Local SEO is a search engine optimization strategy that helps businesses to be more visible in local search results on google. Businesses that have a physical location or it situated on a geographical location benefit more from local SEO.
Earlier, there were very few websites on the internet. With the expansion of internet connections and web pages, it has become quite difficult to search for the appropriate website you are looking for. SEOs were created to help people find sites that they are searching for more easily. A phrase typed on google displays the websites that contained the typed phrase as its keyword. Nowadays. Google judges if your content is relevant or not and if it can be displayed as a result of the search done by the user. The digital footprint of a website owner determines if your page can be the top result of the inquiry done by the user on google.
Local advertisements and referrals from one customer to the other are good ways to attract customers. But nowadays, online search tends to be equally impactful, if not more. Social media shows that a maximum(97%) of the customers search for businesses on google. Among them, 46% of the searches are seeking local information. Hence, businesses that miss ranks on SEO can lose many customers in the heavy traffic of business options on google.
People often search for local information like, “concerts near my place”, “good restaurants in Kolkata”, “Best salon in Garia” etc. These searches are location specific and are easy to find. Local SEO tips include phrases searched, used more by the website as a keyword comes on top. Optimizing the online visibility of a website to get displayed in the search results of the users is referred to as the process of local SEO.
There are some Local SEO tips to attract customers to your business online:
- Optimizing google my business is a local SEO tip which is the best tip to be on top of local SEO. Google feels safe to share content that they can support and verify. Google my business helps your business to meet the needs of google itself. Keeping your contact details, operating hours, and keeping the site up to date with current information helps the customer to find your page at the top.
- Another local SEO tip is, being active on social media and adding posts to Google my business. Once you have created a google my business page you can share it on social media, which further aligns social and search.
- You need to make your business easily available to the users, for that, the local SEO tip is to keep your page updated with your name, address, and phone number which should be consistent. NAP should be given in text format and not an image that can’t be accessed. The NAP should be the same as that of the one given in your business details.
- One of the local SEO tips is to enhance the online visibility of your business through the local snack pack. Google sorts out the searches results into 3 categories namely sponsored, snack pack, and organic. The sponsored results appear on the top prominently with Ads. Sponsored ones cost money. Snack packs are the results that relate the most to the search done by the user. Not all businesses have sponsored websites hence the snack pack can come on the top of the search results. Hence there is a better chance of online visibility if got featured in the snack pack. The organic results even if better than the sponsored or snack pack results come at the end. And the online visibility is much lesser than the sponsored and snack pack results.
- Collecting plenty of reviews from the customers can be a tip of local SEO. Reviews affect your rating on snack pack results and overall google search results. Having good numbers of authentic reviews can enhance the reputation of your business. It shows how your business is better than the other ones in the result lists displayed. People often go through the reviews and find the correct option they were searching for. It attracts and increases customers in a way.
- Tips of local SEO include optimizing URL, title tags, headers, meta descriptions, and contents. Optimizing the contents for google search engines by including a high amount of keywords in the URL, title, header, body, etc. If you are facing trouble creating internet-friendly content, consider highlighting the customer success stories and case studies.
- Creating local content is a tip of local SEO. Nowadays, Google has become smarter and content writers and creators do not write for the search engines but the users themselves. General topics do attract crowds a lot but sometimes content about local or industry news attracts the local audience which is an important tip of local SEO. being the local authority promoting the local industries, gatherings, employees, news, etc, attracts local customers to look for and makes them curious to know more about your business.
- The website must be mobile-friendly. The maximum of the local searches is mobile searches. Mobile is a necessity nowadays and everyone has access to mobile phones. Hence the search for a local business is done through mobile. People go through the reviews, find directions to your business location, search for contact details. All these are done by mobile phones. Hence tips for local SEO include a mobile-friendly website.
- Participating in the local community brings you more digital PRs. Volunteering for an organization, sponsoring an event, appearing on media as an authority of your local industries can get you to earn press, brand awareness, and public attention. Customers get aware of your business reputation in the locality which brings you inbound links.
How to take your business to the top depends on you. The Local SEO tips will guide you to take your local SEO to the next level. These tips can be applied to multiple locations. Nowadays, an online visibility in local searches and business growth go hand in hand. Make use of these tips and grow your business.