HOW LOCAL SEO WORKS
Local search engine optimization refers to making your website visible to attract people within your geographical area. Local SEO deals more with local searches. There are so many people within your area who are looking for a business or service like yours, this is where local SEO comes in. Most successful businesses practice local SEO. If you are an expert and have free time then you can do SEO by yourself but if you have no idea about local SEO or you are super busy then you need to hire an SEO agency or digital marketing agency to help you.
HOW TO START LOCAL SEO
1. Google my business-this is a place on Google in which you create your business profile. Having a profile on Google enables your business to be visible on Google search maps. It increases your brand's visibility as Google my business profiles appear in the local 3 pack as well. When people make search queries about a business or products that you have and you have a Google my business profile, your business will appear in the local 3 pack. This will give you a higher advantage over your competitors since search engine users mostly pick the first 3 results first. When more people continue to visit your website the more your website will continue to be visible.
2. Citations-This refers to anywhere online in which your business’s name, address, phone number, and website(NAPW) is placed. Citations are normally placed on business directories. For your local SEO to be successful you need to make sure that your citations do not differ. If they differ then this will affect your ranking as you will be confusing search engines. Placing your website on directories makes it easy for people to find you. Remember,when people visit directories they are looking for a product or service that they want to acquire. Not being in directories will lead to your potential customers going to your competitors and you losing customers. Local SEO depends on a lot of citations. People pay a lot of attention to the information they find about business on directories. If they are not satisfied with the information given they are most likely going to go to another business. That’s why it’s important to make sure you describe your business in a manner that will be easy for visitors to understand and also be captivating at the same time.
3. Backlinks-Backlinks are linked from a website or webpage to another website. It’s not just about getting backlinks, you need to get backlinks from websites that are recognized by search engines. Getting such backlinks will improve your online presence and visibility. Backlinks can be acquired from guest posts, directories, bloggers, building internal links, through infographics, and much more. Having quality backlinks tells search engines such as Google that your website is a reliable one. It's not about quantity but quality.
4. Reviews-What people say about you online matters a lot and has a huge impact on whether you will get new customers or not. Like the saying goes ‘people talk’ and people tend to listen to people. Having negative reviews continuously will be bad for SEO and will eventually affect your rankings as Google will see your business as not that good. Having positive reviews is a clear indication to Google that your website is reliable, good, and can be trusted.
5. Localizing website-This applies to businesses that are available all over the city and even outside the country. If your business is available in various cities then those cities should be mentioned on the website as well as contact numbers of different branches so that people within those mentioned cities know who to contact when they want to do business with you. If your business is in different countries then you should have websites that fit for each country. A good example is by making your content in the languages of each country to make people feel at home when they visit your website. If your business is in a French-speaking country then your website needs to be in French so that locals don’t feel out of place.
WHY YOU NEED LOCAL SEO SERVICES
Local SEO services are a must if you want to be known and get customers.1. Mobile Internet- Mobile phones are used more than desktops to search for information nowadays. Thanks to advanced technology, people can find out about anything they want on the internet. That’s why you need to be among those companies that can be found on the internet or you will be losing a lot of potential customers. People tend to choose products or services that they are familiar with.
2. Increases Brand Awareness-You can’t get customers if no one knows who you are. Local SEO helps you to establish an online presence which will make people to get know about you. When users make search queries on search engines looking for a business like yours then your name will appear. When this happens continuously, you will get visitors and you will be able to see an increase in website traffic. Your website will rank higher in SERPs.
3. Cost Effective-Local SEO enables you to reach a large number of people without spending a lot of money compared to other online marketing techniques. The good thing about local SEO is that you are targeting potential customers that are within your area and can come and visit you or make a call or book an appointment. This will help you to know how effective local SEO is and measure results. If you are a small business or a start-up business then local SEO is ideal for you since money is not required.
4. Local SEO Services are Used By Your Competitors-Be sure that your competitors are practicing local SEO and if you are not then you’ll be losing a lot of customers.Remember people trust brands they are familiar with so if they keep seeing your competitor’s brand on SERPs and not seeing you anywhere, they will choose your competitors. The more people on search engines choose your competitors the more reliable they appear to search engines. This means they will have high positions on search engines and have high online visibility.
5. Builds Trust-Businesses with websites appear to be trustworthy compared to businesses that don’t have websites. This is because websites provide full information when the visitor is searching for you. When you have a website that mentions what you do, your location, email, and contact number, it automatically builds trust with visitors. Apart from websites providing information about your business websites sometimes also show key staff members of the company. This helps in creating a feeling that a visitor is dealing with real people.
6. Enables You To Get Reviews-Reviews are very important in running a successful business. Reviews are what people are saying about you online.Reviews are what can help you get a good or bad reputation.Every business strives to get positive reviews as they help in acquiring new customers. Normally when people are thinking about purchasing a particular product or service they first try and find out what people are saying about that particular company. If most of the reviews are negative then guess what? The potential customer will quickly go to your competitor and make a purchase. If this happens regularly then you will be losing a lot of customers. Local SEO helps you to know what people are saying or think about you. Knowing what people think about you is good as it will give you an idea of where you might need to improve as a business or change a few things.
7. Identify Your Ranking-Through local SEO you can know how well your website is performing on search engines. Ranking can be done by using keywords that are in line with your business and seeing the position of your website based on those keywords. Through this you will be able to know what keywords are mostly used and how you can use those keywords more in your content. There are so many words that can be used to describe a business but choosing the right keyword can take time, with the help of keyword tools this becomes a lot easier.
