These days, having a strong online presence is crucial for any business’s success but even more so for local businesses!
This is what makes local search engine optimization (local SEO) such a powerful tool for helping your business stand out in local searches, driving more traffic to your website, and getting more leads and sales from your immediate area.
So, whether you’re a small business owner, a local service provider, or a mom-and-pop shop, today’s blog is laying down the basics of local SEO, why it’s important, and how you can find the right provider to optimize your online presence.
Let’s get started!
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your business’s online presence to boost its visibility in local search results.
This type of SEO is particularly important for businesses in a specific service area like a city or region, rather than nationwide. If your business is a brick-and-mortar store or provides services that can only be provided on-site in that area, then you’ll need local SEO to help you reach potential customers who are nearby and searching for the products or services that you offer.
Steps to Optimize Your Local SEO Strategy
Focusing on local SEO makes your business more relevant in local searches, which makes it easier for local customers to find you online and choose your business over your competitors.
Here are some steps you can take to optimize your presence:
1. Claim Your Google My Business Listing
Set up or claim your Google My Business listing.
This will let your business appear in Google Maps and local search results, which is what you want to reach customers who are actively Googling services or using Maps to find service providers closest to them.
Double-check to make sure details like your business name, address, phone number, and operating hours are correct.
2. Build and Manage Local Citations
Make sure that your business's name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistently listed across the online directories they’re posted in like Yelp, Yellow Pages, and other local business directories.
Consistent information about your business helps search engines trust your business details which in turn, improves your local search ranking.
3. Optimize Your Website
Use SEO tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to identify some local keywords that are related to the products or services you offer (e.g., "best pizza in Brooklyn" or “contractor in my area”).
Once you’ve identified them, be sure to use those keywords in your website content, title tags, meta descriptions, and headers.
It also helps to create content that’s relevant to your local audience, like blog posts about local events or news. This makes your website more relevant to local searches and helps it rank higher in search results.
4. Manage Customer Reviews
Encourage (and incentivize if need be) your satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on your Google My Business listing and other review sites like Yelp or Facebook.
Positive reviews are gold for improving your business's reputation, attracting more customers, and boosting your local search rankings.
And be sure that you respond to all of those reviews as well, both positive and negative, to show that you value your customer feedback.
5. Link Building
Get other local websites to link to your site through partnerships, sponsorships, local news stories, or guest blogging on local blogs.
Backlinks from reputable local sites signal to search engines that your business is both trusted and relevant in your local area, which can improve your local SEO.
6. Monitor and Track Your Performance
Use tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console to track your website's traffic and performance.
These tools allow you to monitor your rankings in local search results and keep an eye on things like customer reviews and social media mentions. By regularly tracking your performance, you can better understand which of your SEO strategies is working and what needs improvement, allowing you to adjust and fine-tune your strategy as needed.
Local SEO Tools
When it comes to enhancing your local SEO efforts, using the right tools can make a big difference.
Here are some popular local SEO tools to consider:
- Yoast SEO — A popular WordPress plugin, Yoast SEO helps you optimize your website content for search engines. Yoast SEO includes features for local SEO, like optimizing your Google My Business listing and creating structured data for your site.
- Moz Local — Part of the Moz SEO product lineup, Moz Local helps you manage your local listings across different online directories. Moz Local also makes sure your business information is consistent and accurate, which can improve your local search rankings.
- BrightLocal — BrightLocal is a local SEO platform that offers tools for managing local listings, tracking rankings, and generating reports. It’s designed to help businesses and agencies improve their local SEO performance.
- SEMrush — While SEMrush is known for its general SEO capabilities, it also offers local SEO features, like tracking local keyword rankings, managing online reviews, and analyzing local competitors.
How to Find the Right Local SEO Services for Your Business
Of course, the entire process is easier said than done, and if you want your business to reap the full benefits of an optimized online presence, then you should leave it to professional SEO copywriters and agencies.
But with so much competition, how do you find the right Local SEO services for your unique business needs?
Lucky for you, we’ve got a handy checklist to get you started:
1. Evaluate Your Needs
First off, you’ll want to start by identifying what specific local SEO services you need.
Are you looking to improve your local search rankings? Optimize your Google My Business profile? Get more local reviews? All of the above?
Understanding your goals will help you to find a provider that specializes in the areas that are most important to you and your business.
2. Do Your Research
Once you’ve decided on your goals, it’s time to do some homework.
Look up local SEO service providers in your area and do some research on their services.
