If you came to this page of our site to answer the question “What is local SEO”, congratulations. You are very optimistic because we are sure you will not go to another site after reading this article.
To summarize the definition of local SEO, it is one of the local marketing strategies that aim to optimize the site for search engines and achieve top rankings in Google local search results. But if you want to know how the concept of local SEO is formed, what is the need to use it for businesses, and get acquainted with its differences with SEO, stay with us until the end of this article.
At the end of this article, in addition to getting fully acquainted with local SEO, you will also learn 10 powerful techniques that you can use to enhance your website’s local SEO; So it is better to use this opportunity before it is too late.
How did the concept of local SEO come about?
Around 2004, when Google and other search engines were starting a project to improve the user experience and make changes to the search results page, they realized that part of the search had a specific geographic purpose, meaning that users were looking for specific businesses or locations in specific geographical locations. In; For example, a restaurant in Newcastle or a car repair service in Seattle. Since then, site optimization for search engines has been added as a new feature to help businesses and users, and Local SEO has emerged. But what is the definition of local SEO?
When the need to pay more attention to local SEO was like!
There are several definitions for what local SEO is. But the simplest definition is optimizing our website for a specific geographic area or neighborhood. If our site have optimization for local SEO, when a user types in “Sari Best Restaurant” or “Hotel near Sari” as an example, instead of seeing a list of dozens of famous restaurants in the country, Google shows our site to him. It’s interesting to know that according to research by the ReviewTrackers Institute since 2017, 35% of all search traffic is local, which means that Local SEO is not just a privilege for our business, but a necessity.
The Importance of Local SEO for Businesses
As mentioned earlier, local SEO is essential for increasing local search traffic and increasing your site conversion rate. But why is it more important for businesses to address this issue?
The answer should be: more focus! Just as subject-oriented photography enhances image accuracy and results, so in local SEO, focusing on users in a geographic area helps more users find that area of our business. This will make our competitors even more limited, and only jobs will be on our list of competitors, which operate in that geographical area. But do you think the use of local SEO is essential for all businesses?
The Benefits of Using Local SEO for Small and Medium Local Businesses
Restaurants, hotels, medical careers, car-related businesses, and clothing stores had the highest number of local searches, according to a study by the Bright Local Institute. This means that local SEO can be more suitable for local small and medium businesses.
Local SEO as a focused marketing strategy, with a focus on local customers, increases the competitiveness of small businesses with large businesses without spending large advertising costs. Because it connects them directly to the local customer base. But why do we call Local SEO local SEO? Is local SEO separate from SEO? Before we explore the differences between the two, we suggest you read the article What is SEO if you need more information.
What are the differences between local SEO and SEO?
One of the perceptions that people have before knowing exactly local SEO is that it is separate from SEO. But in fact, local SEO is one of the branches of SEO, with the difference that in Local SEO we focus on optimizing the site for a specific location; In fact, local SEO is part of the SEO realm, except that it is more focused and limited.
SEO is able only for the purpose of obtaining higher rankings for all searches and does not focus on the component of focusing on a specific location. But local SEO goes a little deeper and seeks higher rankings for searches in a particular area or neighborhood. The next difference is in the targeting of the keywords. In local SEO, we choose words that are more relevant to local searches, have more potential for traffic, and rank faster. Now that we are familiar with the difference between the two, let’s take a look at the topic of boosting the site’s local SEO and explore useful solutions in this regard.
Strengthen our website with these 10 local SEO strategies
But let’s go to the introduction of solutions that help us strengthen the site’s SEO. If until now you thought that local SEO is limited to registering our business in Google and has no other technique, join us in the continuation of this section to learn solutions that can change the SEO of our site.
1. Create a Google My Business account and optimize it
Optimizing our business index on Google is the first and most effective way to be seeable and rank higher in Google’s local search results. We need a Google My Business account to do this. Google reviews our account information and adds it to the Business Profile section. This information is displayed to users in the local Google search results, Knowledge Graph, and Google Maps, and encourages customers to visit our site.
2. Show satisfied and happy customer feedback to other users
Sales are not the end of our work! Be sure to contact customers via email or SMS after purchase, and ask them to post their comments on the site. Satisfying Customer Reviews on the Site In addition to improving our business profile on Google, it encourages more local customers to buy or use our services. According to the BrightLocal website about local clients, in 2017, about 85% of clients trusted the online opinions of other clients as much as face-to-face consultations.
3. Optimize your site for audio content search
Customers searching through SEO use louder keywords when searching by voice. Therefore, it is better to adjust our content SEO so that it matches the tone of the conversation that the customers are talking about and responds to their needs very quickly and usefully. The important thing to note is that audio content has a bright future in SEO, and will grow rapidly.
4. Produce your content based on local news or events
Nothing like writing content that speaks directly to or relates to a local topic can grab the attention of our local customers. But what should we do to get their attention?
There are several suggestions; Provide video reports of the various areas we serve or create a dedicated page with rich, quality content to introduce each neighborhood or even blog posts about news about events or activities in that area. But overall, the news is good news to attract more visitors.
5. Optimize your website for mobile and tablet users
According to Google, the number of mobile resources, as well as users who use mobile or tablets to search, is increasing every day. In the first quarter of 2021, mobile devices (excluding tablets) accounted for 54.8% of global website traffic, up from about 50% at the beginning of 2017. Therefore, paying attention to local customers who use a mobile phones or tablets, and investing in the subject of responsive site design in the discussion of local SEO is more important.
