Local SEO Explained: Strategies & Benefits for Small Businesses

You have a business that serves a local geographical area, but you’re not getting as many customers as you expect. There’s a huge chance that ignoring local SEO is causing such issues. Local SEO strategy that optimizes your business website to make it more visible on Google and other search engines.

Companies targeting a local area utilize this strategy in order to get more personal visits and even increase their overall sales.

Let’s break down local SEO in detail by discussing strategies, types, and the benefits it brings for small businesses.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a search engine optimization strategy that focuses on optimizing a business website and profile to make it visible in search results. Search engines like Google are primarily designed to help people find relevant businesses nearby according to their search results.

Any company that has a well-optimized business profile and website will appear at the top of these results. So, SEO experts utilize strategies like content optimization, targeting local keywords, and improving Google My Business Profile to increase the chances of appearing at the top of search engine results.

Local SEO Examples:

Discussing the examples of local SEO will help in understanding what it actually is. I’ve discussed some common examples below:

Example #1. A Local Café Appearing on Google Maps:

Have you ever tried searching for a café, and a bunch of options show up with their locations? These results are shown on the basis of Google My Business Profile optimization.

Any company that wants to appear on local maps and give people directions utilizes this strategy.

Example #2. A Plumber Running Sponsored Ads:

Many people need an emergency plumber to fix any issues with leaky pipes or clogged drains. These people want to find the plumber quickly and usually will click on the very first search result.

So, the plumber will run paid ads on local keywords like “emergency plumber in NYC” to show up at the top results and get more customers.

Example #3. A Gym Franchise Handling Multiple Locations On One Website:

Business franchises usually have branches in multiple local areas, but they want to manage them on a single website. It creates separate local webpages on the site dedicated specifically to each local area, such as:

• /locations/Atlanta
• /locations/Chicago
• Locations/Brooklyn

Each section will be locally optimized so that local people find relevant results easily.

How Does Google Determine Local Search Rankings?

Whether you’re a plumber or a dentist trying to list your business in local searches, it’s important to understand how Google determines local search rankings.

Well, it does it by analyzing three basic factors:

• Proximity
• Relevance
• Prominence

Proximity:

Proximity means how close a business is to a person. In most cases, Google shows companies that are nearest to the searcher so that they can access them faster. Although it’s a major factor, it’s not something you can control or optimize, since it totally depends on geographical locations.

Relevance:

Google also focuses on the relevancy of the business according to the search intent. A search query for coffee shops will show all the coffee shops in the local area. Relevance is something that can be controlled by utilizing the right keywords.

Prominence:

Prominence is like a business’s reputation among locals. Google shows companies with the best reputation and reviews at the top results. These reviews are collected through the Google Business Profile and are rated on a scale of one to five stars.

Local SEO Vs. Traditional SEO:

When it comes to local and traditional SEO, the differentiating line is pretty thin. That is because both focus on optimizing the website using similar strategies. However, the only major difference is that local SEO targets a local audience and traditional SEO targets a broader audience (national & international.

Here’s a head-to-head comparison of both:

Key Strategies Involved in Local SEO:

Local SEO is usually a pack of different strategies applied together. These strategies are mainly focused on making the site more searchable in the local area. To make this search engine optimization type effective, here’s a local SEO checklist of the key strategies to focus on:

Optimize Google My Business Profile:

Optimizing the Google My Business Profile is necessary to stand any chance of ranking on Google Maps. It’s a local listing that contains important information about your business, including:

• Basic information (name, address, category of  your business).
• Website URL and services/products details.
• Photos and videos of the your Business product and Business locations.
• Customer reviews and ratings.

Optimizing this profile helps Google to show the company on Google Maps with accurate descriptions and directions. As a result, people can find the company easily and make purchases.

Focus On Getting Reviews:

This  game is very  simple; the more reviews you have, the more credible the business is. Google, like every other search engine, prefers ranking companies that are credible and offer authentic services.

