Local SEO is a strategic process to improve a local business’ visibility on SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). Most of the time, it is used for businesses with a brick-and-mortar location.
This is not a new, uncultivated land but much of the treasure is still hidden to many. That’s why it still makes the list for top 4 SEO trends in this decade.
The “near me” search phrase has increased in popularity over the years on Google, especially in mobile searches, up to 900% growth.
In short, because users today do more and more local search and the displayed results can lead directly to purchase decisions.
Local SEO is a must for certain types of businesses such as restaurants, clinics or spas where customers have the habit of searching for a nearby place and going there directly.
On the other hand, online-only businesses may not benefit as much. The same applies for private online sellers as they don’t want to make their information public on the Internet.
Here are 3 most effective strategies for you to consider:
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool to manage how a business will show up on Google Maps and Google Search. With a GMB profile, you can do at least 3 tasks:
Having a verified Google My Business profile is the easiest way to start your local SEO strategy.
After having your GMB profile all set up, follow these practices to optimize it:
Ensure your contact information and operating hours are always up-to-date and consistent on every channel. This is critical during disruptions such as changing business locations or a pandemic.
Encourage your customers to give and share their reviews.
Specify the location (especially if your business has more than one) when responding to customer reviews.
We can’t emphasize enough the importance of customer reviews. There are more and more people (increased to 65% in 2020) looking at reviews right on SERPs to make decisions. And according to the 2021 Online Reviews Report of ReviewTrackers, “Google is (still) the top review site”.
There are 3 places to check to ensure your strategy effectiveness:
The reason why local SEO is important to your business is because people always favor in-groups over out-groups. Therefore pay attention to the following points to become one of them:
If you try to do all these yourself, it may take a lot of time and effort. That’s why many businesses choose to outsource the whole local SEO plan to a reliable digital marketing agency with all-inclusive services. By this way, you have more resources at your disposal for other investments.
Many companies choose social media with the rationale: Not only does it cost less but it also brings them closer to their target customers.
In short, doing local SEO on social media will give you the clear, lucrative benefit of higher ROI and more effective operation.
First, it takes less to promote your products and services. For example, the detailed targeting function of Facebook Ads will increase your reach volume and quality at the same time at a more affordable rate compared to other types of advertising. Also, you can quickly edit your content if the reaction is not going the way you want.
Take extra care of your social media and you may even be nicely surprised by some user generated content from highly engaged audiences.
Second, you spend less effort finding new leads as some of them will naturally come to you. It’s because people tend to trust social media recommendations from their friends, communities and KOLs they follow.
There are 3 questions to address:
All in all, social media is the battleground for the responsive. So if you have decided on it, assign at least one dedicated person or even a team to manage your page’s daily operations, including watching out for new trends and responding quickly to customers.
If you want to localize your global website...
... then hire both translators and SEO experts. You want your content to be both correct and SEO-effective. And the process must start from the beginning – keyword research.
If you don’t have a website...
... then implement local SEO first. Whether you need to build a website can be left to be solved later.
A restaurant without a website can still be listed at the top of SERPs if their provided information (such as address) is highly relevant to the user’s query (such as “restaurants near me”).
Some businesses only need a social page to interact with their customers. On the other hand, customers may consider a business’ Facebook page their de factor website.
If you don’t know whether you need local SEO now...
... then review your current business situation. According to Forbes, when local or “near me” searches only show your competitors, you know it’s time to make the call.
A sudden drop in traffic together with increasing bounce rate may be another sign, but it can mean more trouble than just SEO ineffectiveness. Your content strategy may also need a thorough audit.
A local-focused version of organic SEO, local SEO is indispensable to any businesses who want to increase their digital influence in a certain market.
However, it takes more than just resources to run an effective local SEO campaign, which is the big concern of many companies. You need expertise, experience, insider knowledge and social media skills to unleash its full potential.
With a proven track record on various SEO projects, On Digitals is proud to be your partner in optimizing your local SEO strategy for greater success. Contact us today to receive free consultancy on an inclusive solution tailored just for you.
