Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an essential marketing strategy for businesses with physical locations or customers in specific geographical regions. The main components of local SEO include citations, website optimization and social media promotion.
Submitting your business to online directories is one of the cornerstones of local SEO marketing, as these directories help search engines like Google verify your information and increase local rankings in searches.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is one of the cornerstones of Local SEO Marketing, as it allows you to discover which words searchers are using when trying to locate businesses like yours and any related products or services they might be seeking out.
Start by exploring Google Search Console – this tool lets you see which queries your business already ranks for, providing valuable seed keywords to use for further keyword research.
Ubersuggest and SpyFu are useful tools for discovering popular keywords in your region. With these tools, it’s easier than ever to narrow down the list by identifying ones that trigger local packs or other SERP features as well as keyword difficulty and search volume metrics.
Make sure to add any keywords relevant to your business to the Keyword Manager so you can monitor their performance over time. This will allow for easier analysis.
On-Page Optimization
Like traditional SEO, on-page optimization is an integral component of local SEO. This involves optimizing your website for local search queries while also making sure your Google My Business listing contains accurate name, address and phone number (NAP) details.
Moz suggests that National Address Pointer (NAP) consistency is a critical component in local search ranking, meaning your NAP must appear consistently across major citation websites such as Google My Business, Bing Maps, Yelp and Facebook. Furthermore, backlinks from authoritative local websites like licensing bureaus, trade associations and chambers of commerce should also be sought out to ensure maximum ranking success in local searches.
Reviews can also play a pivotal role in local search rankings, so it is essential that customers leave reviews on your Google Business Profile and respond accordingly – doing this demonstrates care for the community. A competitive analysis using local SEO services should consider who your local competitors are as well as their position within local search terms.
Social Media
Social media plays an integral part of local SEO marketing. This can include creating and maintaining business-specific social media profiles, encouraging customers to leave reviews for your products or services and monitoring conversations that mention your brand regularly.
Social media strategies can be an invaluable asset in ranking higher in local search results. Customer reviews play an integral part in Google’s snack pack algorithm and having multiple can give your company an edge against your competition.
Social media can also be leveraged to promote local events or services your business offers, by using hashtags related to local search terms to reach potential customers who might not otherwise discover you. Connecting with influential figures in your industry and building relationships will increase visibility while social media monitoring tools such as Oktopost allow you to monitor and maintain online reputation management.
Backlinks
Backlinks are an essential element of SEO strategies, and local links make an even stronger statement to search engines that your business serves the community it operates within. Incorporating local backlinks can improve rankings for both national and local searches alike.
Acquiring local backlinks from blogs, influencers and directories is an excellent way to increase visibility and credibility online. If your law firm operates out of Chicago, getting mentioned in a local blog or news article that features lawyers could generate targeted traffic by drawing in new clients who might otherwise not find you!
Press releases can also help your firm gain local citations and backlinks by sharing events at your firm with local newspapers. As with traditional SEO, press releases about local events should also help increase local citations and backlinks for optimal results; both on-page optimization factors as well as off-page optimization factors must be balanced equally for optimal results; off-page SEO often has greater weight in search engine algorithms.