Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing your online presence to rank higher in search results for people in a certain geographic region, increasing leads and customers for your business.
BrightLocal reports that on-page SEO is becoming increasingly important for local rankings, yet has yet to reach the same significance as NAP citations.
Keyword Research
One of the key aspects of local SEO is keyword research. Your chosen keywords must both relate to your business and have local intent – meaning that people searching those words want something localized.
Begin by compiling a list of solutions your company provides and creating a word or phrase list to describe them. Use a keyword tool to find related terms with search volume data.
Consider including local modifiers to your keyword or phrase to reduce search volume and find long-tail keywords with higher potential value.
One effective strategy for finding local keywords is by studying your competitors’ websites and Google Business Profiles. What keywords are they targeting, giving you ideas for marketing campaigns? Furthermore, using a competitor analysis tool, you can see how well they rank for certain keywords; using your own strategy you could outrank them with ease!
On-Page Optimization
On-page optimization refers to the practice of optimizing individual pages on your website in order to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPS). This involves making sure each page includes high-volume keywords related to user intent as well as taking care in handling other SEO factors on-page.
These include displaying your NAP (name, address, and phone number) prominently across every page of your website and linking it back to Google Business Listing, or including it into its structure via schema markup – these measures ensure search engines understand that your NAP remains consistent across the web and thus positively affecting local ranking.
Additional on-page optimization methods involve addressing duplicate content and building internal links between pages of your site. Tools like Screaming Frog and Ahrefs can be particularly helpful in finding duplicated pages, which may hinder search engines’ indexation efforts and impact search rankings negatively. Furthermore, these tools can identify issues which could negatively affect SERP rankings such as missing meta descriptions or H1 tags that negatively affect SERP rankings.
Local Citations
Citations is an integral component of local SEO. Citations consist of mentions of your business’ name, address and phone number in online listings such as Google Maps that rank businesses correctly for local searches. Furthermore, citations allow brands to connect with potential buyers who may be actively looking for specific products or services they provide.
Moz has identified citations as one of the top five ranking factors for local searches; however, not all SEOs believe that citations remain equally as significant over time – in some instances even suggesting they have become less so over time.
If your company wants to compete in local SEO, building and maintaining a large number of high-quality citations is vital. There are numerous tools, both free and paid, that can assist with this task, including BrightLocal, Yext and SEMrush which search the Internet in search of consistent citation opportunities.
Social Media
Effective local SEO strategies go beyond optimizing websites; they also use social media and review platforms to drive new business leads.
Acquiring online reviews regularly is beneficial both to your reputation and search ranking factors. Be sure to list yourself on all major local review platforms like Google Business Profile, TripAdvisor, Yelp and Facebook so as to maximize this effect.
Traditional link building strategies such as reclaiming lost links, finding broken links and creating unlinked brand mentions still work well in local SEO. Be sure to keep an eye on Moz’s annual survey of local ranking factors to see which signals are increasing or decreasing in importance and tailor your playbook accordingly – for instance citations have become even more essential recently; tools like Semrush Listing Management allow you to monitor and optimize them; this also includes verifying that your NAP (name, address, phone number) information is consistent across the web