Mastering Local SEO: A Guide to Improve Local Search Rankings

If you have a business that depends on local footfall as a signifier of success, local SEO should be a vital component of your digital strategy. Local SEO is a search optimisation strategy that helps your business become more visible in Google search results.

Beyond footfall, if your business has a physical location, or offers services in specific geographical areas, eg. London, it will benefit from local SEO. In fact, if you search for any important keywords related to your business and a map with listings underneath is appears, local SEO will help your business.

If any of the above applies to your business, read on to find out why local SEO is important, how it works and how to make it work best for your unique brand.

Google delivers billions of local search results on a monthly basis. If you appear at the top of these search results, you’re more likely to attract new business. Businesses with the best local SEO tend to rank highest for local keywords. In turn, customers are more likely to discover and engage with those companies.

Regardless of what your business is or where you’re located, you can reach a higher number of potential customers through search.

Local SEO works by helping Google understand where your business location and its’ offering. It also hels Google perceive your business as more popular and trustworthy.

First, Understand how Google Works.

To understand how local SEO works, first we must understand how Google’s search result rankings work. Utilising a number of algorithms to rank sites at lightning speed, a simple Google search involves Google checking the index and returning a list of websites that match your search in organic results. Results are ranked based on their relevance, prominence and popularity.

When ranking businesses in Google Maps and the local pack, Google considers three main criteria:

• Relevance: If a business matches the users’ search intent
• Distance: How far the search location is from the business location
• Prominence: How well-known and well-reviewed the business is

Google have developed a different pattern for local search results, which means they also require a different approach from SEO teams. Google’s local search algorithm includes a proximity factor from the geographical location individuals are entering searches.

Local search has been around for a long time, but it was limited due to people only using their desktop computers. With the recent boom in mobile internet access, however, mobile search has exploded, so local SEO has become hugely important for the success of any business offering local products or services and local marketers.

If marketing your business online is new to you or your company, focusing on the right strategies can be a challenge. It’s important to know where to focus your efforts to maximise results. Here are some jey strategies to help you enhance your online presence,

Create local content

• Localised content is essential for improving local SEO and driving relevant traffic. Build local landing pages for each of your locations.
• Be sure to include details such as your business name, address and phone number and optimise title tags and meta descriptions.
• These SEO best practises will be help your business rank higher in local search results when paired with content marketing and link-building strategies.

Optimise for Google My Business

• Listing your business on Google My Business is helpful in and of itself. This allows customers that have visited your store to provide reviews, which is another important indicator to Google’s algorithm that your business is credible.

Engage on social media and add posts to Google My Business

• Social media activity directly impacts SEO, as content shared on platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter is considered by Google.
• Align social and search by sharing your Google My Business page on social media to bring in more traffic to your business listing.

Perform a local SEO audit

• SEO is an ongoing process, you will never be ‘finished’ with making improvements to your website. So regular audits are essential keep improving.
• Conduct a comprehensive local SEO audit to understand your current performance and identify areas for improvement. This helps you stay on track with your current business goals.

Ensure your website is mobile-friendly

• Local and mobile search come and-in-hand. With 61% of Google searches being performed on mobile, it is important to make sure your website is optimised to welcome mobile users.

Participate in your local community

• Engaging with your local community organically boosts digital PR and can lead to valuable inbound links and brand awareness.
• Participate in local initiatives—partner with a local charity, sponsor events, or volunteer as a company. These efforts will help you appear in local media as a trusted authority in your industry.

Creating a plan for local SEO has never been easier than with Propeller. Increase your local rankings and boost traffic with the following steps:

Run local keyword research 

• Using relevant keywords will help people find your business online. Ranking for these keywords will give highly targeted local traffic to your site. Kickstart the process by researching your competitors.

Research your competitors

• Learn what keywords your competitors are ranking for and find out which keywords you should therefore start using to generate more traffic.

Utilise Google autocomplete 

• Make use of the free tools available to you. Google autocomplete makes it faster to complete searches when you begin to type in Google’s search bar. Use this to your advantage.
• Discover valuable long-tail keywords for local SEO by simply testing phrases in the search bar.

Monitor local citations 

• Citations are places that mention your name, address, and phone number online. You will typically find them on business directories like Google My Business and social media profiles.
• These citations are important as Google uses them to verify your business information.

Encourage and engage with reviews

• Receiving Google reviews from your customer base gives your business social proof. This social proof validates your expertise and gives prospective customers confidence in choosing your business and engaging with your services.

Local SEO is a brilliant strategy to incorporate into your SEO plans to get your business on the map, both literally and figuratively. Lucky for you, Propeller offers extensive expertise in this area, and we take pride in helping our clients get to the top of search pages.

Contact us today if you are looking to boost your businesses’ digital presence with SEO and beyond.