Do Local SEO like a PRO in 2020
Do Local SEO Tips, Tricks And Actionable Advice to Rank Locally in Google:
Local SEO has been around for a long time, but it is now more important than ever, and rightly so. As much as "general" SEO is great for your company, if you are a small or medium-sized company without a local SEO strategy, you will miss out on a lot of time.
According to Google, local searches now account for more than 46 percent of all searches. And mobile plays a major role in this dramatic shift in search intent.
As per HubSpot, 58 percent of mobile users search for local businesses daily, while no less than 89 percent search at least once a month.
In fact, half of these mobile users who search locally visit a local company within 24 hours.
When you take all of these statistics into account, it is clear that marketers must do their utmost to rank for keywords and terms that are relevant to users' purchase intent. And of course, the fact that you have to market your company locally.
Local SEO, however, is much more than just content.
As with 'general' SEO, there are certain nuances of local SEO that marketers need to be aware of if they want to succeed in ranking their companies locally. This guide covers those topics.
Differences between "general" SEO and local SEO
Let's say there is a national chain of beauty shops. If that company has invested in SEO services, they will appear at the top of Google's search results when users search for topics like "How do I take care of my skin?"
However, if they are not optimized from a local SEO point of view, a user looking for a term like "beauty salon near me" may never see the relevant company on the first Google search results page.
The difference between these two cases is intended:
In the first case, a user wants information that may or may not cause him to go to a specific location to purchase a product. Maybe they are looking for tips for skincare, hacks and the like. Purchase intention is not clear at all.
In the second case, however, the intention to convert is more pronounced. They are looking for someone who can offer them a service in their city.
The latter case is the reason to have a very strong local SEO. It leads to actual conversions, which in this case is the patronage of a local beauty salon or salon.
What is SEO
SEO is an acronym for search engine optimization.
As we explained earlier, SEO refers to all the tactics, techniques and strategies that you must use to improve both the quality and quantity of traffic from pages with organic search results to your website and landing pages. The ultimate goal of any SEO strategy is to be at the top of page one of Google's search results.
Why increase the quality of traffic? You can attract a lot of traffic, but if they have the wrong target group, they are of little or no value to your company. You want to attract web visitors who are actually interested in your services or products.
Why more traffic? As soon as relevant traffic comes to your website, the more traffic you receive, the more sales you receive.
At SEO it's all about organic results.
Google Ads accounts for a significant percentage of search engine results, but you have to pay a lot to get there. Organic traffic, on the other hand, is the holy grail of searching, because you do not have to pay a cent for their click-throughs to your website. We actually made an article about the main differences between SEO and SEM that can be read here.
What is local SEO?
Local SEO is the practice of optimizing your business website and online profiles for display in local search results. It is one of the most effective ways to market your local business online.
Local SEO is all about having your website score higher on local SERPs. Simply put, local SEO offers you the opportunity to promote your business to local users who are already looking for services or products that you offer closest to them.
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[Struggles to be found in Google? Click here to request an SEO quote]
Local SEO requires that you optimize for your address, place name and other locally identifying details. In short: you have to optimize for local search so that customers know your location and opening times and can find you in real life (if necessary).
Why is local SEO important for a company?
In the digital age, small and medium-sized businesses are struggling to find online customers looking for the products and services they offer in their geographical area.
Local SEO
This method helps you provide potential customers with local information wherever they are and whenever they want. As such, it is important because a large percentage of local customers look for a company before they start working on it.
This becomes even more prominent in the local context.
Smartphone users use their devices to search for a wide range of local information.
According to a Forbes survey, 95 percent of smartphone users have used their devices to search locally. Of these searches, 59 percent led to pedestrian traffic to a local company, while 61 percent resulted in a phone call to a local company.
What kind of local searches do smartphone users perform? Half of them search for a local store address, 53 percent for directions to local stores and 54 percent for office hours.
Tablets/computers have also gone 'locally'. 42 percent of tablet / pc users search for opening times, 45 percent for the availability of certain products/services in which they are interested in a local store and 38 percent for the address of the local store.
Ensure pedestrian traffic without having a website. You see, local SEO helps you generate more traffic to your website via local SERPs. It can even make your company stand out in local searches, even if you don't have a real website.
