With 90% of consumers searching for local businesses online, local SEO is an essential marketing tool for businesses looking to attract potential customers. Whether you have a physical location or an online business that serves a specific location, you need a strategy for targeting localized searches and users in your area. This is how you rank higher in Google search, outshine your competitors, and attract even more customers.
Benefits of Local SEO
There are several undeniable benefits of having a local SEO strategy. The first benefit that comes to mind for most people is increased traffic, but there are many more perks that can drive your business growth.
Some of the benefits of local SEO include:
- Increased organic traffic.
- More relevant traffic.
- Reduced ad costs.
- Higher website authority.
- More customer reviews.
- Increased brand awareness and trust.
- More localized backlinks.
- Improved social signals.
- Better website experience for users.
1. Take Stock of Your Services and Products
Determine what terms you want your business to rank for. This will be based primarily on the services and/or products you offer.
2. Audit Your Existing Website
Before jumping into optimizing your site, you need to determine what (if anything) is broken and whether your site has a solid foundation.
3. Conduct Competitor Keyword Research
One of the goals of local SEO is to not only rank in local search but to outrank your local competitors. In order to do this, you need to know what keywords they are ranking for and how.
4. Identify Geo-Specific Keywords
Using a previous example, let’s say you own a Mexican food restaurant in Seattle, Washington.
5. Create Localized Landing Pages
Localized landing pages are web pages created specifically for ranking in organic local search. These pages should be optimized with the geo-specific keywords you’ve identified and include informative content that draws in your target audience.
6. Optimize Your Google My Business Listing
Google My Business is a free platform all local businesses can use to drive more traffic, generate customer reviews, and more. It’s essential for your business to have a fully optimized listing to increase your chances of ranking in search.
