With 46% of Google searches being localized, improving your local SEO can be an effective way to attract new customers and boost sales.
One important local SEO factor is your name, address and phone number (NAP). This information should be consistent across all online properties.
Keyword research
If your business is local or you want to reach nearby consumers, keyword research is an essential component of your marketing plan. It helps identify which keywords your ideal customers use and optimizes your website so it appears in geographically tailored search results.
Conducting keyword research involves several essential steps. Begin by creating a list of words related to your business.
Once you have your list, plug them into a free keyword tool to view search volume and related terms. These services also offer other data such as SERP analysis and search trends.
Next, you can examine competitors and their domains for keyword ideas. This can be done with tools such as Ubersuggest or by conducting competitive keyword research on Google.
Competitor analysis
Competitor analysis is an integral component of any local SEO strategy. It helps you identify websites in your industry that are targeting keywords you want to rank for, enabling you to craft a winning approach for your own business.
Conducting competitor research requires knowing which keywords your competition is ranking for and which search queries they are competing with. This can be easily accomplished using a keyword research tool like Ahrefs or SEMRush.
Once you have a list of keywords and search queries, it is time to perform a Google or other search engine search. This will give you an overview of the top competitors for each term as well as their strategy for ranking for those terms.
Gaining insight into the SERP will enable you to identify any holes in your competitors’ strategies that could cause their rankings to slip. It also gives you the ability to adjust your own tactics in a proactive way so that you stay one step ahead of the competition.
On-page optimization
On-page optimization is the practice of tailoring your website for search engines, including optimizing title tags, content, URLs and internal links.
Traditional on-page SEO tactics such as keyword stuffing can still be effective today, but the emphasis is shifting towards relevance. Google has become much smarter than it used to be back then and uses a variety of signals to determine which pages are pertinent to the user intent behind a search query.
Local search requires an effective on-page strategy to boost your business’ visibility and bring potential customers closer to making a purchase. To do this, optimize your website for voice search and verify that all of your NAP (name, address, phone number) information is correct. Furthermore, display business hours on your website so people can locate you based on their location.
Link building
Local SEO recognizes the significance of links as they can significantly boost your rankings and visibility in search results. Links drive direct traffic to your website, helping it appear higher on SERPs (search engine result pages).
Traditional link building tactics are effective for local SEO, but it’s essential to target more specifically tailored resource listings and blogs as well. Doing this will help your business stand out from competitors and boost visibility in local searches.
Another way to build local links is by finding websites in your region with high page ranking or domain authority and approaching them about getting a link. This could be done through guest posting, partnerships or sponsoring the site.
By giving a presentation about your business to the local chamber of commerce or business organization, it is possible to gain valuable links that are often contextual and highly pertinent to locals. These types of links can be extremely beneficial for your company as they often showcase context-sensitive information that is pertinent and important to locals.