What is local search?
Local search can be defined as a specific branch of organic SEO. Its main goal is to optimize the online presence of a business (especially if it has a physical entity and serves customers in person) for global, national or targeted local audiences. Local SEO must be based on using all the tools at your disposal for local marketing.
- Ranking local business pages on Google and other search engines
What is local SEO?
Local SEO, as defined above, is an excellent way to boost your local business online. By focusing solely on local keywords and optimizing your website accordingly, you can rank high in local listings such as Google or Bing Maps, increasing the chances of potential customers browsing your information and contacting you for further services. Local SEO has become essential even if your physical establishment faces no direct competition: people use their mobile devices to look up local businesses – restaurants close by – before deciding where to head over to. This means that it’s no longer enough just to have a website (although it certainly helps); now local SEO is inescapable.
- Optimizing local listings with local search in mind
What local SEO is not
Local SEO is often confused with local PPC (Pay Per Click, i.e., advertising on Google Maps or Bing), but it’s actually different from that. While local PPC entails using paid ads to be listed for certain keywords related to your business, local SEO covers the optimization of local listings and rankings across all the major local search engines like Google, Yahoo! Local, Yelp etc. It also uses organic search engine optimization techniques applied specifically to local content marketing strategies .
- Ranking higher in local searches; boosting visibility through proper tools; increasing sales; turning local website visitors into local customers
Tools for local SEO
Optimizing a local business page means getting it to rank higher on local search engines, social networks and local directories. The more local traffic you drive to your business, the more sales opportunities will open up – not just for this particular location but also for other outlets of the same firm that might be located somewhere else . In order to do that though, you’ll need some help from tools specifically designed for local search engine optimization. Some of the most useful ones include: Google Search Console (formerly known as Webmaster Tools): Use it if you have a Google-optimized website. Bing Webmaster Tools : This is Microsoft’s offering, allowing users who are listed on local search engines to better localize their presence on the web. Google My Business : Generally, you’d want to have a profile page on all local search engines so that people can find you more easily through directories and maps listings. This is where Google My Business comes in, allowing businesses to set up profiles for local SEO purposes. Moz Local : The premier local SEO platform . It allows users to submit local businesses manually as well as track them live with dedicated analytics tools. BrightLocal : Also manufactured by an Australian company, this platform enables you to manage client data and monitor the effectiveness of local SEO efforts across multiple locations simultaneously .
- How local business pages are ranked; how ranking higher boosts traffic; what tools will help local SEO
The local SEO process
Starting a local SEO campaign is a bit like launching a local PR initiative. In fact, local SEO can be considered as being part of the larger localization marketing plan . It’s essential to have in-depth knowledge of local business listings and local search engine algorithms when looking at local online marketing strategies. By finding out how local listings are ranked and then focusing on the things that matter most in terms of ranking higher, you can boost visibility for your business page along with sales opportunities in your particular area. The difference between local PPC and local SEO is that while the former implies putting money in so as to appear next to certain keywords, the latter takes a organic route by trying to find local keywords and local content that will help local search engines rank local business pages higher.
What local SEO is
All local businesses must optimize their presence online so as to get more leads and get noticed by the local audience. The best way to do this is through Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short . This involves using certain keywords related to the local area in posts along with implementing other types of optimization techniques such as LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) and HREFLANG tags (used mainly for multiple language support). The ideal candidates should be locally-optimized and geographically-relevant terms, plus they should be placed in a location that’s very conducive to local rankings . Sometimes it helps if you run local business listing ads on local search engines too.