Local SEO: An Expert Guide to Boost Your Search Rankings in your local area.

Every day people go online to search for services or products that they want to purchase. A large percentage of searches are made for local products and services from brick and mortar businesses. However, people don’t want to have to go scrolling through pages on Google search to find what they want so it is the businesses on the first search page that are noticed. Some people don’t even scroll down, so only the businesses in the top half of the page get clicks. This is why it is important to ensure your business shows up high in the rankings. This is where local SEO comes into play and we are providing you with an expert guide to boost your local search rankings.

In this guide, we are going to explain and talk about many things, including the following:

• What local SEO is;
• Detailed keyword research;
• Google map citations;
• Local business citations;
• The importance of local SEO;
• Local links;
• Content that will help boost your businesses presence;
• The importance of NAP;
• Where to get the best business reviews;
• Optimising your My Business Listing on Google;
• Listing and management tools for local SEO;
• The importance of social media marketing.

What is local SEO?

You might already understand the importance of SEO. It is optimisation for your website to help boost your rankings on search engines. This makes sure that when people search for a product or service that you specialise in, your business has a better chance of showing up. However, local search engine optimisation differs from general search engine optimisation and needs a more targeted approach with a different strategy.

It differs from general SEO, as it affects the visibility of your website globally, not locally. In other words, general SEO is tailored more to helping your website attract visitors around the world, which is useful if you are selling online.

If you have a brick and mortar store, you can take advantage of local SEO to optimise your site for those searching for local stores. Believe it or not, many people still want to visit an actual store to make purchases. The term covers different aspects, including detailed keyword research, Google map citations and local business citations, all of which we at Heroseo specialise in.  

Detailed keyword research

Here at Heroseo, we offer detailed keyword research to determine the most effective keywords for your website. This helps to ensure that your site reaches high rankings in local searches.

Along with this, we provide you with an extensive list of related keywords that shows you just how many people search for a particular keyword each month and the ease or difficulty of ranking for a specific keyword.

Google map citations

Providing you have a Google My Business profile, and you really should, as it is important for local SEO, we can help boost your rankings on Google maps.

Google maps allow those searching for products or services you offer to find your exact location and citations on Google maps really help to boost local search results.

Local business citations

You need an SEO company that has plenty of experience in the industry and we have more than 18 years of experience. During this time we have gathered together a huge list of the best citation sites to make a huge impact on your local SEO and search engine optimisation overall.

Why local SEO is so important

SEO is important for any website, but if you also have a brick and mortar store or office, local SEO becomes imperative.

If it is undertaken professionally, it bridges the gap between those searching for products and services and your business. It could mean the difference between people finding your business and them going to a competitor.   

Opportunities for local links

One way of boosting your local SEO is through obtaining local links. This applies to mainly brick and mortar stores but can also include online ones. However, it is not easy finding inbound links that are relevant to your business but we can help.

Not all links are of the same quality so it is essential to obtain high-quality authoritative domains to provide you with a link back. It is also important that local links have the correct information in regards to name, address and phone number. This is something we talk about in more detail later when we explain why NAP is so important.

Content that can boost your business locally

Having relevant content on your business website can help to boost your rankings in the search engines but that content has to have the correct keywords. One good tip we can give you in this aspect is to produce content that contains keywords that have less competition and predominantly local keywords.

As an example of this, you might own a coffee shop. You might struggle to rank highly for the “best coffee”. However, you might be able to rank high for “best coffee in Brighton”, or wherever your coffee shop is situated.

People who live in Brighton searching for the best coffee will then find your location and your business. You could boost your foot traffic by hundreds of per cent.

Why NAP is so important

No, we are not talking about you or your employees having a nap at work. In this case, NAP means name, address and phone number.

Getting this right is essential, as you want people to find your business. Not only this, NAP data should be consistent and the user experience has to be taken into account if you want to rank well in a local search.

NAP is very important when building citations, something we talked about previously. A consistent NAP is extremely important in regards to your listing on Google My Business along with online directories and social sites.

