More than 30% of searches on Google are related to location, and on top of that, one in three people conduct a search on their smartphone before visiting a shop! If you run a local business and are keen to reach people interested in your offerings in a specific city or region, you need to make sure you increase your visibility in local search results. Read this guide to find out how to do this.
From the outset - what is local SEO all about?
The core of local positioning (or local SEO) remains the same as for 'normal' positioning. However, activities are enriched with certain techniques to increase the reach of in a particular region, city, town or village. You need to be familiar with them if you want to market your products or services to local consumers. These strategies include, but are not limited to, creating and managing a Company Profile on Google; optimisation sites; local linkbuilding and online reputation management.
Why is local SEO important?
By following the best practices of local SEO, companies can increase organic traffic from searches carried out by customers in nearby areas.
Here's what it looks like search result local on Google:
The section referred to as The Local Pack appears at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) for a location-related phrase. A list of businesses is displayed next to the map with pins indicating the location of each business. Having a presence in Google Local Pack is very beneficial. Typically, the top three results enjoy the highest number of clicks, leading to higher sales and profits.
In addition to the usual ranking factors, Google's local search algorithm also considers the following three factors in order to present the user with results that best match their intentions:
Relevance (how closely the result is related to the words used by the searcher in the query)
Distance (how far away the user is from the company when searching according to Google)
Exposure (what position according to Google the company has in relation to its competitors)
Remember that results in Local Pack are based on a company's profile, not its website. Therefore, you must have a company profile set up, configured and well optimised to appear here.
It is also worth noting that Google displays local results not only for queries containing a specific city, province or keyword "nearby". If Google itself recognises that the search intent is local, it will display just such results. For example, if you were on a trip to Sopot and typed in the phrase 'barber', Google would display a Local Pack with barbers just in Sopot.
Who should be interested in local SEO?
Any business that has a physical location or serves a specific geographical area can benefit from local SEO. This could be stationary shops, hotels, hairdressers working from a stationary location or businesses providing services in a specific area such as a pizza restaurant offering delivery or a plumber.
With local SEO, a company can:
be discovered by more people - from the Local Pack they can go to the website, call or decide to make an appointment
increase conversions - more traffic naturally can result in more conversions (such as sales or service enquiries)
improve your reputation - whatever your business, a positive reputation is a prerequisite for long-term success
Local SEO - where to start?
Selection of key phrases
Keyword research is the most important step. Poorly selected phrases will not generate any traffic at all or it will be worthless. Therefore, in the case of local SEO, long-tail phrases related to a given region or city are favoured, e.g. hair extensions Pozna艅, car mechanic Ostro艂臋ka. These are less competitive than general phrases. For research, use e.g. Google Planner or AnswerThePublic.
Search phrase optimisation
Once you have determined the phrases for which you want to increase your search engine visibility, it is time to optimise your website for them. The phrases should therefore be included in high-quality content on the page, including headings. It is also important to add them in metadata such as title (SEO title), meta description or in the text of alternative images on the page.
Setting up a Company Profile on Google (formerly Google My Company)
The Company Profile on Google is a tool that allows owners to showcase their business on the search engine and on Google Maps. Thanks to the business card, web users can quickly and conveniently access the most important information about the company.
Link acquisition from local portals
In this case, the most valuable backlinks are those from local sites preferably from domains with a long history. Ideally, links to the company website should appear in articles related to the industry. It is a good idea to publish guest expert posts, showcasing your knowledge and at the same time encouraging readers to visit your company website.
Cooperation with local bloggers
You may also choose to work with micro-influencers who, although they do not have millions of followers, gather an engaged community around them. For example, take advantage of of this platformto find the influencer by location. Once a partnership has been established, he or she will actively support the promotion of the brand by building awareness among the audience, but also, for example, by including links in their posts.
Increase the visibility of your business with local SEO
Local SEO should be an integral part of any local business' strategy. It allows you to focus on acquiring customers within your company's footprint, which translates into efficiency. Also of great importance for small and medium-sized businesses is the fact that local SEO does not require as large a budget as positioning nationwide and competing with big business.
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