What Does Local Search Mean for Your Business?
As you can imagine, millions of customers at any given moment are using local search to find nearby businesses- and your business can benefit from this. As 84 percent of prospects need digital marketing capabilities to facilitate brand transactions, it’s essential that you aren’t missing out on valuable leads, traffic, and sales opportunities, which can be provided by local SEO.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO services consist of optimizing websites in order to increase traffic, leads, and overall brand awareness for a local business. Tasks that are commonly associated with the best local SEO companies include tapping into local keywords, optimizing a company’s Google My Business profile, and building “NAP” citations.
Will Local SEO Work for My Business?
With the right agency at your side, absolutely! Finding a reputable local SEO company can be challenging but it’s worth it because you’ll find local customers who might be searching for your product or service and get their business.
As local SEO is less competitive than traditional SEO, it is easier for a local business to find success in this arena. For example, larger cities house a great volume of clients who are in need of services such as a dentist, lawyers, plumbers, etc. Local businesses such as restaurants, gift shops, coffee shops, etc. can also benefit from local SEO by focusing on search engine optimization. When a search engine receives a request, it uses local SEO tools to help match “near me” searches in your city or your district.
Local SEO vs. Traditional SEO
Though both are essential elements of any effective online marketing strategy, local and traditional SEO are not exactly the same. When it comes to local versus traditional SEO, there are some basic differences to keep in mind.
Local SEO is all about building content and optimizing your website around keywords that appeal to local searchers. Traditional SEO is more focused on generic keywords and less on local services. Rather than focusing on local SEO terms, traditional SEO is in competition with businesses across the globe. While both can be beneficial, it’s important to understand when to use each type of SEO strategy.
While local SEO is part of traditional SEO, it has its own ranking factors that must be implemented. These ranking factors include:
- Google Maps and Google My Business Profile optimization: Make sure that you have an accurate and updated Google My Business profile complete with a Google Maps location. This makes it easier for customers to find you.
- Name, address, and phone number (NAP) consistency in local business citations: The more consistent you are across review sites, the more trust you build with your customers and with search engines.
- Local keywords optimization: Appeal to those in your area by incorporating local “near me” keywords into your content to drive rankings and results.
- Locally oriented content: Produce content that will appeal to your target audience and that’s designed to drive local traffic from searchers.
- Local citations: Mentioning your business’s NAP on websites that aren’t your own is a simple way to drive traffic and build a better relationship with Google.
- Number of business locations: If you have more than one location, make sure this is noted on your website, on your Google My Business profile, etc.
- User experience: Is your website updated and easy to navigate? Is the content quality? How good your user experience is directly corresponds to how much time customers spend interacting with your brand.
How Does a Local SEO Agency Work?
An experienced local SEO agency assembles a comprehensive plan to address local search engine optimization, complete with intensive research, content creation, audits, and more.
Below are some of the most vital aspects of our local SEO packages:
- Local SEO audit
Before we begin, it’s important for our team to have a thorough understanding of how your business is currently performing. We conduct a full-scale audit to determine how your website is doing in your area, covering a wide range of factors. We check your visibility, brand awareness, traffic, structure and keyword content, links, and more as part of our initial audit.
- Local keyword research
The best local SEO solutions include keyword research specific to local searches, one of the best ways to increase your business visibility and appeal to potential customers’ needs. Local keywords focus on both area and intent, like someone searching “security companies Chicago” or “Tampa business consultants.” We complete extensive research to ensure that your website will include highly relevant keywords on the right pages, increasing your traffic and leads.
- Content plan creation
The next part of any local SEO strategy is organizing a content plan. Content is a crucial element of local SEO, as search engines won’t list your website high in local rankings if your content has not been written or rewritten to be SEO-friendly. From keyword usage and SEO structure to relevancy and expert knowledge, content creation must be carefully mapped out in advance. The local search result page typically show above traditional SEO results and many local shoppers will utilize terms such as “near me” when conducting local searches. Marketing your local services is easier through local SEO as it is less competitive compared with traditional SEO.
