Why Local SEO Marketing Is Important to Your Business
April 16, 2023
If you own a local business, local SEO marketing should be an integral component of your digital strategy. It enables potential customers to find you and convert into paying clients.
Understanding Google’s local search algorithm and which factors influence its rankings are critical. By monitoring the performance of local keywords, you can spot areas for improvement and respond swiftly when changes impacting rankings occur.
Local Keywords
Local keywords are an integral component of your local SEO marketing strategy, giving you an edge over competitors by helping search engines understand where and what product or service are offered.
Local SEO keywords are also key in driving local traffic to your website, and should be included in page titles, heading tags, URLs and content.
Keyword research is an effective way to identify relevant local keywords for your business. However, the process may become overwhelming so it’s essential that you prioritize appropriately when making this selection process.
Start with a list of keyword ideas, then narrow it down based on your target audience. While this process can be time consuming, it is necessary for improving local SEO and attracting more local leads to your doorstep.
Revisit your local keywords at least every six months to make sure they remain pertinent and track your progress, while highlighting any areas which could use improvement so as to get your business noticed by customers.
Local Listings
Local listings are an essential element of local SEO marketing, providing consumers with a means of finding and connecting with your business online.
Your business’ name, address and phone number (NAP) should be included as one of the key pieces of information when listing locally. The more accurate this data is, the higher you’ll appear in search results.
As part of your local search rankings strategy, it’s also vital that all the details about your business appear consistent across your various listing sources. Otherwise, credibility could quickly diminish and local search rankings suffer accordingly.
Citations management is a crucial element of local SEO, but can be complex to oversee. Therefore, partnering with an agency that specializes in local SEO listings optimization and maintenance can be invaluable – they can recommend where and how best to list your business as well as optimize them according to best-practices in local SEO – making this service highly valuable for businesses seeking to increase visibility and increase conversions.
Local Backlinks
Google considers links from other local websites pointing back to your website as one of the key indicators when ranking it in search engine results pages (SERPs). Google uses these backlinks as proof that your products or services are authoritative sources in their area.
Marketers looking to build local backlinks should approach websites in their geographic region and request links from them. Attend networking events, list their business in local directories or partner with influential figures are also ways of getting backlinks locally.
Be specific when seeking links from other websites, outlining why your company would benefit them and their customers. For example, ask local businesses to add your URL on their “Things to Do” or “Resources” pages.
Not only can these local backlinks get you a link, they also show Google that you’re active in your community and providing valuable content – two key components to successfully ranking for keywords in local SEO results.
Local Content
To rank highly in local search engine results, it’s crucial to use an effective content marketing strategy. This means optimizing website copy, blog posts, images and video with keywords relevant to local searchers.
Increase local SEO marketing through hyperlocal content creation, which includes adding location-specific keywords into website copy, URLs and meta descriptions.
Google Keyword Planner can also be an invaluable resource in identifying popular search terms related to your business and including landmarks or hotspots specific to each region in your content.