If you have a local business and know anything about SEO in 2020, you will likely have realized that local SEO is now the favorite strategy of every search engine optimization coach. The good news is that you too can learn local seo tips to better your website’s rankings.
Should your business be focusing on local search engine optimization?
The first step when it comes to performing local search engine optimization, or any SEO for that matter, is to consider your audience. Determine whether your audience is local or national. If it is local or comprised of a specific geographical area, then local SEO is the approach you want to take with your digital marketing. If you have a nation-wide business, then local SEO will not be very beneficial to you.
Essentially, local SEO focuses its efforts on getting search engine users better results for their queries by factoring in geographic aspects. This has been a very important change in the Google ranking algorithm and hugely advantageous to local brands. Businesses who benefit from this include:
small businesses, catering locally or locally and nationally
entrepreneurs and those looking to start a new business
brick and mortar independent businesses, like shops and restaurants
service-based businesses, like dentists, plumbers and accountants
The great thing for us locally-based businesses is that the trend towards local search engine optimization has really evened out the playing field with the big companies which used to be impossible to compete for rankings with. Before, a local pizzeria would never have the power to compete with the website of a national pizza chain when someone was searching to order pizza. However, it is now possible to be right up there in the rankings with them.
The main components of Local SEO
Once you have determined that local search optimization can benefit your business, the next step is to figure out what this strategy entails. Fortunately, local SEO is not rocket science – start with a few quick yet critical changes to your SEO strategy and follow through with some consistent effort into the areas that impact local SEO the most and you are setting yourself up for success.
Google My Business
A local SEO coach will tell you that GMB accounts for about 45% of local SEO. Google My Business consists of your business’ Google listing that appears in search results for your company, with your basic business information, directions, reviews, and more. Some of the important elements that need to be considered for local search optimization are:
Picking the right GMB category for your business
Google map search optimization – location is everything!
Google image results – providing Google with images of your geographic location as well as product or service imagery for buyers
Special GMB features – using special features of GMB like reviews, Q&A, and blog posts
Google 3-pack search – getting your business in Google’s 3 local search positions placed organically at the top of search result
On-page SEO
With your Google My Business up and running, it is time to focus your attention to your website. Again, it is not about trying to make every change to make your site local-driven, but learning and understanding which are the important ones that will make a difference so that you use your time wisely.
Citation Building
Citation building is the final main step for local SEO, which involves getting backlinks to your website. While getting SEO strategy is important for any company’s SEO, local search optimization emphasizes on building a presence on local directories for added credibility and authority in your area, as well as creating new citations and business listings.
Get started optimizing for local search
A good choice for getting into local SEO is by learning to do so yourself with the help of an SEO coach. Instead of shelling out a lot of money to have a pricey marketing company do the work for you, you can learn to do it yourself and have your investment go a lot further. Getting trained in local SEO with an SEO coach is getting increasingly popular, as many local or smaller businesses have limited budgets and have owners or employees who can manage their own marketing. Plus, since local SEO does not involve complicated coding or a big focus on the complexities of search engine optimization, it is one of the easier pieces of the SEO puzzle to learn.
If you think that local SEO is a smart choice for your business and are ready to learn how to do it for yourself and finally understand how SEO really works, start learning SEO with a local SEO coach today!
