We’ve covered all the tricks of both SEO and PPC in our recent blog posts, but what about getting found through local SEO?
Winning local business and building relationships with nearby customers is something that every company wants. Having a reliable local business reputation is invaluable, but simply having a good website and business model is not enough in the modern world. The competitive nature of search engines means you have to go above and beyond to make your products and services known and stand out from others in your industry.
The best way to win business is looking locally and appealing to the customer base around you, who are already looking for businesses like yours in the area. When a customer is searching for a service you offer on your website, you ideally want to be the number one search result on their search engine.
But how do you get to the top spot?
The answer is local SEO, aka getting found in your local area. SEO stands for search engine optimisation, and basically means how your business is found through search engines. By optimising your website, you will rank higher on the search engine and eventually become most visible to the customer base you are trying to appeal to.
Why should you use local SEO?
Using local SEO is the quickest and most effective way to get noticed by people using search engines to find what your business does. Most customers want to find services that are local to them, that they can either visit in person quickly or order from without huge shipping fees.
Why Local SEO is good for your business
With local SEO, it is not a question of whether you should or shouldn’t be using it, but rather, why aren’t you? Local SEO is an organic way of being found, and unlike PPC campaigns, optimising your site doesn’t require extra funds.
While it is great to be noticed by international companies and have enquiries from customers far away if your business offers local services or does not ship nationwide or internationally, attracting customers who are far away doesn’t make much sense.
How to get found through local SEO
Local SEO can be tricky to understand, but the benefits will speak for themselves once you have perfected your approach. Having effective SEO management is the easiest way to do this. Making sure your your SEO is routinely monitored and optimising website content regularly ensures that you are moving with market trends and solidifying your place in your industry.
But whether you are outsourcing your SEO responsibilities or tackling them yourself, there are steps to take.
Steps to take for effective Local SEO
Carry out a Keyword Analysis
Like PPC, performing a keyword analysis will be one of the first critical ways to improve your local SEO. Figuring out what keywords and phrases is the number one way to improve your search engine ranking, and to be found, you need to know what these terms are.
To have effective local SEO, using nearby cities and counties shows precisely where you operate and makes customers much more likely to be attracted to your business. For example, if, like us, you are a Hampshire based company, make that known! Including words such as ‘Hampshire’, ‘local Hampshire,’ and ‘ Hampshire [whatever you service – e.g. ‘shoe repair’] near you’ will immediately let your customer know they are searching in the right place for local business.
Carrying out an in-depth analysis of your keywords is done by using keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner and looking at competitors’ data.
Figure out what keywords you don’t want to be searched under
It’s all well and good knowing the terms you want to be found under, but on the other hand, removing any terms that you don’t want to be found under is equally important. If there is a service you don’t offer, or perhaps an outdated product you are no longer selling, you will want to avoid having these keywords on your website, as this essentially piques false interest.
Implement Keywords on your site
Putting your local search engine terms into your website will be the final stage to kickstart an improvement in your search engine ranking. Populate your site’s landing pages with these keywords, making them read naturally and flow well on the page.
Monitor your progress
Unfortunately, SEO is not a one size fits all thing. Markets change, new business comes onto the scene, and search engine rankings fluctuate frequently. Keeping on top of your local SEO by monitoring your progress and updating your keywords is essential to maintaining your Local SEO ranking and making sure you stay ahead of the pack. If you’re managing your site’s SEO, you should also put time into stay ing up to date with Google’s core algorithm updates, and make time to master tools like Google analytics in order to monitor how your site is performing, and make necessary changes based on the results you’re seeing.
But wait, there’s more…
In addition to all of that, keywords and content optimisation are only one part of local SEO. You’ll also want to claim your business on Google Maps/Google MyBusiness. While this is relatively simple to do, it can have a strong effect on your local results. Better still, it empowers you to respond to reviews, post opening hours, and even include photos of your establishment to entice customers in.
On the more technical side of things meanwhile is something called called Schema, which your website should also be configured with. Simply put, schema is a way of making statements about your business in a way that the Google bots understand. However, unlike many of the suggestions we’ve made above, you’ll need to be up on the coding side of things to get it working. That’s one of the many reasons that working with the right digital agency can make a world of difference to your business.
Need help with your local SEO?
At One2Create, we know exactly how to maximise your local SEO presence. We offer complete SEO packages that take care of the hassle of SEO for you and provide ongoing monitoring and content optimisation for local SEO – including keywords, monitoring, and Schema setup and management.
Alternatively, if you are already taking the steps to the best organic local SEO, PPC (pay per click) services are a great way to take your campaign one step further and boost your visibility as much as possible.
Get in touch with us to see how our SEO and PPC services can help your business.
Further Reading
- Six of Our Favourite PPC Tips and Tricks
- How To Do Organic SEO Well
- Five of Our Favourite Modern Web Design Trends
- Why Your Web Marketing Matters Now More Than Ever
- Top Tips for Writing Great Marketing and Comms Copy