- Google My Business optimization
Local search optimization isn’t complete without an extensive and accurate Google Business profile. That’s why the best local SEO agencies will prioritize keeping your profile up to date. Google My Business must have completed data- everything from your verified location to business and service descriptions and operating hours. When someone uses a search engine to find your product or service, they will likely rely on a complete Google My Business profile to obtain basic information in a straightforward way. Not to mention, your Google My Business listing will perform better with good reviews that have been respectfully answered, as well as high quality photos. Use your Google My Business profile as a way to showcase positive reviews, updated office images, images of your products, etc.
- Local-oriented content creation and implementation
Don’t overlook the importance of local SEO content that is tailored to the inquiries of your current and potential customers. As mentioned, content needs to be created with local search intent in mind. This includes website content such as service pages and blogs in addition to social media posts that can appeal to local searches. Our affordable local SEO services include sales copywriting that is written by experts for experts, so you can be sure the content is both high-quality and relevant to your business. Our local SEO service provider understands the technicalities of SEO and can help you with strategies such as interlinking, keyword research and tracking on search engines, content creation, and more. All of this copy is structured to be SEO-friendly, with structure and keywords picked to drive local traffic and conversions to your business.
- Collect relevant business listings
Put simply, local business listings outline the information and contact details of your business. The best local SEO companies know that Google My Business profiles should be prioritized, but that doesn’t mean that you should ignore other business listings. The more business listings that your business is included in, the easier it will be for potential local customers to find your business and your locations.
This also makes it easier for your potential customers to find the information they need such as your name, phone number, hours, address, etc. Don’t overlook the importance of images on your business listings as well. One study shows that adding visual content to your online listings can help increase interaction by up to 416% from your targeted online customers. Accurate and consistent business listing information can give you confidence that various search engines will display your website when a local search keyword is relevant to your company.
- Set up NAPs in local listings
Our best local SEO company can also assist you with setting up NAPs or name, address, and phone number. Having NAP is an integral part of local SEO services as it provides consistency for various search engines and can increase your sales. For example, with an accurate name, address, and phone number on your Google My Business profile, you help to build trust with both Google and your potential customers. The more business listings that you can include with this same information, the better your local business will perform in rankings.
- Audit performance and improve it
The best local SEO services are a revolving door; rather than focusing on local SEO once, setting the strategy, and waiting for results, there needs to be constant evaluation of how various tactics are performing. The top local SEO service provider knows that data is king when it comes to improving performance, so they should always determine what techniques are driving the most success and which can be tabled for the time being.
Local SEO Companies Should Possess the Following Qualities
As local SEO expert, we have a solid understanding of what it takes to be successful in this area of business.
- They have clients with businesses ranked locally that are relevant to your own
Climbing your local rankings means you need to partner with an agency with businesses similar to your own that also have high local positions. The best local SEO results are shown as the Local Pack which appears at the top of search engine results pages. Being featured in a Local Pack can help significantly boost your rankings.
- You understand their process
Your local SEO company should be communicating with you in a way that makes sense. It’s important that you have a clear understanding of the efforts being made behind the scenes to improve your search engine optimization results. A straightforward and optimized process helps to build trust between you and your provider of local SEO services.
- You see the results of their efforts
Regardless of the type of business that you’re operating, it’s all about leads. It’s essential that you’re able to closely track and monitor results delivered by the SEO company, such as the number of leads that have been generated or how many incoming requests you’ve received from local customers.
Why Work With Comrade Digital Marketing for Local SEO Services?
Comrade Digital Marketing Agency has over a decade of relevant experience and we are known as a top provider of local SEO services. We’re incredibly passionate about helping a range of businesses with their marketing needs and we have the results to back it up. With over 300 clients and 160 reviews from our satisfied customers, we know what it takes to offer effective yet affordable local search engine optimization.
