SEO essentials for local business success
This is branded content.
It's vital to continue attracting customers from your surrounding area, especially given how much consumer habits have shifted over the past few years. For example, approximately half of consumers now use search engines to find key information about a local business before visiting them in person. What's more, enterprises with strong local search engine optimisation (SEO) typically see an average of 18 per cent higher revenue compared to competitors still struggling for digital visibility.
If you manage or operate a brick and mortar enterprise and have little idea where to begin with SEO, read on. We'll be exploring essential local SEO tips and strategies any small business can start executing to strengthen their presence and attract customers from nearby regions searching digitally for what they offer.
1 Focus on local keywords
Targeting relevant local keywords is critical for helping search engines understand the specific geographic service area for a business. This is one of the many areas expert SEO services can help you with. However, it's still worth knowing some best practices businesses like yours should keep in mind. These include the following:
- Research Intent - Identify both "informational" keywords (e.g. "best restaurants in Melbourne") as well as "transactional" keywords (e.g. "Melbourne dinner reservations") to understand the full customer journey. Optimise for questions and intents that guide users to actually visit.
- Geo-Target Exact Locations - Make sure to research and specify the particular neighbourhoods, cities, counties, regions, etc., potential customers would search when looking for your services. This helps search engines make the local relevance connection.
- Adjust Based On Distance - The local keywords used should focus more tightly around your exact location or expand to cover a wider radius based on how far customers typically travel to access your products/services. Match keywords to realistic travel willingness.
- Diversify Terminology - Don't just focus on basic industry terminology. Also, incorporate a range of descriptive vocabulary and recognised alternates customers frequently use when discussing offerings in your category.
- Refresh Regularly - Local intent searches shift over time, so revisit keyword research every three to six months to detect rising trends and adjust optimisation targeting accordingly to stay aligned with demand.
Staying laser-focused on uncovering and targeting precise local keywords directly related to your business's offerings and location and customer behaviour is key. This geo-targeted specificity is what fuels local SEO visibility and enables discovery.
2 Optimise your Google My Business listing
Optimising one's Google My Business listing is a crucial foundation for any local SEO strategy. Here are a few key things businesses should focus on to truly maximize this free tool:
- Accuracy - Double-check that the name, address, phone number, and other vital identifiers are perfectly consistent across the web. Even minor inconsistencies or outdated details can negatively impact local SEO presence.
- Regular Updating - Treat the GMB listing like an active profile rather than a set-it-and-forget-it situation. Continually update new photos, posts about events/offers, revised operating hours, and responses to new customer reviews. This shows engagement and timeliness.
- Uniqueness - Ensure branding elements like logos, description language, photos, and videos feel cohesive yet unique compared to competitors. Avoid duplicating content from other listings verbatim. Distinctiveness helps get noticed.
Also, ensure every section of the listing is thoroughly filled out, such as business name, full address with zip code, phone number, website URL, operating hours, service categories, payment options, photos, menus/price lists, and any other details provided. Missing info signals the business may be incomplete or spam.
3 Produce engaging local content
Producing quality local content is vital for demonstrating expertise about one's geographic service region while also addressing the interests, questions, and needs of nearby prospects.
Here are tips for creating truly engaging local content:
- Reference The City, Town Or Area - Naturally reference the specific neighbourhoods, districts, suburbs and city names local searchers would use to find businesses serving them. This establishes relevance.
- Share Local Photos And Videos - Visually showcase locations, regional scenery, city landmarks, local storefront appeal and other geographic flavour. This entices engagement and conveys authenticity.
- Incorporate Questions And Intent - Produce posts, articles, FAQs and thought leadership centred around common queries and purchase/research motivations of those in the immediate area. Cater directly to demand.
- Diversify Content Types - Go beyond just blogging by also producing videos, podcasts, newsletters, infographics, eBooks and other diverse content formats. Provide value in the mediums local searchers prefer.
Optimising content for engagement and local intent signals requires emphasising connections specifically to the city/region of a business service. This demonstrates tangible value to nearby prospects while also answering the searcher questions most relevant to them. Such content earns attention and surfaces prominently within localised SERP results.
Conclusion
Optimising for local SEO can help your business stand out in the online space. Start with these essentials and you'll be on the path to higher local name recognition, web traffic, and new customer acquisition. Consistently execute these core elements to build a foundation for long-term local search success.
