Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a powerful tool for businesses of all sizes and industries, as it allows them to increase their visibility in local search results. By optimizing your website for local searches, you can reach more potential customers who are searching for the products or services that you offer that also happen to be available in their vicinity.
The main reason this is important is that it allows businesses to attract leads in a more organic and natural way, thus avoiding breaking the budget on paid ads. As you may already know, people often include keywords, such as "near me", in their search queries so that they can find a local company that has a product or service they need.
That said, local SEO doesn't differ much from regular SEO. It only focuses on a specific are or a specific local market that businesses wish to establish a presence on. This is often a foundation for future growth and expansion, mainly because most businesses need to start somewhere before they can move on to bigger markets. With that in mind, let's have a look at how businesses leverage the power of local SEO.
Listing business information on Google
Listing your business information on Google is a great way to increase visibility and reach potential customers in the local market. This is vital because Google differs from other business directories. As a matter of fact, Google is also the search engine you wish to rank high on.
Therefore, you'll need to create a Google My Business account so that you can provide this search engine with all the necessary business information you have. That often includes your business name, address, phone number, website URL, open hours and other relevant information.
You can also upload photos of your business and products or services to help customers get a better idea of what you offer. So when someone wants to play pokies at one of NZ’s pokies providers, for instance, Google will display every relevant operator that ranked properly, as well as provided accurate information to Google My Business directory.
Importance of signing up for different business listings Aside from Google itself, providing your business information to other business listings is also very important. Google will often check other directories to see if the information you provided them with matches their own.
It's all for the purpose of ranking your business accordingly. It's also vital for the consumer point of view as it helps potential customers find you more easily no matter where they look.
Business listings provide a platform for customers to leave reviews and ratings, which can help you gain credibility and visibility in the eyes of potential customers. In other words, they work similarly to Google's business directory so having your information, content and other stuff on multiple listing helps build exposure in your local market.
Leveraging content for local SEO
Content plays an important role in local SEO, as it helps you to establish yourself as an authority in your industry and build trust with potential customers. To leverage content for local SEO, start by optimizing your website content for local keywords.
This means including the name of the city or region you’re targeting in titles, headings and body copy. You should also create content that’s specific to the area you’re targeting, such as blog posts about local events or attractions. Moreover, link building is another key component of local SEO that is vital for your local presence and rankings.
Try to get links from other websites that are relevant to your business and located in the same area as you. This will help boost your rankings in local search results and drive more traffic to your website.
Utilizing user reviews for local SEO
User reviews are a great way to boost your local SEO. They can help you rank higher in search engine results, as well as increase the visibility of your business. What people have to say about your business is essential for your local exposure. Business listings provide all the necessary information about your business and they also display customer reviews.
The more positive reviews you have, the better. Of course, you cannot hide negative reviews but you can do you best to solve any issues potential or existing customer may have. This will get you even more positive reviews on business directories and move your business up on the search engine result pages (SERPs). If your customer or clients are generally happy with your services, try encouraging them to leave reviews and testimonials.
You can use incentives or other forms of encouragement to nudge customers in the right direction. After all you want to make the most out of every business listing you're present at, especially since more than 90% of consumers read reviews first before deciding whether or not to business with a company in question.