[Struggles to be found in Google? Click here to request an SEO quote]
[Struggles to be found in Google? Click here to request an SEO quote]
Local SEO helps your company to be discovered, found and verified. According to HubSpot, 71 percent of online users check the location of a local business before they visit it for the first time. In other words, the higher your local search ranking, the more foot traffic you get. This translates into more sales and more profitability.
Get an extra head start on your competition. Local SEO helps to increase both your local and online visibility. And by optimizing for local search, you effortlessly make it easier for potential customers to find you before your competition.
All in all, if you don't have proactive local SEO strategies, you may lose potential customers to your local rivals.
They will close their local sales faster, slowing down your conversion rates to a squeak.
Imagine that appearing in local searches will help you attract new customers looking for what you offer. These can be residents who are looking for new products, tourists who come through your city or newcomers in your area.
What is the local SEO relationship with voice searches?
Okay, Google ...
According to ComScore, 50 percent of all searches will be voice-driven by 2020. Nowadays, billions of voice searches are performed every month, 40 percent of which are local, according to a Google-Nielsen study.
As the aforementioned study and many others conducted thereafter, local SEO must keep voice search in the front burner. In other words, you must optimize your voice as part of your local SEO strategy.
We, as consumers, are determined to lean towards convenience, something that speech-based searching offers us in abundance. Since the ownership of smart speakers is expected to rise from 42 percent to 55 percent by 2022, your local search strategy must be in line with this expected growth.
Spoken searches are becoming increasingly reliable. In 2013, Google Voice Search was slightly less than 80 percent accurate, now the accuracy of the word processing is more than 95 percent. This means that local searches via speech are becoming more and more precise.
The distribution of virtual assistants is the main driver for voice searches. Digital assistants such as Microsoft Cortana, Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are now ubiquitous. And they are all optimized to deliver incredibly accurate local searches. If you want to know more about Voice Search, view our comprehensive guide on the subject.
Google Map
Local SEO has almost become synonymous with the Google Local Pack. but what is it and why is it important for your local search strategy?
Even if you don't know what the Google Local Pack is, chances are that you have come across it and can even communicate with it.
Google Local Pack is what the doctor has prescribed when it comes to achieving your local business success.
Google Local Pack, also known as Snack Pack, Local 3-Pack or Map Pack, is a map-like feature that Google uses to display the top 3 results for pages with local search results (SERPs).
In terms of laypeople, this is a method that Google uses to rank a local search query and display the names, phone and address of the 3 most relevant results (previously there were 7 but they were reduced to finish them off) vote on mobile browsing).
Since Google has switched from a seven-pack to a 3-pack setup, the competition to appear on this list has become fierce. As such, it is incredibly crucial for companies to try to appear here as the chances of converting customers are much greater.
If a three-pack is too busy, it gets worse. Recently, the search engine giant experimented with a two-organic local list with a paid advertisement that took third place. Although this is not official, local SEOs are urged to brace themselves for even more competition.
Even Google Local 3-Pack is becoming more pervasive. It is even displayed in more than 30 percent of all 1st page SERPs, making it the most-displayed search results function, followed by excerpts.
If you appear in the Google Local Pack, your opening times, rating percentage and NAP (name, address, telephone) and call button are available to the user. It is for this reason that you must correctly optimize for all these elements.
Facts and figures about local SEO
If you are still unsure whether you should do local SEO or not, here are some important statistics that will convince you.
What do users do after landing on a local search? According to Moz case study, 29 percent clicked through to an organic offer website; 8 percent decided to click on "more local results"; 19 percent opted for paid local search results and 44 percent clicked on a result in the Local 3-Pack.
If you want to be easily found in local searches, your online presence and mobile website are crucial.
61 percent of mobile users say they are not going back to a mobile website that had trouble loading, browsing or opening. 57 percent say they do not recommend such poorly designed or inaccessible mobile sites to others. 40 percent of dissatisfied mobile users ultimately visit competitor websites.
