- 71% of people prefer to confirm a businesses’ location online before they visit.
- In addition to being a highly effective way to market your business in the communities you serve, local SEO allows a company to monitor its local reputation.
- Local SEO connects users to your goods or services when searching for a localized solution for their needs.
- An effective local SEO strategy consists of NAP info, localized content, social media profiles, reviews, and citations.
According to HubSpot, 50% of shoppers who use local search queries go to a store the same day. That’s a fantastic chance, especially if you own a local business and want to increase foot traffic. But, more significantly, 71% of people want to check a company location before visiting it.
We mention these figures because every brick-and-mortar should employ best practices for local SEO to guarantee that their business receives maximum website and foot traffic. Have we piqued your interest yet? Well, read on because we are about to blow your mind!
What is local SEO?
When people look for a localized solution to their problems, local SEO connects them to your goods or services (e.g., “plumber near me”). Local SEO helps a firm monitor its local reputation to ensure it’s putting its best foot forward. It’s also a very successful approach to advertise your business in the areas you serve.
You must evaluate regional material, social profiles, reviews, and citations in addition to NAP information (name, address, and phone number). To put it plainly, there are certain steps you must do to get the most out of our local SEO guide.
Let’s begin by dissecting and explaining the aforementioned moving parts. An effective local SEO strategy consists of the following:
- NAP info (name, address, and phone number)
- Localized content
- Social media profiles
- Reviews
- Citations
Unifying NAP (name, address, and phone) info
We can’t tell you how often we’ve come across a local business that isn’t listed online, classified as “closed,” or has the incorrect location attached to a branded Google search. There are many reasons this can occur but let us stress the following:
Unify your NAP info on Google and other major search engines by submitting uniform and correct information such as your name, address, and phone number.
Google My Business and Bing Places are excellent places to start (for free), and merely signing up for an account will allow you to claim or create a business listing, allowing you to control how your business appears in local search results. Make a case-sensitive NAP template so you can cut and paste the information in a uniform way. This ensures that your NAP information is shown appropriately across multiple directories.
Localization
In its broadest sense, localization refers to having specialized web pages that are optimized around the region you serve. This might be as basic as a description of the city, nation, area, or zip codes that you serve.
Brand awareness and community participation may also be part of localization. For instance, has your company sponsored a local event or sent volunteers to assist a local cause? Participating in the community demonstrates generosity and character and attracts attention (and occasionally backlinks) from local news outlets. Backlinks are, of course, a ranking element as well as online trust votes. The more high-quality connections you obtain, the more powerful your local ranking signals will be.
Social profiles
In SEO circles, social media presence has long been debated as a possible ranking indicator. Regardless of what you’ve heard, it’s to your best advantage to claim all relevant social media pages and complete the same unified NAP information indicated above. Even if you don’t frequently use social media, it’s a good idea to stake your claim so that another company with a similar name doesn’t do it first.
If you don’t, you’ll confuse both users and search engines, and you’ll miss out on the extra benefit of delivering a higher ranking signal through indexed social network accounts. Of course, maintaining a social media presence is beneficial since social profiles are excellent locations to connect with potential consumers and answer inquiries about your products or services.
Additionally, proving to the public that you are attentive to social media queries increases your trust. Increased credibility, trust, and foot traffic. Get the picture?
Reviews
Do not disregard online reviews, especially those that are less than positive. Local SEO is all about building trust and keeping a great relationship with the community. There are numerous sites that post user reviews, including Yelp, Facebook, Yellow Pages, BBB, and Foursquare, to name a few, but there are so many others that it’s nearly difficult to keep track of them all. So, what should one do? There are solutions available for handling internet reviews, and you should use one.
Business listing software, often known as citation builders, has built partnerships with the leading review sites on the internet. Signing up for a business listing distributes your NAP information to many sites, therefore improving ranking signals. Furthermore, tools like Yext allow you to monitor reviews across the web, enabling you to remain on top of actions that may influence your organization. Angry customers? You can put out the fire as soon as possible by establishing an email alert and reacting immediately to resolve the issue.
Citations
As mentioned earlier, citations are basically NAP business listings built out across the web’s top directories. Sure, you can take the time to enter NAP and website info individually manually, but wouldn’t it be easier to hire a service to take care of this and monitor reviews for you? Again, it makes sense because it saves time and sends stronger ranking signals while maintaining your company’s local search presence.
Have you got a question about local SEO? Then, get in touch with us today to see how we can help drive growth for your company.