6. Be careful in choosing local keywords
Local keywords are words that refer to the name of the neighborhood or area in which we operate; Such as “Shamron Kebab” or “Milad Noor Shopping Center”. Using these words helps us to get closer to our customers when they are looking for us and to reach them more easily. We can research keywords, compile a list of these words, and use them in meta descriptions, articles, or URL structures.
7. Use Google Map or online location on the “About Us” page
The About Us page is one of the most important pages on our site for SEO. This page should include the exact address of all our business branches, online locations, information about amenities such as private parking or nearest public parking, surrounding streets, opening hours, and any local access information. For example, if we have a clothing store in the West Town neighborhood, we should include information about our address, day and business hours, nearest parking lot and metro station, as well as Google Map location on our About page.
8. Use online directories
The next step is to register and complete the information form in the most visited and related directories. By registering in these directories and being included in their list, we will be seen more and the SEO of our site will be strengthened. An ideal and professional directory, in addition to company registration, address, contact number, and description of our services and products, also provides our online location to its visitors and links to the main page of our website.
9. Focus on social signaling or social media activity
According to a study by MOZ, one of the most influential factors in ranking SEO websites is receiving links and organic visits to social networks; In particular, link signals that point directly to the main page of our site. Just make sure that these links reach us through the provision of quality and useful content. Collaborating with local influencers on social media can also help.
10. Create a dedicated web page for each product or service
This issue was one of the most important pillars of product and service page SEO before it was introduced in SEO. But its importance in local SEO became apparent when customers were looking for a specific product or service in a specific location; For example, “Poster printing in Tajrish”. The user who types this phrase is looking for exactly the same service in the Tajrish location, so if instead of a crowded page with dozens of different services, he enters a page designed specifically for this service, he will trust sooner and more likely to become a customer.
Get acquainted (gain, obtain) with present-day techniques that came from Local SEO
Given the growing importance of local SEO for businesses, and the strategies we have proposed to strengthen this branch of SEO, we must also become familiar with its management tools. Tools that do not have the same functionality, but each meet part of our needs and become the driving force for us to move faster to the top ranks. Let’s get acquainted with the best and most practical Local SEO tools:
1. Google Business Profile
The first and most effective local SEO tool is Google Business Profile. Google has designed this profile specifically for local marketing. In this tool, we can interact with potential users and customers through social networks. Just create a custom profile and complete it. Unfortunately, due to the embargo on Iranian IPs, it is not possible for Iranian users to use this service at the moment.
2. Moz Local
Local Maze is a great platform. On this platform, we have access to the local listing dashboard, and we can track and optimize the overall performance of our online profile. We can also respond to and interact with customer feedback on social media.
3. SEMrush Position Tracking
SEMrush position tracking tool is a great tool for tracking our website rank in a specific set of local keywords. This tool helps us to see how competitors are ranked in the local market. We can also use it to track the most useful SERP features to attract the attention of local audiences and increase click-through rates.
4. Local SEO Checklist
This tool has powerful features that can help us solve the most common local SEO problems. This completely free tool has a local SEO checklist that examines various factors on our site and identifies deficiencies.
5. Google Ads Keyword Planner
This tool has several unique features that can be useful for local SEO. Although its main use is to design pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, the information it provides in the keyword competition column can be used to optimize content and landing pages to increase conversion rates.
6. Google Trends
Google Trend is not a local SEO tool, but it provides valuable data such as search volume and location information of users, which we can use to create focused ads and design new strategies to overtake competitors in SEO.
How to learn local SEO
We hope that by this part of the article we have been able to acquaint you well with local SEO, solutions and tools. If you, as an SEO expert or local business owner, are interested in learning this practical branch of SEO knowledge, there are many topics you can study. To get started, we suggest you refer to the article “Local SEO for Businesses”. There are various educational videos and tutorials on the web and social networks that can help you.
However, if you are looking for broader and deeper training to develop your knowledge, our SEO training course may be right for you. We suggest you to see our SEO training path. In this page, in addition to basic training, we have introduced you to very reliable educational resources, which you just need to spend a little time and use the golden techniques and solutions that have been taught in them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is local SEO and why should we use it?
One of the local marketing strategies that is aimed at optimizing the site for search engines, and achieving top rankings in Google local search results, and helps businesses to attract a significant number of local potential customers. .
What businesses can use local SEO?
All businesses can use local SEO, but it is essential for small local businesses, businesses that cater to a specific geographic area, as well as businesses that want to focus on local marketing in a particular area.
What is the difference between local SEO and organic SEO?
Local SEO is one of the branches of SEO, which focuses on optimizing the site for a specific location, has a narrower circle of competitors, and differs from SEO in terms of implementation patterns.
How can we boost our site’s local SEO?
There are several methods, the best of which are:
- Open a Google My Business account and optimize it
- Submit the comments of satisfied and happy customers on the site
- Submit content containing local news or events on the site
- Use Google Map or Online Location on the About Us Page
- Submit information in online directories
Concluding remarks
The scope of SEO knowledge is changing rapidly, and we never know when Google will introduce new features to its local search results page, but for now, we can count on the tutorials we got together today. For this reason, we must strive to be at the forefront of Local SEO in addition to organic SEO.
With the help of what we have learned in this article, you can be sure that your business website will not only benefit from local searches but will also have a solid foundation if it launches new Google updates for local SEO.