So, it’s pretty important to get authentic customer reviews on GBP and other platforms like Yelp.

Companies focus on different tactics to get reviews from customers. Some of them are:

• Directly reminding customers to leave a review.
• Respond to reviews and comments for increased credibility.
• Avoid getting paid reviews.
• Encourage criticism to make the company better.

When the satisfy customer buy your product and give you feedback via reviews, its positive point for  your business.

Conduct a Local Keywords Research:

Conducting local keyword research is the key to analyzing how people in the local area are trying to find similar products or services you sell. Targeting these keywords and utilizing them within website content improves website quality and search ranking in local serp.

As a result, whenever someone searches for a specific keyword or phrase, Google shows your business profile on the first page because of relevance.

Keyword research and utilization is a long process. It involves targeting both short-tail and long-tail keywords for better optimization . Experts also focus on using keywords that have high volume but low keyword difficulty to avoid competition.

Examples of local keywords:

Let’s say you run a coffee shop in Boston. Some local terms you’ll be targeting are:

• Coffee shop in Boston
• Unique cafes in Boston
• Best coffee shops in Boston to study

Similarly, a person who runs a burger shop will focus on keywords like:

• Best burgers in Boston
• Gordon Ramsey burger Boston menu
• Tasty burger Boston

Including these types of keywords that target a local area improves local SEO, and the company’s website and profile end up ranking at the top of SERPs.

Get More Local Backlinks:

Getting local backlinks is somewhat of a backbone of the overall local SEO strategy. When a website gets a backlink from a relevant and authoritative website, it improves its credibility in the eyes of Google.

More local backlinks mean more local authority.

Although this strategy sounds simple, there are a few best practices you should follow while utilizing it:

• Make sure the linked websites are from the local area.
• Sites should be relevant to your company. For example, a coffee shop getting a link from a local bakery would have an improved authority.
• Conduct competitor analysis to understand (and even copy) their backlink strategy.

On-Page SEO:

On-page SEO is extremely important for local rankings. This strategy focuses on optimizing on-page elements of a website, such as meta titles, meta descriptions, header hierarchy, etc.

It also involves utilizing the local keywords in a natural way in order to avoid keyword stuffing (which is pretty bad for SEO in general). As a search engine optimization expert, you can follow these best practices for utilizing on-page SEO the right way:

• Use local keywords naturally.
• Optimize meta descriptions and meta titles (for example, keep the title under 60 characters and the description under 160).
• Structure headers (H1, H2, H3, H4) with a proper hierarchy according to the topic discussion.
• Add local business schema markup.
• Use proper internal linking to link to other webpages of the site.

Localize the Content:

Content intent means a lot in local SEO. When you’re trying to target a local audience, generalizing the content won’t help at all. Instead, you should keep it relevant to the local readers. Mention their local issues and provide solutions they can actually use.

For example, when writing about a coffee shop in Boston, instead of writing

“We serve the best coffee in town.”

… go for something like…

“Grab a locally roasted espresso on your way to the Financial District or before a stroll through Boston Common.”

Localized wording helps grab people’s attention and make them nod their heads while reading. It ensures engagement, which is pretty useful for local rankings.

Optimize for Voice Search:

I wouldn’t have added this point if I were writing about local SEO a few years ago. But now, discussing it has become inevitable since many people use voice search to find stuff on the Internet. Optimizing the business website for a local voice search makes sure that search engines show your business at the top.

Voice search is a bit different than normal search since it usually depends on how the voice assistant understands the search intent of the user. So, the main focus here is on utilizing common phrases and words that people usually speak casually while making voice searches.

For example, a person using Siri would usually say,

 “Where can I get the best pizza near Times Square right now?”

… instead of saying…

“Best pizza in New York City”.

Understanding these nuances and optimizing content accordingly makes a lot of difference in local search results.

Benefits of Local SEO for Small Businesses:

Local SEO can serve as a lifeline for small businesses. It offers the following benefits:

Increased Online Visibility:

The obvious benefit of local SEO for small businesses is increased online visibility. The main purpose of utilizing this strategy is to make sure the company shows up in the top search engine results. When the company is shown at the top, more people will click on the website, which will ultimately increase its website traffic.

