What is Local SEO & How to Optimize It?

Posted By Bikash Raiin WordPress TipsTagged , Updated on

In the previous article, we have covered On-Page SEO Techniques, Essential Off-Page SEO Techniques, and Essential Technical SEO. Now, in this article we are going to cover details of local SEO, it’s importance and guide how you can optimize your business for local SEO.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO also known as Local Search Engine Marketing, is an incredibly effective way to market Local Business online.  It helps businesses promote their products and services to local customers at the exact time they’re looking for them online.

Local Result (1)

 

If you are thinking of what kinds of business should focus on local SEO, then here is the answer –

  • Phone repair shop in Seattle, WA
  • SEO company in Las Vegas, NV
  • Dental clinic in Novena, Singapore
  • Real estate company in Kathmandu, Nepal

You got it right?

Not all the business are required to do a local SEO unless you target a small geographical location. Local SEO is an incredibly effective way to market your local business online, as it helps businesses promote their products and services to local customers.

This is achieved through a variety of methods, some of which differ greatly from what’s practiced in standard SEO, and some of which are far easier to manage using local SEO tools and can require specific local SEO services.

How Local SEO Help in Your Business?

Did you know? – 46% of the searches have local intent.

Local intent is any query in which Google assumes the user is looking for a local result – so someone who lives in New York, searching for Restaurants in Seattle is still executing a query with Local Intent.

For example, when people looking for SEO service in Boston, MA then they type the query “SEO service in Boston” or “SEO Service near me”. This key phrase includes location so Google prioritizes the business having a specific location. Google understands that SEO Service provider from Boston is the exact result that customer from Boston looking for. If a user from Boston searching for SEO Service from Boston then there is no meaning of showing the result of London. This is where the local SEO comes into action.

Local SEO is essential especially if your business serves locally. It helps to boost your business within specific geography when people search it online.

How is Local SEO Different Than Organic SEO?

local SEO Result Pages

In traditional SEO, search engines will analyze the relevant and trusted content, however, in local SEO, a search engine will analyze relevant and trusted locations.

Three major element plays a vital role in local SEO

  • Proximity: How close is your business to the searcher?
  • Relevance: How relevant to the search query are your products and services?
  • Prominence: What do other consumers say about your products and services?

Proximity is the distance between the searcher and what they are looking for. Google suggests and shows up the nearest possible location to the users.

There are three ways a user can perform a local search; non-geo-modified, geo-modified, and “near me.” You should always consider optimizing the different ways users are searching.

Relevance is all about how you can increase topic or keyword relevance so that you show up when you should? You need to take into consideration all the major signals below that tell a search engine how relevant your page or website is for a given query.

Prominence is the trust and credibility your brand has built up with search engines. This can come in several forms: links; articles; directories; mentions; reviews; etc. Brands that have a stronger online prominence seem more credible and trustworthy to search engines. Some important ways you can build up, maintain your brand prominence, and grow your economic position can be listed as below:

  • Reviews
  • Citations – A citation is a reference to your business’s name, address and phone number (NAP). Just having your business name, address and phone number mentioned gets you to credit for a citation.
  • Backlinks

How You Can Optimize Your Local SEO?

1. Website ‘localization’

Include your city, county or region name naturally throughout your site. Website localization is the process of adapting an existing website to local language and culture in the target market. It is the process of adapting a website into a different linguistic and cultural context— involving much more than the simple translation of the text.

2. Citation Building

List your business in the online business directories. Featuring your business information in the citation sites and online business directories will help your customers find your business easily. Properly feature the business name, address, phone and website URL on citation sites. Not only will this help customers find your business, but it will also help to improve your search rankings.

3. Setup Google My Business

Setting up Google My Business (GMB) previously known as Google Local is very important for any local business. It is a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By verifying and editing your business information, you can both help customers find you and tell them the story of your business.

It feeds information to a variety of places, including the local pack and Google Maps search results, but the most familiar appearance will likely be when it’s in the top right (or top on mobile) of a branded search for your business, as below.

Also, do Bing Places, it is the equivalent of Google My Business. But it is not as important as GMB but to compete in all you can set it up. It takes just a few minutes.

4. Manage Reviews and Rating

Review and rating send positive signals to the search engine to tell about the trustworthy and value of your business. The number of reviews you receive, the overall quality of the reviews and the authority of the review sites themselves are all important factors for local search rankings.

Google local SEO Result

5. Build Backlinks

As always, backlinks play an important role in website ranking. Naturally obtained a backlink from higher authority websites helps search engines recognize your site as a trusted source of information and boosts the ‘prominence’ aspect of the local search algorithm.

Check out the infographics on “Localizing a Website” by DayTranslations

Local SEI infographics

Final Tips!

Whether you own your own business or are an agency working with clients, having a definitive step by step Local SEO strategy is key to moving on up the local SERPs. There are many businesses who have not optimized for local SEO. This is a good chance for you to beat them. With Google putting more emphasis than ever on local search, now is the time to act on reanalyzing your current Local SEO strategies if they are not working as planned and to implement a new plan of action.

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