The loading speeds of mobile sites are important. Mobile sites that load within 5 seconds or enjoy 70 percent longer web sessions and 25 percent more advertising visibility. 91 percent of mobile users want fast, easy access to content. We have covered this factor and much more in our comprehensive guide to technical SEO that is available here.
User experience is everything when it comes to local SEO. 7 out of 10 use another website if it is inaccessible or if it takes too long to load. 69 percent of local searchers are likely to make a purchase through an informative and easy-to-use website.
Local seekers are looking for immediate, accurate results. If you display incorrect information, according to BrightLocal you run the risk of losing the confidence of 80 percent of consumers. Even worse, 93 percent of consumers are confused and frustrated by incorrect information.
Social media also play a key role. 69 percent of users (including local searchers) use social media in the US. 59 percent of consumers are looking for purchasing ideas and inspiration from social media platforms.
Local SEO ranking factors
Google takes three important aspects into account when processing local searches:
Distance: how close is your business to where the search is being conducted? If your company is closest (and of course relevant), it will get a good local search ranking (Local Pack rankings).
Relevance: Google itself has often repeated their search results algorithms to ensure that users are shown the most relevant results for a search query. Relevance is also the key to local search results. Are your company, products or services the relevant result for the search? Does what you offer to match what the user is looking for?
Prominence: this comes down to your credibility and how well your company is known locally. If you are considered credible and reliable in the eyes of Google (and users), you will get a good local ranking.
Although the three aspects play a major role, here are some of the most important factors that contribute to local SEO:
(a) Locations
Again, distance is an important local SEO ranking factor. That is why you must keep your address updated and ensure that it is shared with Google in the correct format. There are two types of addresses in which Google is interested in ranking for a local audience: structured and unstructured.
A structured address is often displayed in NAPW format (name, address, telephone and website). So if you have not already done so, complete the application in Google My Business. You can expect the verification code to be sent by post to your physical address within three to five days. All you have to do is enter the code and have your address verified.
This is especially important for companies with multiple locations. Make sure the addresses for all of your locations are clearly indicated so that they can rank for specific geographic regions.
(b) My business listing
Once your business address has been verified and registered, you must enter other important information to complete your Google "My Business" listing. It is crucial that you correctly state the company on Google, otherwise you will give your competitors the upper hand when searching locally.
If certain information about your company helps improve the visibility of your local search, do not hesitate to add it to your My Company listing. More importantly, you must read the instructions from Google for writing and presenting the listing information.
(c) Local directories and social media
There is a good reason why Google loves local directories when it comes to search results. These folders usually present business addresses and other information in a structured format. So make sure you mention your company in directory websites such as Foursquare, Yellowpages, Yelp, etc., and ensure that the latest information about your location is available.
(d) Reviews
Reviews (if available) will be displayed in the Google Local Pack next to your business contact information. These reviews are another important part that Google knows how reliable a company is. After all, consumers want to read reviews before they make a purchasing decision.
97 percent of online users read reviews from local businesses, according to a Bright Local survey. To that end, assessments play a major role in consumer decisions and make a major contribution to your online visibility and reliability. As such, it is important to keep track of complaints and assessments - and respond to them in a timely manner.
(e) Content
To ensure that your website and content are highly relevant to local searches, you must optimize all of your pages, blogs, and other content to meet local users and their needs.
Often, content optimization means that you must add location-specific modifiers to your semantic core. In order for Google to link your website and business to a specific geographic location, your content must include the name of the city, state, region, and neighbourhood (in some situations).
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[Struggles to be found in Google? Click here to request an SEO quote]
When optimizing your content for local search, also take into account technical SEO elements. The local SEO status of your site includes technical factors such as security, mobile-friendliness, loading speeds, crawlability and much more. If you have neglected these technical SEO problems, your local pack ranking will suffer.
Don't forget the link authority, which takes us to the next point.
(f) Local backlinking
It is no secret that backlinking and authority building is vital for overall SEO. You can even build authoritative links with the same ideas as general SEO. In this case, however, you should try to get backlinks from other local companies. By backlinking from other local companies, you increase your relevance in the eyes of Google for local search results.
Use local schedule for companies, products and services
Schema has got a grip on SEO specialists in recent years as a real way to reach the rich snippets and Google answer boxes in the so-called zero position of SERPs. The same also applies to local SEO - you must apply local schema layout.