Increased Foot Traffic:

This type of SEO increases foot traffic. In fact, many people perform this SEO just to get more visitors to their shops. By optimizing the GMB profile, people give directions to people towards the store. An increased foot traffic improves the brand’s perception, even if people do not purchase the products.

Cost-Effectiveness:

Small businesses usually have a very low marketing budget. They tend to utilize organic means to appear on search engines, and local SEO is the way to do it. It requires very low investment but delivers amazing results if strategies are applied the right way.

Improved Credibility:

These days, people judge a company’s credibility by its online presence. If a business shows up in the top local search, it creates a positive perception in people’s minds, and they’re more likely to trust and even make purchases from you.

Competitive Edge:

Focusing on this marketing strategy will always give a small company a competitive edge. In many cases, small businesses do not focus on appearing in online search results. So, if a person starts focusing on local SEO, they will get a huge competitive advantage and will outperform competitors by getting more customers.

How To Do Local SEO For Beginners?

As a beginner, conducting a proper local SEO involves focusing on a series of different steps. I’ve discussed them in detail below:

Understand The End Goal:

The first thing that you need to do is understand the end goal. People perform local SEO for a number of reasons. Some want increased foot traffic, and some want to improve credibility by showcasing their customer reviews.

So, make sure you understand what type of end goal you want. It will be helpful in constructing the rest of the strategy easily.

Create A Plan:

Now, spend some time creating a plan. The plan will act like a blueprint and help execute SEO the right way. The overall plan should focus on the following points:

• Keyword research
• Getting reviews
• Hiring the right local SEO agency (if required)
• Creating a specified budget

Conduct Local Keyword Research:

Now, conduct a proper local keyword research to target high-quality keywords. These keywords will be the basic topics that you will discuss in the website content as well as in GMB .

Usually, people utilize online SEO tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush in order to find these keywords. While doing so, make sure to focus on picking high-volume keywords with low competition.

Create High-Quality Content:

Now, start creating and publishing high-quality content targeted towards the local audience. The content should both educate and promote your brand at the same time. Make sure to put value in the content so that people come to read different topics again and again.

Link With Local Websites:

Linking with authoritative local websites is also important. You need to have a dedicated place for link building in the local SEO strategy. One of the main points of this step should be to link with relevant local sites that are of high authority.

Focus on Other Technicalities:

Based on the end goals of your strategy, focus on other technicalities (technical SEO) as well.

These technicalities are:

• Optimize website structure for mobile users.
• Optimize for voice search.
• Get reviews and comments from customers.
• Showcase positive testimonials from the local audience.

Monitor and Adapt:

Make sure to keep on monitoring the local SEO strategy to see whether or not it’s bringing the required results. One thing to understand about search engine optimization is that ‘it keeps on changing’. So, adapt to the situation and change the strategy according to the latest search engine guidelines.

Conclusion:

Well, there you have it. Local SEO is extremely important for small businesses. It focuses on optimizing the company to make it appear in the top local search results. It’s a complex process and involves using factors like local keyword research and Google My Business Profile optimization.

Once a company understands and utilizes the strategy, it will start getting positive results and making more sales. It will also be helpful in making the company more credible and authoritative.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

How do I set up local SEO?

Setting up local SEO is a long process. Start with creating and optimizing a Google My Business Profile. Then, target local keywords and utilize them in quality content. Try to get positive reviews on the business profile and link with local authority websites.

What is local content in SEO?

Local content in SEO is targeted towards the local audience. It mentions problems and issues local people have and discusses how the business can solve these issues.

Is local SEO free?

Yes, and no. It can be conducted for free, but investing a little bit will help bring positive results quickly.

Is local SEO profitable?

Of course. Investing in this type of SEO will bring positive results. It will increase sales which will automatically make the strategy profitable.