Each small company or multi-location company can grow their business and attract more customers to use local SEO strategies. In this guide to local search engine optimization, we explain what local search engine optimization is and why using local search engine optimization companies can help improve your online visibility.
What is Local SEO Marketing?
Local SEO (Local Search Engine Optimization), sometimes referred to as local search engine marketing, is an incredibly effective way to market your local business online, as it helps businesses promote their products and services to local customers at the exact time, they’re looking for them online.
This is achieved through a variety of methods, some of which differ greatly from what’s practiced in standard SEO, and some of which are far easier to manage using local SEO tools and can require specific local SEO services.
What is the Local SEO?
Local SEO refers to the process of ‘optimizing’ your online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches. These searches take place on Google and other search engines.
That last point is an important one—this isn’t just about Google.
People search for local businesses using various search engines… Google, Bing, Yelp, Apple Maps, etc.
However, Google has an estimated 95% market share (in the AU). Which means that most people are using Google to search for local businesses.
For that reason, this guide will be roughly 80% focussed on optimizing your local presence on Google.
So, let’s focus on Google:
Google’s Snack Pack VS. Organic Results
Here are the search results for “coffee shop near me”
Notice that there are two distinct sets of search results:
- The “snack pack” results
- The “regular” organic results
I’m sure most of you are familiar with regular old Google search results.
But what are “snack pack” results?
Google Snack Pack is a boxed area that appears on the first results page when a local online search is made through Google’s search engine. The Snack Pack box displays the top 3 local business listings most relevant to the search inquiry.
According to one study , 33% of clicks go to the local “snack pack” results, with 40% going to the regular organic results.
Key takeaway: it pays to rank in both, which is where local SEO comes in.
How do I rank well in local search?
So now you know what local business SEO’s all about, you’ll probably be wondering how to actually achieve success in it! First, we’d recommend familiarizing yourself with the three core elements of local search ranking:
- Proximity: How close is your business to the searcher?
- Relevance: How relevant to the search query are your products and services?
- Prominence: What do other consumers say about your products and services?
Some main local SEO services that WeBOOST offers
With the growth of search engines like Google, local SEO has a lot of work to do. It’s always changing, and it takes a lot of time and effort to get the right results.
This is why so many SEO agencies and consultants invest in learning how to do local SEO instead of broader SEO. The rules are very different, because your goal is to achieve different goals, and in many cases. WeBOOST will help you get high rank on Google, as well as the local SEO search. As “searching” is a signal from your clients calling for your business, ranking higher allows your brand to reach your clients earlier than your competitors.
We’ve covered some of the key things that help to achieve success in local SEO, Now, here’s an overview of all the local SEO services that we can help you make a difference:
- Website “localization”
- Citation Building
- Claiming your Google My Business listing
- Managing reviews and ratings
- Getting quality, relevant backlinks
“Localizing” your website means including your city, county or region name naturally throughout your site. For businesses with several locations, this could involve creating separate pages or Content Hubs for individual locations. Other tactics include getting involved with local community events and featuring articles and information about them on the site.
Ensure your site features on citation sites and online business directories. Not only will this help customers find your business, but featuring your company’s name, address, phone number and website URL (NAPW) on citation sites and adding extra information to business directories will help improve your search rankings.
Claiming your Google My Business page is a key step towards helping your business display on important Google services, such as local search results and Google Maps. GMB (and its Microsoft equivalent, Bing Places for Business) should always be the first online directory you take ownership of.
Genuine, honest reviews are critical both for showcasing the quality of your service and for sending signals to search engines that your site and service are trusted and useful. The amount of reviews you receive, the overall quality of the reviews and the authority of the review sites themselves are all important factors for local search rankings.
Naturally obtained backlinks from well-regarded websites help search engines recognize your site as a trusted source of information and boosts the ‘prominence’ aspect of the local search algorithm. Links from local newspapers, bloggers and business associations, as well as citations, can all help improve your search visibility.
Boost your business with local SEO
Our SEO team has multiple years of experience working with multiple major corporates in Australia with huge success. We cooperate with a diverse range of customers ranging racially, linguistically and culturally to offer the same trialed and tested SEO service. The two-way communication between our clients and us allows us to understand the need of your business and provide a tailored local SEO strategy. For our close collaboration, our creativity, passion and expertise will not only guide your website to a better ranking but also suggest new business strategies with valuable information from our data analysis.
If you need more information, please make a free call 03 8512 9918, or leave your contact, we will provide you with the best marketing solutions.