footer
- Include a map of your business location
- Use Schema markup
- Ensure your website performs well on mobile devices
OffSite SEO For a Local Search Optimization
- Register your business with Google My Business
- Drive positive Customer Reviews
- Build local citations
- Submit your site to high-quality local business directories
- Get listed and engage on Social Media
- Build backlinks that occasionally include location in anchor text
- Monitor progress with Rank Tracking Software
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Start A Local SEO?
Follow the steps provided in this guide.
What Is A Local SEO Strategy?
A local SEO strategy is a plan of action to improve your website’s visibility and rankings in local search results. There are many things you can do to optimize your website for local search, and the best approach will vary depending on your business and target market.
How Is Local SEO Different From SEO?
Local SEO is a specific type of SEO that is focused on optimizing a website for local search results.
SEO is a broader term that can encompass both local and non-local SEO strategies. However, when people talk about “SEO,” they usually mean optimizing a website for non-local, organic search results.
Do I Need Both Local And SEO?
It depends on your business and goals. If you’re a local business that wants to attract customers from your area, then you should focus on local SEO. If you’re a business that wants to attract customers nationally or internationally, then you’ll need to focus on SEO.
Can I Do Local SEO Myself?
Yes, you can do local SEO yourself. However, it is not a quick fix where you implement a few steps and then forget about it. Be prepared to put in ongoing work knowing that it takes a lot of time and effort to do it correctly. If you’re not sure where to start, we recommend working with an experienced local SEO company or consultant.
How Long Does It Take For Local SEO To Work?
It depends on the competitiveness of your industry and how well you execute your local SEO strategy. In general, it takes 3-6 months to start seeing results from your local SEO activities. For more competitive terms it can take even longer.
Is Local SEO Paid?
No, local SEO is not paid. However, you may need to invest in some tools and software to help you with your local SEO drive. If you make use of an SEO agency, you will naturally need to pay them for their services.
Is Local SEO Still Relevant?
Yes, local SEO is still relevant. 93 percent of consumers conduct online research before making a purchase, and 57 percent of those buyers visit a business’s website after conducting that search. So it’s more important than ever for businesses to focus on local SEO to ensure they are reaching potential customers looking for their products or services.
What Is Localized SEO?
Localized SEO is just another name for local SEO.
What Is Nap?
NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone. It’s important to have this information on your website so that search engines can understand where your business is located and what services you offer.
If there are discrepancies in your NAP information, it can confuse search engines and hurt your local SEO efforts.
What Is Schema Markup?
Schema markup is a code that you can add to your website to help search engines understand the content on your pages. It’s especially important for local businesses because it can help your website show up in rich snippets, which are special search results that include additional information about your business.
What Is A Local Business Directory?
A local business directory is a website that allows businesses to list their information (NAP, website, etc.) in a directory. These directories are often organized by category so that users can find the businesses they’re looking for easily.
What Is A Backlink?
A backlink is a link from another website to your website. Backlinks are important for SEO because they show search engines that other websites are talking about your website and linking to it. This can help improve your website’s search engine ranking.
What Is Rank Tracking Software?
Rank tracking software is a tool that allows you to track your website’s search engine ranking for certain keywords. This is important because it allows you to see how your local SEO efforts are paying off and identify any areas where you need to improve.
