Search engine optimization is crucial for any business. A good strategy can help brands be found in searches and rank high on the list.
Local search marketing is the best option for smaller brands. Customers can easily search for small businesses. The statistic is clear: 78% of people who proceed to local searches purchase products offline.
Local SEO
Local SEO is a method that focuses on showing the business’s presence in local searches. That means the brand can be easily found by people who are looking for a particular service or product in the area around them, or in the place where the company is located.
Local search engine optimization focuses not on global visibility but on regional visibility. Similar to classical SEO rankings, a big influence on local searching has a local reputation, backlinks, and the brand’s visibility on local directories.
How to Outrank Competitors
As every day more brands are trying to get local visibility, it is necessary to have a good strategy. Here is how:
Adding a Brand to Google My Business
Everyone can register a business by going to the My Business page on Google. All important information, such as an address, phone number, brand category, website, and more should be added.
Google is the most popular search engine but not the only one. Bing Places for Business is also a valuable place to add business details.
URLs, Headers, Title Tags, Meta Description Optimization
The best way to make all these important elements of a page visible for search engines is by including the name of the local area and services or products that the brand offers.
For example, if a cupcake store in Boston wants to create an optimized webpage, it can reach for keywords such as Boston cupcakes, buy cupcakes Boston, or similar.
Creating Content Strategy and Localized Content
A good idea is to create content connected with local events or news about the city or surrounding areas. Showing the personal, regional, and friendly face of the brand involved in the community’s life can boost sharing and improve visibility in local searching.
Online Business Directories Citation
Local directories such as FourSquare, Yelp, MerchantCircle, or City Search can help a business increase its visibility. When the page has a brand citation on one of these pages, which means the name, phone number, and address are added, Google is more likely to show them in search results.
Getting the Best Reviews
The customers’ opinions can destroy a brand or help a business to thrive. Having five-star ratings is crucial when it comes to local search. Studies have shown that star ratings significantly influence clicking rates.
The more actions customers made towards the results, the higher Google can rank the brand. Behavioral signals, for example, click-through rates, are a sign for algorithm and influence positioning of the page.
The best way to get good reviews is by providing an excellent customer experience and ask people to share their opinions about the business.
Ensuring That the Website is Mobile Friendly
When it comes to local searches, the most traffic comes from mobile users. People often search for small businesses such as restaurants or coffee shops while they are outside. Google search engines favor pages that have a mobile-optimized site to provide the most user-friendly choice.
Moreover, 50% of users that do a local search through the mobile visit the searched company within a day. That means that people who use mobiles to search are more likely to purchase products.
