How is Local SEO Done?

Small businesses benefit from local search because 46% of all Google searches are for local information. If your business isn't optimised for local search, you could be missing out on potential clients who are ready to shop in your region. In summary, if you want your business to stay relevant, local SEO is essential. Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of increasing the exposure of local businesses in search engines, mainly those with physical locations. Businesses can enhance organic traffic from searches conducted by customers in neighbouring locations by adopting local SEO best practices.

Local search engines rely on signals such as local content, social profile pages, links, and citations to offer the user the most relevant local results. Businesses can utilise local SEO to promote their products and services in front of local prospects and customers looking for them.

By the end of this article, you'll have a good grasp on how to optimise your business for potential customers who use local search to decide which items or services to purchase.

• Optimize for Google My Business - Google My Business has become the pinnacle of local search; because Google prefers to provide content it can trust and verify, Google My Business is their tool for helping your business meet Google's requirements. If Google can verify that your business is legitimate, the search engine may provide you with a coveted sidebar position in Google local search. 

This isn't merely for the sake of SEO. You may make it easier for potential customers to locate you by having reviews and keeping your contact information and operation hours up to date. Due to the disruption in consumer buying behaviour and corporate operations in 2021, consumers need to find updated information now more than ever.

• Engage on social media and add posts to Google My Business - Google now places a greater emphasis on material posted on social media than ever before. Now that you've created a stunning Google My Business page, share it on social media to bring social and search closer together.

• Ensure your name, address, and phone number are consistent online - You must make it simple for people to find you and for search engines to find you. Set up your NAP (name, address, and phone number) to accomplish this (with area code). This should be included on your site as crawlable HTML text. Avoid making the usual mistake of merely placing the NAP within a picture; images, unlike HTML text, cannot be indexed by search engines. The most typical place for the NAP is in the site's footer or header.

• Optimize online directories and citations - Check that your citations are consistent and complete across these four data aggregators to ensure consistency. Misspellings, abbreviations, a lack of a suite number, or an incorrect phone number can all be troublesome.

If Google can't figure out which information about your company is correct, it may not show up in search results at all. Also, make sure to delete any duplicate listings you come across. Bonus points if you emphasise your community's Chamber of Commerce membership, which will earn you an external inbound link.

• Perform a local SEO audit - It's tempting to put your foot on the brake once you've mastered the essentials. SEO services, on the other hand, is a continuous and intuitive process. Rather than stopping there or simply making changes and seeing what sticks, it's a good idea to do a full audit to determine where your website stands and what needs to be improved to meet your objectives. A local SEO audit may include the following:

1. Google My Business Audit: Where does your Google My Business show up in the search results? Is all of the information correct?

2. Is your site crawlable, according to Google Search Console? Is there anything wrong with it that would make indexing difficult?

3. On-Page SEO Audit - Does your website include all of the on-page SEO features that help you rank?

4. Audit Your Citations - Are all of your citations in the leading business directories correct?

5. Analysis of Competitors - How does your site compare to those of your competitors? Do you have any holes that need to be filled? In terms of inbound links, content, design, and positioning, how do you compare? What is the state of your website's performance?

There are numerous elements that affect your visibility in these searches, but keep in mind that local search is still evolving. Moz's annual study can help you create your strategy playbook by keeping track of which signals are becoming more important and which are becoming less important. You'll be able to serve more people in your geographic region—and grow faster—once you start improving each critical signal area.