Local SEO: Do you think your business needs to be bigger or have limited geographic reach to appear on the first page of Google searches to become something really important? So, rethink this.
With local SEO, smaller businesses can compete with larger ventures and increase their sales. By making use of this strategy, several positive impacts on corporate results are perceived. That is, you can’t stay out! To help, we prepared this content full of tips on how to invest in this strategy. Check out!
Local SEO: How Does It Work?
SEO is a set of search engine optimization strategies used to rank a website in the top positions. Its scope becomes local in searches that contain a geographic component, such as:
- user geo positioning associated with the search for physical developments;
- inclusion of location-related terms — “nearest,” “near me,” “in the city of…” etc.
From this, the algorithm lists companies meeting these criteria according to their Google My Business or Google Maps records. This is called a Local Pack, which also takes into account the following:
- distance from the user;
- the popularity of the establishment;
- keyword matching.
Then, but also on the first page of results, the organic ranking links are shown, which follow general rules such as:
- on and off-page optimization ;
- quality of backlinks;
- content relevance;
- authority.
Why Invest In Local SEO?
Still, trying to convince this works for your company’s goals? So, answer: what are the advantages you want for your business? Because investing in local SEO generates benefits such as:
- increase relevance, visibility, and online presence in the region covered;
- attract more customers or a new profile of regulars to the establishment ;
- use proximity to encourage decision-making;
- guide the consumer to proceed in the sales funnel ;
- establish a differentiated image about direct competitors;
- create a relationship with the audience;
- expand the results.
Are you starting to see why this strategy is worth putting into practice? We’ll tell you one more!
Currently, Google is a major factor in making a purchase decision. After all, who has never researched other buyers’ opinions and wanted to check a store’s reliability before closing the deal?
These same elements are considered when choosing enterprises with physical service points. Thus, making your information known to the target audience is very useful. Reach is much greater when investing in local SEO!
How To Put This Strategy Into Practice?
Another differential of investing in this type of SEO is that it is a good marketing strategy for local businesses. Find out below what to do to put it into practice!
Produce Local Content
SEO depends on the algorithm finding correspondence between the terms searched and those on your website, blog, or social networks to work.
Regarding searches involving locations, achieving good organic ranking is enhanced by producing content following the search engine’s criteria. Therefore, a local SEO marketing strategy should:
- include place names throughout texts;
- increase the density of the use of relevant expressions;
- opt for keywords with high search volume related to your address — neighborhood, city, state, etc.;
- give preference to topics of interest to your audience.
Partner With Local Blogs
The backlink strategy is key to building authority and indicating relevance. This is another important ranking factor. One way to step this up is through partnerships with local blogs.
Do you know those pages that talk about your region and have a large audience? Publishing a guest post on them that indicates your business is a great advertisement. Now, imagine if it still links to your site!
Anyone who writes about business, tourism, or the specific industry you work in may be interested. Other options are your suppliers or news portals. It’s not worth having your data out of date, okay?
Encourage Customer Reviews
When someone who has already consumed a product or service takes the time to say that it is good, it makes you think that the experience with that solution was above average.
Making this type of testimonial available on Google My Business and other recommendation sites builds confidence for potential buyers to decide for your company and improve your ranking.
The logic behind this is simple: the more highly evaluated — considering the rating, information, and keywords of the reviews —the better your positioning will be. So, be sure to encourage your audience to carry out these reviews!
Work The Location
You may have realized that Google My Business and Google Maps are key to ranking in Local Park. Other platforms focused on tips that use location as a criterion can also use local SEO to place themselves on the first page, giving visibility to the listed companies.
Therefore, when registering your enterprise, the address must be complete. In addition, add a map to help those who still need to attend the establishment arrive more easily. After all, you don’t want anyone lost or going to the wrong place.
Optimize The Website
SEO is not just about keywords and backlinks, although they are part of the items analyzed by the search engine algorithm. For the site to rank well, it is also necessary to invest in the optimization of other elements, such as:
- loading speed;
- responsiveness and usability;
- suitability of the layout for mobile ;
- security;
- meta description;
- domains, URL, and title tag ;
- site map;
- headings and information hierarchy;
- images.
Count On Technology Support
SEO impacts companies’ strategies so much that tools, platforms, and digital solutions are available to facilitate management. The idea is to choose those that work this strategy within 360-degree marketing, as it is easier to organize emails, content, sponsored links, social media, and much more in one place!
Also Read: How To Use Email Marketing In Your Content Strategy