Schema Markup is a rule or multiple code lines that you can use to highlight different elements of your site to help Google understand them more accurately. When you tell Google what your pages have to do with schema formatting, you get preferential treatment when it comes to ranking searches.
This is a gem for local SEO professionals. And it's easy to do this. Simply add local schema layout to your site and every page to optimize them for local SEO. If you do not apply the correct local schedule layout, reaching Snack Pack becomes a difficult task.
The good news is that you can also add markup code for every page, the entire website, products and services pages. By applying these handy codes, you indicate to Google exactly what your address is, your company name, business hours, telephone number and other details that will help you get a higher local search ranking.
Steps for adding Local Business Scheme Markup
Step 1. Display your NAPW correctly
It is worth noting that you should never display your company name, address, telephone, and website URL (NAPW) in an image format. Although technically there is no problem with this, it will be a huge problem for web crawlers (which Google uses to rank your site).
Instead, you must state your NAPW data in an easily readable and crawler-friendly HTML text format.
Here is an example of Digital Authority Partners, a digital experience company based in Chicago:
1212, W Merchandise Mart Plaza
Suite 1212
Chicago, IL
(312) 600-5433
You will find their company name, telephone number, physical address and more when you scroll down each page. This is exactly where your NAP information should be displayed.
Step 2. Add the actual Local Business Schema.org Markup to your website (and pages)
You need the formatting code that you can get from schema.org. The next step is as easy as connecting and tagging your site data to Structured Data Markup Helper. This is a useful tool from Google.
Enter the website URL and click on 'start tagging. You will be notified if you have not added the format code correctly. The good thing is that you can download your local schema layout code and use it for testing the Google structured data testing tool.
A few tips to keep handy:
The structured data of your local business schedule must be spam-free.
It must tell Google exactly what your website or company is about. If your layout data is considered spam, you run the risk of being punished or ranked by Google.
Make sure your schedule layout best matches user intent. It's all about complying with Google's instructions and guidelines.
3) Claim your Google My Business listing (GMB)
One of the most effective ways to get your business in Local 3-Pack is to claim, verify and optimize the Google My Business listing of your local business. It is also crucial to be higher in local SERP results.
The great thing about GMB is that it is absolutely free and can deliver highly targeted traffic, both to your physical store and online sources such as your website, blog, social media, etc.
More importantly, the Knowledge Chart is another incredible Google tool that uses verified GMB data to help process local searches and rank local businesses. So how do you claim and optimize your Google My Business listing?
Here are some tips that may come in handy when optimizing your GMB listing:
Use the right keywords to optimize your GMB content. Sprinkle primary keywords when you enter your business content, as this contributes about 20 percent to your Local Pack ranking. The better your content is optimized, the greater your chances of getting into Local 3-Pack.
Your office / opening times must be razor sharp. Your opening times must be entered truthfully, because every complaint will go down to your ambition to become a member of the Local Pack in your geographical service area. Be sure to update the hours accordingly as they change. Google offers you the possibility to personalize the opening times of your company for special events such as vacations, etc.
Recording images. We all love visually stunning images. So add as many photos as possible to your GMB list. According to Google, business listings with photos receive 35 percent more click-throughs to their business sites and 42 percent more requests from Google Maps for directions.
Don't forget to add logo photos, cover photos and other beautiful photos that will bring your company to the attention. They must be 10KB-5MB in size, 720x720 minimum resolution, well lit and focused. Stay with PNG and JPEG formats.
Make sure the entry is complete and accurate. GMB listings that provide accurate and detailed information are preferred in the local search results. Relevance is, after all, one of the most important local SEO ranking factors. The user must never guess or assume some of your business data; the statement must communicate everything clearly and completely.
In short, make sure that your GMB entry effectively tells users what your company name is, where it is located, what it does and how they can acquire your products/services. They should find this info without hassle or extra steps.
Monitor and respond to customer reviews/complaints. Use review sites and tools to communicate with customers. Use these opportunities to offer customers more value and to receive feedback on what they can improve.
