What is Local SEO?

Local SEO (search engine optimization) is the process of improving search engine visibility for local businesses, primarily those with brick-and-mortar locations. By following local SEO best practices, businesses can improve organic traffic from searches by customers in nearby areas.

With local SEO, businesses can use it to get their products and services found by local prospects and customers. Keep reading to learn useful local SEO tips that will help you increase your online presence and reach more local customers.

Customize for Google My Business.

Google My Business has become the pinnacle of local search. Because Google generously endorses, validates and shares its own content, Google My Business is the perfect tool to help your business meet Google's requirements.

To make sure you're optimized for Google My Business, you'll want to:

Create and verify a Google My Business page.

Use Google Post in your account.

Encourage your customers to share reviews online.

Reply to reviews authentically specifying the location.

If Google can verify your business as authentic, the search engine can potentially reward your business with a coveted sidebar spot in Google's local search.

Do not do this only for SEO. By reviewing and keeping your contact information and hours of operation up to date, you are improving the experience for potential customers finding you.

Connect with social media and add posts to Google My Business.

Google now considers the content shared on social media more important than ever. Now that you've created a beautiful Google My Business page, share it on social media to further align social and search.

Make sure your name, address and phone number are consistent online.

You need to make it easy for people and search engines to find you, and to do that you need to set up your NAP.

What does NAP mean in Local SEO?

The acronym, NAP, stands for a business's name, address and phone number (with area code). Your NAP should be treated as crawlable HTML text on your site so that Google can optimally display it in location-based search results.

Pro tip: Avoid the common mistake of only including the NAP within an image — images can't be crawled by search engines like HTML text.

The most common location for NAP is in the footer or header of the site. In addition, you should also include your NAP on the "Contact Us" page.

Optimize online directories and citations.

For companies in the United States, these four map data aggregators provide many map data for Apple, Yelp, Bing, Google, TripAdvisor, and others.

Consistency is key: Verify that your citations are consistent and complete across these four data aggregators.

Inconsistencies such as misspellings, abbreviations, missing suite numbers, or incorrect phone numbers can be problematic.

If Google can't determine which information about your business is accurate, it may not show your business in search results at all.

Do a local SEO audit.

SEO is a continuous and smooth process. Instead of stopping there or just making changes and seeing what sticks, consider doing a comprehensive audit to see where your website is and what work you need to do to achieve your goals. Get help. A local SEO audit may include the following:

Google My Business Audit - How Does Your Google My Business Appear in the SERPs? Is the information accurate?

Google Search Console Audit - Is Your Site Crawlable? Are there any errors in it that hinder indexing?

On-Page SEO Audit - Does your site accommodate all the on-page SEO elements that help with ranking?

Citation Audit - Are All Your Quotations In The Top Business Directories Correct?

Competitor Analysis - How does your site match up with your competitors? Are there any gaps you need to close? How do you match up in terms of inbound links, content, design and positioning?

Website Audit - How well is your website performing?

Improve your internal linking structure.

Although external links pointing to your site are ideal, adjusting your internal linking structure will also increase your SEO ranking.

Why does internal linking matter? It does the following:

Supports website navigation

Assists with information structure and website hierarchy

Optimize URL, title tag, header, meta description and content.

When it comes to content, every new blog post is a new indexed page for your site, a new page on which to target a geographic search phrase, and a chance to be found in search engine results pages (SERPs). It happens. There is a new opportunity.

Every time you write a piece of content, you need to optimize the content for search engines by using high-volume keywords in the URL, title, title, meta description, and body. If you're having trouble coming up with geo-targeted content, consider highlighting customer success stories and case studies.

Pro Tip: The more details you add to these properties (especially for each of your business locations), the better you'll be able to optimize local "near me" searches.

Add the Location page to your website.

If you have more than one brick-and-mortar location, create a location page. Location pages provide readers with your name, address, phone number, store hours, unique store description, parking/transit information, promotions, and testimonials from happy customers.

Create local content.

Google continues to get smarter, which means content creators can now write more for users and less to please search engines. And while writing about general topics will attract a larger crowd, sometimes it's more important to narrow your focus and write about local or industry news to attract a local audience.

Become a local authority for your industry by promoting local industry gatherings, news, staff and other educational content on your blog. Think of top of the funnel content as something that goes beyond the content your business sells.

Make sure your website is mobile friendly.

Local and mobile search go hand in hand (61% of all Google searches are done on mobile).

Some of the most common ways people use your site in a mobile environment include looking for reviews, finding directions to your location, and searching for contact information. In fact, "near me" searches on mobile have increased by 250% since 2017.

Make it easy for your potential customers and clients by making your site mobile friendly.

Get inbound links with relevance and authority.

Inbound links are a lucrative opportunity to boost your local SEO - each inbound link tells Google that you are a legitimate company, and inbound links can increase your domain authority as well. Here are some ways to get inbound links:

sponsorship or partnership

guest blog posting

Scholarship

Start with your network, which includes chambers of commerce, business improvement districts, licensing bureaus, trade associations, resellers, vendors, manufacturers and other affiliates.

Consider sponsoring a webinar or meet-up, hosting a community event, promoting something local you love, and building relationships with key people and influencers. Additionally, learn to feel comfortable reaching out to partners to see if they can feature you in their partner directory.

Also, being a guest blogger can help attract links. Talk positively to or about others in your industry, and act as a resource provider to the community. If you are an active participant in community conversations, the buzz around you grows in the form of inbound links, social media growth, and media coverage.