Any digital marketer will tell you that there’s actually more than one kind of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). You’ve got on-page SEO, designed to make your website’s design and content more appealing to Google. There’s also the technical side of SEO – changing URLs, massaging metadata, modifying image tags.
Beyond those different techniques, you’ll find that marketers choose different targets for SEO. Sometimes SEO will center around using content marketing techniques to build a brand or support an ad campaign, while at other times SEO will prioritize link building to boost site authority.
Local SEO sometimes flies under the radar. The idea is so elementary, so obvious, that it can be easy to overlook how fundamentally important local SEO is to the success of your overall digital marketing strategy.
Local SEO: The “Where” to Google’s “What”
Broadly speaking, most of the queries entered into Google fall into two categories. They are either informational or locational. An informational query might be something like, “When was David Bowie born?” or “What’s the square root of pi?”
The answers to those queries will be the same regardless of where you are. The facts are the same regardless of location. Locational queries are different. If you search for “the best Mexican restaurant in San Jose,” you’ll receive vastly different answers from “the best Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee.”
It gets even more complicated when entering a search based on your own location. These are the infamous “near me” searches – the best restaurant near me, mechanic near me, or even library near me. For those searches, Google needs to know where you are, and then match the information available for that area to your specific request.
Local SEO vs. SEO in General
Local SEO is more focused and more detailed than broader SEO, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Google changes the rules for local SEO frequently, making it an ever-changing game to stay on top of the results in your area.
What’s the benefit of local SEO? By limiting your search to a specific location, and then honing in on particular keywords, local SEO can direct a huge amount of traffic to your site. Locational searches are highly focused and often well motivated; why search for a “mechanic near you” unless you need one?
Local and Mobile SEO
Mobile searches are especially productive targets for localized SEO. It makes sense that many people who are looking for something in a new location will turn to their smartphones to find the answer, so one key component of local SEO techniques is to make sure your website is mobile-friendly.
That combination of mobile SEO and local preferences makes local SEO one of the highest-converting forms of SEO. Marketing that targets localized searches converts at a higher rate than traditional methods, which means that optimizing your website for those local searches puts you in a good position to reap the benefits.
Local SEO: 3 Basic Tips
So how do you apply local SEO to your website? What specific steps should you use? This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it will set you on the right track.
Secure Your Google My Business Listing
Every business is eligible for a GMB listing, but over half of existing businesses haven’t claimed their listing. The actual process is easy – just visit the google.com/business website and enter some details. It’s entirely free, and once you’re set up you’ll be able to track and manage reviews, as well as appear more clearly on Google Maps searches.
GMB is the first online directory you need to register your business with, and it’s arguably the most important. GMB connects your business with a specific location and gives the starting point for many of the other local SEO practices.
Manage Reviews
Depending on your niche, your business may also appear on Yelp, TripAdvisor, or any number of other online directories and review sites. Whenever you receive reviews, either from Google My Business or another directory, you will want to manage them. Respond to complaints and thank people for positive reviews. A steady stream of good reviews can do wonders for your local SEO efforts, as they demonstrate to the search engines that your business is active and trustworthy.
Localize Your Site
Localizing your site is easier done for small businesses than for larger companies. Work in mentions of your particular town, city, or region, and tie your business more closely to its community.
Supporting local efforts and community initiatives, and mentioning those efforts on your website, is also a great way to localize your business online. The effect is to associate your business more closely with a particular community.
If it’s a larger company, with multiple branches, then it’s often easier to create separate sites or pages for each location. In practice, this “localizes” your site to multiple places.
Reasons to Apply Local SEO to Your Website
Looking for more reasons to use local SEO techniques on your site? Consider these:
- Mobile Internet users are growing
Taken as a whole, more people are online on their phones than on a desktop or laptop. For many, mobile is the primary method of connecting online. Local SEO is perfectly suited for mobile users.
- Local users search locally
A potential client who lives two streets down is still likely to find out about your business from the Internet. Unless you invest a sizable amount of time and money into physical advertising, most local customers will discover you online first, before visiting you in-person.
- Local SEO is free (to a point)
Many of the tactics listed here – like Google My Business and localizing your website – are more-or-less free. Local SEO is a great way to start a broader digital marketing approach by taking care of the basics first.
- Local SEO makes sense
Local SEO techniques work to connect your business with the surrounding community; it’s an unusually brick-and-mortar technique in a digital world. All of the methods and advantages mentioned above are fairly simple and straightforward, but they work; this makes any work involved with local SEO well worth the effort.