Local SEO
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is a specialized branch of search engine optimization that focuses on enhancing a website’s visibility in local search results.
Local search results are generated for specific “local” keywords, taking into account the geographic location of the searcher. This means that the search results for the same query, such as “plumbing services,” can vary across different cities or even different regions within the same city.
A prominent feature of local search results is the “map pack” or “local pack,” which displays relevant businesses on a map in your vicinity, along with a listing of the top businesses or locations.
With the increasing use of mobile devices and location-based searches, local SEO has become more crucial than ever.
Examples of local search results
Local search results consist of two parts:
The traditional results with the “10 blue links” adjusted to the searcher’s location
And the map pack results
As you can see in the example above, Google recognizes that the query “plumbing service” has a local intent. More explicit local keywords often include phrases like “near me” or “in [city name].” These terms signal to search engines that the searcher is looking for local results, further emphasizing the importance of local SEO for businesses serving specific geographic areas.
Why is local SEO important?
Local SEO is crucial as it enhances search visibility for brick-and-mortar businesses operating within a specific town, city, region, or state.
If your customer base is localized, local SEO can help those searchers find your business. A lack of local SEO can result in your business being overlooked by potential customers who are actively searching online for local businesses like yours.
Effective local SEO helps searchers discover local service providers or businesses and obtain more information about them. If you’re a local business, local SEO is key in attracting more customers and boosting overall sales. Regardless of the metric you use to define success, local SEO can likely contribute positively.
Here are some specific strategies you can implement to maximize your local SEO results.
The basics of local SEO
1. Fill out your Google Business Profile.
Google Business Profile is a free portal for business owners to create, manage, and optimize their company’s profile on Google.
If you create or claim your own Google Business Profile, you’ll have an easier time ranking in the SERPs because Google shows optimized Google Business Profiles in its local search results. This is a must if you want your business listing to appear in the map 3-pack at the top of the SERP.
It’s well worth taking the time to fill out the entire Business Profile, including your business name, business category, business type, business hours, holiday hours, contact details, photos, and the product and services you offer.
With all of this information included, not only will your profile be more attractive to Google and its map pack feature, but will also attract more attention from potential customers.
2. Ask for reviews.
Reviews are an important factor for ranking in local search. If you think about it from Google’s perspective, the SERP should always display the most enticing results for local customers – and what better way to do that than by considering what actual customers are saying about a business?
If you accumulate more total reviews and more highly-rated reviews, this will reflect well on your business in the search results. Best of all, snippets of these customer reviews can end up appearing in your listing right in the map pack.
3. Optimize your website for local search.
Think of this as the “on-page optimization” piece of the local SEO puzzle. There are many ways to do this, including creating local content and pages for each business location, but it all starts with local SEO keyword research.
First, think about all the ways people may be searching for the local services you offer. This can include service-based keywords like “mold removal” and “mold remediation,” informational keywords like “how to get rid of mold,” or even location-based keywords like “mold removal near me” or “mold removal + [city].”
Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer can help with local keyword research.
4. Build local citations and directory listings.
Think of this as the “off-page” piece of the local SEO puzzle. The local citation is any online mention of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on core sites, industry-specific sites, or local websites.
The benefit of local citations for your business is twofold: one, it ensures that any users of a particular website or directory will see up-to-date contact information for your business. Two, it boosts your SEO because it validates the legitimacy of your business.
Search engines want to see consistency in the name, address, and contact information for your brand across the web. That’s why you should ensure that these are accurate, especially in core sites like Yelp, Yellow Pages, Facebook, and Apple Maps.