Local Search 101: What You Need to Know

Local SEO has evolved in recent years, going from being a small component of an overall website SEO strategy to being its own specialization, with very different techniques and practices. Now, instead of simply stuffing the name of your city into every nook and cranny of your site, local SEO means managing your Google My Business (GMB) profile, asking for reviews, interacting with customers online and optimizing for mobile and voice search. According to Google, 30% of all mobile searches are related to location. We know that these searches aren’t about finding websites. In fact, people may not even visit your website from these searches. That’s okay—that’s not the goal of local SEO. Local SEO is not SEO for your website, it’s SEO for your Google My Business profile. Should you care about local search? Probably! If your business is 100% ecommerce, it's important. Local SEO benefits a wide range of businesses from doctors, dentists, and attorneys to retailers and service providers, and even restaurants, venues and local attractions. You are hurting your business if you fall into one of these categories and have not set up GMB or actively worked on local SEO. Let’s say you’ve never claimed your GMB profile or took any steps to optimize your web presence for local search. Where do you start? There are three main components when it comes to local SEO: Google My Business, your website and external websites. Here’s a quick guide to tackling each of them. Google My Business rules First thing’s first: Claim your GMB listing and complete all of the available fields. Ensure that the information listed on Google is accurate. The more information you provide, the more trust users will place in your business, which leads to more clicks and a higher conversion rate. Claiming your GMB listing is only the first step, though. It’s also important to be active on GMB. Ask for customers to leave you reviews, then respond to them, even if it's just to say thank you. Share updates about your business regularly to keep potential customers in the loop on current promotions, sales and anything else that might pique their interest when you pop up in their results. Local SEO for websites When it comes to local SEO, ensuring that your website is optimized for mobile and voice search is critical. Mobile searches are more likely to be searching for local information. According to Google, three out of four mobile searches trigger follow-up actions. If you don’t already have a responsive website design, invest in one now. Target keywords that are likely to be used in mobile search or voice search such as organically-worded questions, the phrase “near me” and words like “best” or “top.” Be sure to list your contact information on your website using structured data. Also, publish locally-focused content on your blog. Is your business doing charitable work in the local community? Do customers have specific questions or concerns related to your location (i.e., the cost of a service or the best time to purchase a product in your city)? Start scheduling at least one locally-focused blog post a month on your content marketing calendar. Off-page local SEO Finally, you’ll need to do some off-page SEO work to enhance your performance in local search. Citations of your name, address and phone number are particularly important for local search. These give Google confidence that your business information is accurate. Press releases and directories are two of the most effective strategies for accomplishing this goal. You can also seek reviews on external websites, links from local newspapers and magazines and listings on local chamber of commerce websites. Sponsor your local Little League, develop relationships with other local businesses and be active on social media platforms. The sooner you are, the higher the likelihood that customers will find you. Transaction Data Is the Most Powerful Predictor of Future Behavior