You’ve heard about SEO and the various techniques for boosting your site’s SEO, but there’s a chance you might not be familiar with how Local SEO works and how to improve local SEO.
Businesses that have to operate on a regional basis depend on Local SEO to get their brand’s name out there! Local SEO deals with SERPs rankings for a specific area, meaning that your site’s local SEO is what puts it at the top of SERPs when a user runs a geo-targeted search query. This guide on how to improve local SEO aims at providing you with everything you need to know about local SEO and how to grow your business in a specific region! So, without wasting any time, let’s get into the five steps of local SEO improvement.
Benefits Of Local SEO
Improving your site’s local SEO has tons of benefits! The first, and honestly the most important one, is more leads. Local traffic is much more likely to become actual customers than international visitors. There are actually a bunch of reasons for that, the first among which is trust. People are a lot more likely to trust a brand that is located in their hometown or just near them rather than in another city or even country.
There are numerous other benefits you can enjoy after implementing a solid local SEO strategy, relevant traffic, strong ties in the community of local businesses, and even reduced ad costs. So, now that you must’ve realised the importance of local SEO, let’s keep moving, shall we?
5 Tips To Improve Local SEO!
We’re here to give an insight into how to improve local SEO the right way! After testing the latest and the most effective techniques to boost local SEO, we’ve come up with 5 top tips for you!
Starting from the top of our local SEO checklist, first up; is getting your business listed in local directories.
Local Citation Building
This just might be among the most effective local SEO strategies for businesses looking to expand locally! These local business directories are full of NAP listings of businesses operating in a specific region. You have to ensure that your business citation is right up there! Local citations are simply an online mention of your business that comes up when a user runs a search query on one of these local business directories. If you’re wondering how exactly a local citation works, don’t worry!
How Do Local Citations Work?
business directories based on a particular region. Local citations contain your business’s NAP data, NAP stands for name, address, and phone number. Most local directories also contain a description of your business. You can use targeted optimised keywords in these descriptions to ensure that your business listing comes up first in a search query!
So, this is how NAP local SEO citations work. Ensure that your citations are precise and updated; otherwise, this won’t work. Think about it, how will your customer find you if your phone number or address is outdated or just incorrect? If you want professionals to handle your local citations, try the best local citation services on the market for expert local SEO management!
Let’s keep moving with our tips on how to improve local SEO!
Google Maps Optimisation
This might sound like an unusual one, but is it really? Imagine you’re in a town you’ve never been to, and you’re in the mood for a pizza; what do you do? You pull out your phone, type pizza places near me on Google Maps, and viola! You pick the top-rated pizza parlour near you, and they have a new customer! Wouldn’t you want that for your business? Well, for that, you need to rank high on Google Maps!
In order to rank higher on Google Maps, you need to follow a similar process to local citation building. The first step is to ensure your NAP data is precise and updated. Next, you need to study your business’s niche; most places are listed incorrectly, they’re not categorised properly, and it just ruins their chance at ranking high on Google Maps.
Check out this in-depth expert guide on how to rank top 3 on Google Maps.
On to the next one!
Use Local Keywords To Improve Local SEO!
The next local SEO tip we have for you is to use trending local keywords to optimise your site. There are various tools on the internet that help you hone in on keywords trending in a specific area. Google also offers something called the Keyword Planner that allows you to pick the right keywords based on a region. Optimising for local search using local keywords will help get your name out there in geo-targeted searches! Get in on local trends and discover trending keywords based on that, and optimise your site’s local SEO!
Another common technique to optimise your site for local SEO is writing about trending news, stories or events that occur in your region. These are trending topics in your specific region, and getting on these events will significantly help in getting your brand’s name out there!
Reviews!
Reviews are also among the most effective techniques for improving local SEO for businesses. Getting your products or services reviewed as much as possible can directly help your site’s local SEO. Reviews create hype for your brand, and hype is what generates leads! So, ensure that your satisfied clients are leaving positive reviews on your brand’s Google profile, on local business directories and on any other local third-party platforms people in your region use!
In Conclusion
Local businesses need to optimise for local search, in-fact their growth depends on it. Ensuring that your brand comes up in SERPs tied to a specific region is necessary to attract the right audience for your business! We have provided you with the top 5 local SEO strategies to grow your brand locally. Another option that is definitely worth considering is hiring a professional team of link building, and SEO experts who are proficient in helping businesses like yours grow locally and internationally!
