What is Local SEO?
Local SEO (search engine optimization) helps to improve the search visibility for your business. This is especially helpful those who have brick-and-mortar locations, or serve a specific region.
Through local SEO, businesses can improve the organic traffic they get from searches made by clients/customers in local areas.
This is great to do if you are trying to rank for competitive keywords, as it will make the search more specific.
For example, trying to rank #1 for "best dog groomer" is a more difficult task than "best dog groomer running springs."
The first 3 listings that show for this phrase are organic Google My Business listings. This means that ads are not being run for this phrase at this time.
The next result that is shown is 10 Pet Groomers near Running Springs, CA on Yelp. Making sure your business is listed on Yelp would help more people find you if they click this link.
When you scroll down further, you'll see Bark, and Yellow Pages, which are examples of directory sites you could submit your site to.
Scroll down even further, and you'll start seeing results for businesses in Colorado and North Carolina. Notice how some words are bold. These are from the keyphrase you used, and Google is showing you this is why this result is included.
If you own a dog grooming business in Running Springs, you'd probably be able to improve your ranking in the search results by incorporating these keywords within the title, meta description, and content of your website. Don't worry, we'll talk about this more below!
How to Do Local SEO for Your Website
Now that we've talked about what local SEO is and an example of search results for a keyphrase, let's dive into how you can start optimizing your website for local search.
Here are 10 tips to help you start optimizing your website for local search:
Create a Google My Business Profile
Make sure your location is included on specific parts of your site
Use the right keywords for your target audience
Utilize social media & post from your Google My Business Profile
Encourage clients & customers to write online reviews
Optimize your site for mobile
Submit your site to directories
Audit your website & check URLs, title tags, headers, meta description & content
Add location pages to your website for the areas your serve
Be an active participant in your local community
Recommended SEO Tools
Wix - If you have a Wix website, the good news is that there are a lot of SEO tools built in to help you get started
Moz Local - Maximize your online visibility with Moz's local SEO and reputation management tool.
Ahrefs - all-in-one SEO toolset with learning materials to help your optimize your website, analyze competitors, and track your ranking progress.
Ready to Start Optimizing Your Website for Local SEO?
Keep in mind that your local SEO list of to-do's might feel overwhelming, but don't let it stop you from getting started. It's better to tackle what you can each day, so you start making progress, than putting off ever getting started.
If you have questions or need help, schedule a free strategy session with our team. We'll chat about where your are now with your business, where you'd like to be, and help you create an actionable plan to get you there!
