The term SEO does not need any explanation, it’s one of the top terminologies in digital marketing. We have discussed a lot about SEO. But what is all that hype about local SEO?

Local SEO

Local SEO refers to the search engine optimization that targets the audience within a close geographical range. It is a more precise sort of optimization.

Digital marketing allows you to target the audience worldwide, but when you optimize to rank your business locally, that is what local SEO is.

To simplify it, Local SEO is somewhat similar to SEO, just the geographic element is added to it. The geographic element makes the SEO more accurate and search-friendly.

If you own a brick and mortar business, then you need to focus on local SEO. Local competition is at the peak. If you have a local business and you do not maintain an effective local SEO, then you’re giving a chance to your competitors to take the lead in the competition.

Most of the buyers search the internet before purchasing anything. If you enlist yourself on the internet, your potential local customers would be able to find you easily. For this, you need to pay attention to the following techniques to rank higher in the Google search.

Local SEO techniques

• Title and meta description

Just as the typical SEO, the title and meta description in the local SEO also requires your attention. Optimized titles and meta descriptions help your web page to be indexed well and rank higher in the search engine result pages (SERPs).

These are the details that are shown in the Google search results. Pay attention to it and include your focus keyword in the titles and meta descriptions so that Google finds you easily. Google’s current acceptable length for the title is 50 to 60 characters, and for the meta description, it is 155 to 200 characters. However, 155 to 175 characters are preferred.

It might seem to be an ordinary task, but believe me, it’s one of the most technical tasks of SEO. Your text needs to be precise, comprehensive, appealing, and keyword-friendly at the same time.

• Enlist your business online

Being a local business, if you have not enlisted yourself on the internet, then you’re certainly losing a great number of potential customers every week.

Statista revealed the following data regarding the people who conducted online searches in the US in the past few weeks;

• 7% people of age 18-29 years
• 15% people of age 30 to 49 years
• 2% people of age 50 to 64 years

Local SEO requires you to claim your business on the internet through online directories like Foursquare, Bing Places for Business, Google My Business, and Local.com. Accuracy and consistency of NAP is another crucial factor.

NAP refers to Name, Address, and Phone. Make sure to include accurate and identical NAP in all the online platforms on which you register your business.

In this way, you make it convenient for the people to find you on the internet. This also makes you a valid entity in the eyes of Google, and the chances of your business to rank better in the SERPs increase.

• Google My Business (GMB)

GMB is something bigger than just a directory. To increase the authenticity and legitimacy of your business, you need to optimize it for GMB. It is a free tool which lets you enlist your business for better local searches.

Since Google crawls over the internet and collects the information of every single page. Using Google’s tool to enlist your business online would automatically increase your authenticity.

You need to incorporate valid NAP, then you need to go through a verification process which is necessary to confirm that you actually run a genuine business. Enable and encourage customer reviews, this further adds to your points and improves your genuineness.

Along with that, add a proper and comprehensive description of your business and your products. Adding pictures and logos is another solid element to make your business authentic. Specify your business hours and accepted payment methods.

These elements will enhance the convenience of your customers. Try to eliminate the ambiguity to the greatest extent. This pushes your customers towards finalizing the purchase decision.

• Customer reviews and feedback

Add a section of customer reviews or feedback and enable it. This might seem to be a trivial practice but believe me, it has the potential to massively increase your sales.

Customer reviews and feedback act as the word of mouth in the online world. People look for the reviews to get a clear idea of the business and the quality of the products that the business offers. The customers searching for the online businesses trust the reviews as much as they trust the recommendations.

Therefore, you need to allow customers to talk about you on various forums and monitor those reviews to understand what the customers want from you.

That’s not it, if you really want to pursue an effective local SEO, you need to respond to those reviews then and there. Whether the comments are negative or positive, try to appreciate them and satisfy the customers in front of the world.

• Focus on local content

When discussing local SEO, we keep aside the general content. Local SEO demands you to publish content related to your local customers and local industry.

Imagine that you reside in California, and you come across the information regarding a store in Texas. Would that information be relevant to you? Of course not!

That’s the main point, try to focus the audience that is geographically closest to you. Add content relevant to your local people. You don’t need to create content for the world, just tap the local audience to extract maximum benefits.

Furthermore, a local map is one of the most convenient factors for the customers. Google map does not know about a local coffee shop near your store, but the local people recognize that coffee shop. Therefore try to incorporate a map that shows the local landmarks for the convenience of the customers.

SEO and local SEO both are very vast marketing tools. The deeper you dig, the more techniques you get to know. The tips explained in this article would serve you the best if you utilize them effectively.

Remember, never neglect any aspect considering it as unnecessary. Focus on every single element that has the potential to benefit your business. You never know which shell has a pearl in it.