Search engine optimization or SEO is the buzzword these days. There are two variants to SEO: International SEO and Local SEO. The latter refers to the practice of optimizing a website aimed at increasing traffic, leads and brand awareness through local searches. Best local SEO practices include employing the right local keywords, optimizing a business’s Google My Business profile, and having NAP citations, or mentioning your business’s Name, Address and Phone details. Local SEO is an art and technology, and a competitive local SEO company can formulate the best local SEO strategy for your business and significantly enhance your digital brand visibility and boost leads and sales.
Why to go for Local SEO?
Figures attest to the significance of local seo for businesses. As many as 46% of all searches in Google are found to have local intent, according to Search Engine Roundtable, while 29% of all Google SERPs contain a local pack in the results, as pointed out by RankRanger.
Further, Google analysis indicates that 76% of consumers who search for local products or services on their phone visit a store the same day.
All of these highlight the importance of local searches and the need to have local SEO for your business site. In other words, if your business isn't properly optimized for local search, the chances are high that you could lose potential customers who want to shop in your area. In short, without local SEO, potential customers may not be able to find your business in searches, and your business can easily lose its relevance.
The mechanism of Local SEO
Essentially, Local SEO works much similar to Google search. For every search, Google scans its index to display the pages that best match the search query. But for Local SEO, Google employs a unique ranking algorithm to fetch search results.
Local SEO is powered by multiple ranking signals, including the search location, NAP citations, presence of Google My Business listing, Keywords in Google My Business profile, online reviews, Keywords used in online reviews, the volume of local “check-ins”, social media shares, and the business’s Google Maps star ratings.
Local SEO: a strategic approach
Local SEO involves multiple optimization techniques such as optimizing Google My Business profile, engaging customers on social media platforms, uploading posts to Google My Business, having your business details like name, address, and phone number on GMB profile, optimizing online directories and citations, local SEO audit, having efficient internal linking structure, optimizing multiple elements (URL, title tags, headers, meta description, and content), adding location pages to the website, uploading local content, making your website mobile-friendly, getting authoritative inbound links, and actively engaging with local communities.