4) Adding business to local directories and social platforms
Building quotes and lists in important local business directories are a good strategy for optimizing your site for local search. Today there are hundreds of extensive business directories, of which Yellowpages, Google My Business, LinkedIn, Yelp, Whitepages, Manta, Local.com, Facebook, CitySearch and Yahoo Local are the top.
When you add your listing to these directories and social media platforms, it pays to ensure that each item is exactly for the other. They should give the same picture of your company in all directories and social sites. Therefore, you must maintain the same view and layout and ensure that they all match your GMB listing.
It is crucial that you choose the right director or platform. It is not wise to spend a lot of man hours and money to list your company in every possible folder. Instead, locate and list only those platforms that you think will enhance your credibility and help you score your business.
5) Make assessments and reputation building important
Leave a review
As if that wasn't enough for companies, 97 percent of consumers admit that user reviews play an important role in their purchasing decisions. But more importantly, Google has confirmed that reviews (and respond to them) can improve your local SEO.
As you can see, it is of the utmost importance that you seek validation as your local business grows. That is where assessments come into the picture. They are votes for validation for your local company. If you have rave reviews, your products and services are probably first class in the eyes of users.
Google takes into account your ratings and ratings on various sites such as Facebook, Yelp and Google to provide better local search results. So if you want to appear in the Local Pack and score higher in local SERPs, you must respond to both positive and negative reviews. It is a great way to get into the good books of Google.
Tips for responding to good reviews
Positive reviews are a solution, but only if you use them to your advantage. Here's how to respond to them:
Keep it personal and be specific. General responses are a huge change for some users. Even if you want to use generic answers, you must touch something personal and specific for the particular review/case. The customer will appreciate your personal approach.
Thank you. It can go a long way.
Give them a boost. Show customers that you value their business and view them by offering discounts, examples, and other incentives to come back or refer a friend.
Tips for responding to bad reviews
This is where your response will make a big difference
Encourage the user to take the convo offline. Simply ask them to contact customer service and make sure that they do their best to ensure that the matter is handled professionally and to the satisfaction of the customer.
Apologize and thank the customer for the feedback.
Respond appropriately. You must never blame, blame or misuse the customer. Don't even argue. It's all about the customer.
Keep it short and powerful. The trick is to ensure that reviews are handled quickly, politely and professionally.
Content optimized for local searches
Content is a super effective way to rank for less competitive, local keywords.
Before you produce localized content for your region, you must do some research to identify your audience. The best way to do this is by taking advantage of the fact that you are a local company. You may also want to interview customers face-to-face.
Content ideas include:
Subjects, topics or questions that your customers often ask. This applies to both offline and online inquiries and inquiries from customers.
Google trends. This is a great free tool that tells you the search volumes for keywords that you want to optimize.
Local information. What is so unique and special about the geographical area that your company serves. Talk about local events, attractions, and highlight issues that affect your specific service area.
Previous case studies. Provide users with valuable insights and information from your previous case studies. This is especially important for local companies in the B2B niche.
Feedback from customers, transcripts and interviews. Perform both one-on-one and online interviews. You can upload the actual video of the interview or generate a transcript.
Country-oriented pages with landing pages, provincial, regional and even districts. This should help to promote your products, challenges and other pieces of information related to that specific region.
Frequently asked questions pages. Ensure that they are rich and vibrant and contain relevant/useful information. You will use these FAQ pages to provide value and optimize for local search. Talk about doing double duty!
Organize local events. You can even collaborate with local companies and event organizers to bring consumers closer to you.
Conclusion
Local SEO is more important than ever. It helps you find your business in local SERPs and reach the Google Local Pack.
Just like the overall SEO strategy, you must continue to analyze and optimize the local SEO strategy to become relevant to your local customers. Make sure your local listing details are accurate and current, constantly refresh your content to reflect user intent, and don't forget to respond politely and quickly to reviews.
The immediate benefits are obvious, such as that they are found by local users, a greater chance of converting them. However, there are also larger implications.
For example, spoken searches are highly dependent on local SEO to produce accurate and highly relevant results. With a large number of users on their way to voice searches, it becomes all the more important to have a robust local SEO strategy.
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