Five main points lead to people making a purchase and these are they used a search engine, paid a visit to the website or used the businesses app, visited the store, visited another website or app and used a map to find the business address. Constant information is important as people rely on consistency to progress as they use various outlets such as websites, guest posts, listings on Google My Business and various online portals.

Around 78% of searches made on mobile devices lead to a visit to an offline store within a period of 24 hours. Therefore, local SEO must be tailored to both desktop and mobile devices. As the top-rated UK SEO consultants, we can help with your local search engine optimisation campaign and provide a free SEO health check to get you started.

Obtaining the right reviews for your business

Obtaining reviews for your business is important but it is more important to obtain the right business reviews.

You might know that your products and services are the best out there but how do you let others know? Through reviews of course and we know some of the best platforms out there.

We have talked about Google My Business before and this is one of the essential sites to be included in your review marketing strategy. The ratings you obtain on here will determine how many stars you get rated in Google Map results. Let’s face it the more stars, the better the chance of people visiting your business.

Reviews also play a crucial factor in where your business is in the search results on Google. Another site we recommend is Google My Business as no big surprise this is the source Google trusts the most, it belonging to them.

Factors that go towards a good review on sites include excellent products or services, which go without saying, along with how good the customer service is. In fact, when it comes to reviews customer service can make or break your business.

Optimising your business listing on Google

As we have already determined in this guide to local SEO Google My Business is a valuable tool to use to boost search engine rankings.

With this in mind, we highly recommend every part of your listing has been optimised. There is an easy way to do this and that is to put it in our hands. We offer an SEO for Google My Business package that will ensure everything is in good order and add citations to your page.

Local SEO management tools

There are numerous tools available to use for websites but some are better than others are and some are free, while others ask for a fee to use the software and tools.

Putting the right tools to good use can help to make a huge impact on your local SEO, plus make life much easier for you if you want to keep an eye on your SEO.

The tools we are talking about offers numerous helpful features which may include:

• Offering an automated listings finder;
• Help website owners to find opportunities for additional directory listings;
• Are a great tool to make sure existing listings are consistent;
• Allow you to update your pre-existing listings automatically with just a single click;
• Provide analytics;
• Offers review management allowing you to reply to reviews and notifying you of new business reviews.

 Google Analytics is a useful tool and it is free, SEMrush on the other hand provides information on website traffic, keywords info, backlink checker and much more but you have to pay.

Of course, here at Heroseo, we offer a range of essential local SEO services that are tailored towards your business for a competitive fee.

Why social media marketing is so important

One way you can help your SEO strategy yourself is through social media unless you pay someone to take over your social media strategies.

Using the various social media channels available you can make your business well known locally. Facebook alone is used by almost half of the population in the UK with users spending on average 23 minutes each day. Some of these people will be local to you and you can take advantage of this.

It is not only Facebook you can utilise to make your business presence known. However, helping your local business to grow through social media has to be done correctly.

The first thing you should do is make a page on social media, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. and ensure your business name, address and phone number aka NAP is correct. Next, link your social media page to your business website.

Facebook recommendations can help your business a great deal. This is your chance for your business to be recommended to people searching for products and services in their area. Other social media services offer similar tools.

Another way of using Facebook for business is to use the platform to keep in contact with customers. Customers can send queries or ask about products and get answers. You can also use social media to highlight new products or services to great effect and even use ads on social media platforms to make your business known.

Social media is one way of creating a buzz for your business and word travels very quickly. Don’t forget if someone highly recommends your products or services, their friends and friends of those friends will see their recommendation and perhaps check you out. Popular social media platforms for business include:

• Facebook;
• Twitter;
• LinkedIn;
• Reddit;
• Pinterest;
• Instagram;
• Snapchat
•  

Contact us to boost your local SEO

You can kick-start your local SEO campaign with our help whether you are looking for detailed keyword research, Google Map citations or help with obtaining premium local business citations. All of which are essential to help your business stand out above the competition.

Heroseo is a leading SEO consultant based in Brighton in the UK. We have proven results from more than 1400 clients in the UK and 800 reviews, all of whom we have helped to boost their businesses. Get in touch with us if you want to get your business noticed locally. We can help you to outrank the competition by driving more traffic to you, which in turn increases your sales.