Local SEO Guide: The Simple Guide to Improve Your Local Search Rankings

Introduction

Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a company's online presence to increase traffic, raise brand awareness, and generate leads from local searches. 

Local SEO requires an utmost dedication to multiple technical and creative activities convincing search engines that they are the most relevant choice for local queries. 

Companies are pointing up local customers from specific geographical areas through webpage SEO optimization, and valuable content creation. 

Understanding Organic SEO vs. Local SEO

Organic SEO stands for all non-adbuy methods of ranking websites higher in the SERPS. 

Local SEO is pretty much the same, with the main difference of strict geographical focus. The nature of local SEO is to make sure that you appear the highest on location-based searches.

Let's say the user searches for restaurant + location. The search engine detects the query with strong local intent and jumps your business right upfront. 

According to the research, 33% of the local searchers click on the Snack pack results, while 33 visit the web pages from organic search results. 

Why Is Local SEO Important?

Local SEO will give you a competitive advantage and will help you drive relevant traffic to your website. Traffic acquired from the local searches is more likely to give you high conversion rates and extend the customer base.

Optimizing for local search is crucial! Especially if you are targeting and distinctively serving specific towns, cities, and regions. When executed right, people will find and access you in a matter of seconds, putting them a few steps away from converting.

Did you know that 46% of all searches on Google are local? This means that companies not implementing the local SEO practices are missing the huge opportunity to rank for nearly half of the Google queries. 

Moreover, 89% of people search for businesses on their smartphones at least once a week. 

How Does Google Determine the Local Ranking?

Numerous factors govern Google's local search results that are not familiar to the public. Still, we can break down the priorities into three categories. 

Proximity

Proximity is defined simply as where Google considers you are located while searching. If you want to check it scroll down to the bottom of a search page and check the listed Zip Code. 

When you visit google via smartphone, the local algorithm receives more thorough information about your coordinates. The blue dot that appears on your Google map represents exactly where google signals your standing point.

Google utilizes a searchers location to match their search with valuable search results. The question that Google's local algorithm addresses is "How close is the searching point to the customer?"

The more competition occurs in your area, the more decisive role is handed to the coordinates for local search rankings. Because many businesses are densely packed requiring google prioritizes one above the other.

Even if the searcher does not indicate the key phrases like near me or Berlin, the algorithm will automatically detect the local intent and display the results.

Prominence

Prominence refers to the popularity of the business. Google measures these criteria by looking at the:

Local SEO strives to signal the algorithm as effectively as possible to develop trust and become the authoritative choice for searchers' queries. 

Also, sometimes places are not prominent in the digital world but still break through the local search results. For example, landmark museums and touristic attractions may lack an online presence though they are well known to the offline world. 

Relevance

Relevance shows how related the result is to the phrases and keywords people use during their searches. 

Google may take hints from website content, on-page SEO, and customer reviews too. The main takeaway for the algorithm is to detect how the webpage meets the customer's needs, and interests and offers valuable service and information.

Relevance refers to how well a local Business Profile matches what someone is searching for. Add complete and detailed business information to help Google better understand your business and match your profile to relevant searches.

So, there are several factors Google takes into consideration:

• Content
• On-Page SEO- Headings, meta tag, keywords
• Company Name
• Content Reviews
• Google My Business Categories

Where Do Local Search Results Show?

When someone searches for something close to their location, they will find local results in places like Maps and Search. For example, if you search "French Restaurant" on your mobile device

How to Optimize Local SEO?

Google my business assists Google in determining the optimal search results for customers. Optimizing your Google listing will push you higher on google maps as well as improve the overall visibility in local search results.

Follow these steps and guarantee that you are all set and optimized for the Google My Business page.

Create and Verify Google My Business Account

1. Create the new e-mail or use the existing one
2. Visit the Google business page 
3. Register your company's name
4. Choose the category that matches the business
5. Enter the business location
6. Add contact info
7. Verify the business with the phone or e-mail verification
8. Write the business description
9. Add photos and videos

Call Your Audience to Write and Share the Business Reviews

Even if businesses have a low-quality link profile, they might still get a decent ranking in local searches. 

Online mentions are a vital factor for the Google local algorithm. Search engines look at the number of business reviews companies have on Google and depending on that prioritize businesses over each other. When search engines are trying to figure out what the best results might be for a certain search inquiry, they're going to look at a number of factors in their local algorithm and the number of business reviews you have on Google.

So you should try to encourage your users to leave reviews:

Reviews not only optimize your profile but encourage more local customers to buy your product. Reviews act as social proof for users experiencing the hesitation phase. As you would ask a friend about a product recommendation, the same goes with online reviews. It puts the final puzzle together and helps customers make more confident decisions.

Create Location Pages 

If you are operating on more than one location, you should create location pages. It provides readers with basic information like:

For single-location companies, one locally descriptive page with the Google map integration is absolutely okay to go with. 

Optimize On-Page SEO Elements

On-page SEO covers all the necessary tactics to make your page as discoverable as possible. If the on-page factors are on point, the search engine can crawl through your website and categorize it well.

Make sure to optimize:

Make Your Webpage Mobile-Friendly

Did you know that more than 60% of Google searches are completed via mobile? And this number will grow gradually over the years. 

It is one of the most convenient ways to find information about a business, get directions and even call them with one click on the phone. 

Create Local Content

Once you optimize your Google My Business profile and fulfill the technical side of the local SEO, it is time to dedicate yourself to evergreen content that gets the local community engaged. That said, narrow down your topics to hone your focus on the local keyword research and produce the maximum value for your users.

For example, you have a car tunning service and want to attract customers new around the area. You may create maps illustrating the local's favorite spots and attractions and help them settle well into the new location. 

Where My Business Will Appear When Optimized for Local SEO?

Your contribution to satisfy googles priorities- proximity, prominence, and relevance will get awarded by the improved visibility across Google.

Google Business Profiles

When a customer googles the company name, SERP displays business data and interactive elements to the right side of the search result. 

Local Pack Results

It appears above the organic search result and showcases the summary and contact information that can be clicked and forwarded to the detailed pages.

Localized Organic Results

Google's local algorithm, as mentioned above, detects the local intent without identifying the key phrases like near me for example. When someone searches for the best lawyer, the search engine understands that the user is not interested in the best realtor in the world. Instead, Google uses the location data and automatically delivers the result for the best lawyer within that location. 

Do You Have Any Questions About Your Company's SEO?

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