The Power of Local SEO: How to Get Found in Your Neighborhood
By Brad Timofeev
If you’re looking for someone to fix your leaky fridge, make a gluten-free cake for your mother-in-law’s birthday, or hem a pair of pants that are just slightly too long, how will you find what you need? If you’re like most people, you’ll pull out your phone and Google it.
In other words, you’re going online to connect with businesses in your area. And so are your customers.
In today’s world, you can’t beat the power of getting found online. An article from HubSpot shows that 97% of people learn more about a local company online than anywhere else. That means that a solid local SEO strategy is essential to raising your visibility, connecting with new customers, and driving more business.
What is Local SEO?
You might be familiar with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in general. That’s the strategy mix that helps your website rise in the search results so you get more traffic and more conversions. So how is local SEO different?
SEO focuses on a broad audience—think national or global—while local SEO is concerned with attracting audiences in a specific geographical location. Both strategies work to get your website high in Google’s search results but local SEO hones in on people searching for products and services close to home. Local SEO is perfect for restaurants, service providers, or shops that primarily serve customers in and around their physical locale.
Why Local SEO Is Important—Especially for Small Businesses
Did you know that 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information? With over 63,000 searches per second, that’s a lot of people looking to interact with local businesses and organizations. For most small businesses, every marketing dollar counts. Local SEO is the smartest way maximize your efforts. It ensures a targeted strategy that puts your business in front of local customers at the right time.
It is easy to assume that because your business primarily serves members of your own community that SEO isn’t for you. They may be your neighbors in real life, but that community is still very online—so meet them where they are with excellent local SEO.
6 Tips to Boost Your Local SEO
Optimizing your digital presence for local SEO involves orienting your content around local topics, being vigilant that your information is correct and up-to-date, building a strong catalogue of backlinks and more. Here are our top tips to up your local SEO game.
- Optimize Your Google Business Profile: This step is a must for any local SEO strategy. Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) operates like a mini social media platform within Google’s search results. It’s essential to claim, verify, and curate your profile with accurate and up-to-date information, including your address, phone number, hours, and photos.
- Utilize Local Keywords: What location-specific keywords are your customers using to search for the products or services you offer? Incorporate local keywords and phrases into your website content, meta descriptions, and headings. For example, if you run a bike repair shop in Roanoke, you might focus on “Roanoke bike repair” as one of your keyword phrases.
- Build Local Citations & Backlinks: A backlink is a link on one website that sends you to another website. Google views these links as votes of confidence that your business is trustworthy. Try getting your website link published on other platforms including directories and review sites like Yelp, Facebook, Chambers of Commerce and other reputable local websites. Ultimately, you want local customers to reach out by giving you a call or coming by your location so as you build your backlinks, be sure your business’s name, address, and phone number are consistent across all listings.
- Encourage Customer Reviews: Put a system in place that will help you actively request positive Google reviews from satisfied customers. We recommend an automated email or text with a link that makes it easy for customers to follow through. Be sure to respond to all reviews, positive and negative, to demonstrate that your business is active and engaged.
- Optimize for Mobile: If you are responsible for updating your website, chances are you most likely see it from a laptop more frequently than your phone. But not your customers. Most local searches are made on mobile devices, so it’s important that your website is fast, responsive, and easy to navigate on smartphones and tablets.
- Monitor and Track Your Progress: Local SEO is an ongoing effort that is most effective when it is monitored to keep up with new technology and user trends. Become familiar with analytics tools like Google Analytics. These tools allow you to measure the effectiveness of your local SEO efforts. You’ll learn what’s working and what needs improvement so you can target your adjustments as needed.
Get the Most Out of Your Marketing
Local SEO is a must for small, local businesses looking to rise above the noise and connect with their community. You can use our top local SEO tips to improve your online visibility, attract new customers and drive sales.
If you’d like even more support with your digital marketing efforts, LeadPoint Digital can help. We’re a local, Roanoke based digital marketing agency with deep expertise in SEO and online behavior. As a relationship-first business, we’re focused on driving results for our clients because when you win, we win. Schedule a free consultation call with one of our experts and see how we can help you get the most out of your local online marketing efforts.