Below is a list of points to consider:
- Time in Business — Look for companies that have been in business for a while and have a proven track record of success.
- Customer Reviews and Testimonials — Check out customer reviews and testimonials on platforms like Google, Yelp, and Trustpilot to see what others have to say about this service provider.
- Case Studies — Look for case studies or examples of past work that demonstrate their expertise in local SEO and the results they’ve gotten for their clients.
- Industry Experience — How much experience do they have in your specific industry and with businesses similar to yours?
- Certifications and Awards — Check for any industry certifications or awards that validate their expertise.
- Transparency — Make sure the company is transparent about its strategies, processes, and pricing.
- Ethical Practices — Check to see that your potential providers are using ethical SEO practices and following search engine guidelines to avoid any potential penalties.
3. Ask the Right Questions
When you’ve narrowed down a shortlist of potential local SEO service providers, reach out and don’t be shy about asking questions about their approach.
Some questions to consider are:
- What is your process for optimizing Google My Business profiles?
- How do you approach local keyword research?
- What tools do you use for tracking and analytics?
- Can you provide examples of local SEO success stories?
4. Compare Pricing
Another factor that might narrow down your search is pricing.
Local SEO services can vary in cost, so it’s important to compare pricing from the provider you’re considering to make sure their services fit your budget and that you’re getting the best value for your money.
Look for transparency in the way they structure their pricing and make sure you understand what exactly is included in their services for that specific price point.
Generally, SEO agencies charge between $500 to $5,000 per month, depending on the scope of the services you need. Be careful though, as prices that seem too good to be true might not deliver the results you want, and higher prices don’t always guarantee better services.
The Benefits of Optimizing for Local SEO
With a professional local SEO service provider on your team, you’ll find that the benefits will more than justify the costs of their services.
Here are some of the benefits that an optimized online presence can bring to your brand:
- Increased Online Visibility — By optimizing for local SEO, your business is more likely to appear in local search results, including the "Local Pack" (the top three local listings in search results). This increased visibility makes it easier for potential customers to find your business while searching for services or products online.
- Higher Traffic and Conversions — Local SEO helps attract a more targeted audience — the folks who are actively searching for services or products that you offer in your area. This can lead to higher foot traffic to your physical location and more local online inquiries and conversions.
- Increased Trust and Credibility — Appearing in local search results and having positive customer reviews can boost your business’s credibility and trustworthiness. Local customers are more likely to choose a business that has positive reviews and seems more reputable.
- Competitive Advantage — Many small businesses neglect local SEO, so optimizing your local SEO can give you a competitive edge. By appearing in local searches, you can capture potential customers who might otherwise go to your competitors.
- Cost-Effective Marketing — Local SEO is a cost-effective marketing strategy. Unlike paid advertising, which requires ongoing investment, local SEO focuses on organic search results. Once your local SEO strategy is in place, it can continue to attract customers without additional costs.
- Improved User Experience — Optimizing your business listings and keeping consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information across all platforms provide a better user experience. Customers can easily find the details they need about your business.
- More Community Engagement — Encouraging and managing customer reviews encourages community engagement. Positive reviews not only improve your local SEO but also help to build a strong relationship with your local customer base.
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Need a Partner to Help You with Local SEO Services?
If your brand is ready to buckle down and start optimizing its local SEO to get more visibility, more web traffic, and more customers through your doors, then we’re ready to help.
Before you start throwing yourself into researching all of the local SEO service providers around you or trying to go it alone, why not take one last bit of advice from us?
Why not partner up with Designity?
Designity is made up of the top 3% of all of the talented creatives and marketing specialists who apply each year, meaning that our creative community is made up of the top local SEO experts, digital marketers, copywriters, and more — everyone you need to help you launch a successful local SEO campaign.
Each Designity account is also led by a dedicated Creative Director, a marketing and SEO expert, who will source and manage your team, manage your timelines, and make sure that all of your deliverables are ready when you need them.
With pricing starting at just $3,495 a month, Designity is a much more cost-effective solution than traditional SEO agencies and, in addition to SEO services, also offers you the copywriting, graphic design, and marketing services you need to fully flesh out your next campaign.
So, if all of that sounds like a plan to you, then what are you waiting for?
Book your demo call today and let’s get you started with your two-week, no-obligation trial. Test drive Designity’s services and see why we’re the only SEO and content marketing partner your brand will ever need.
Are you ready to boost your visibility?
