Any kind of business that has a physical or offline location or serves a geographic area can benefit from local SEO. Local SEO is a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that helps businesses to be more visible in local search results on Google. Local search is quite powerful for small businesses and 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information. That’s why businesses are required to be optimized for local search, otherwise they could miss out on potential customers, those who are ready to shop in the local area. In short, local SEO is critical for businesses to stay relevant. Let’s understand its core first!
WHAT IS LOCAL SEO?
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the technique of improving search engine visibility for local businesses so that they can appear prominently in unpaid, location-based search results on Google Search, Google Maps, and other various search engines. By following local SEO best practices, businesses can improve organic traffic from searches performed by customers in nearby locations. It can help identify relevant local keywords and it will also help the Google Business Profile rank higher in the local pack.
It is an essential process for businesses focusing on increasing localized traffic, leads, and brand awareness.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Local SEO is important because a large amount of people use search engines to find local businesses. Businesses with the best local SEO tend to rank highest for local keywords like the ones above. Google displays local results when it believes searchers are looking for products, services or amenities nearby or in a specified location. So regardless of the business or the location, it’s more likely for the brand/business to reach potential customers through search.
Google delivers billions of local search results every month. According to Google:
- 30% of all mobile searches are related to location.
- 78% of people who search for something nearby on their phones visit the business within a day.
HOW LOCAL SEO WORKS?
Google or any other search engine uses a few keywords to find out which businesses to show when you search locally. Local SEO is a game of two halves because Google shows two types of search results for local searches.
The map pack is a Google SERP feature that shows the top local business listings and a map. It often appears at the very top of Google’s search results for local searches.
The “regular” organic search results are the “ten blue links” that everyone’s familiar with. They usually appear below the map pack results. Keyword research for local SEO is the process of finding search terms people use when searching for local products and services.
Ranking for these keywords drives highly targeted local traffic to your site and sends more customers your way.
HERE ARE A FEW LOCAL SEO TOOLS FOR YOU
- Google Business Manager
- Google Search Console
- Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker
- Grid My Business
- Yext
Local SEO is an integral part of any SEO strategy for local businesses. Local SEO will help the audience find the business when they are searching anything online if the brand has a storefront or service area.
