Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website and online presence for people who are searching for your products or services in your area. It can help you attract more local customers, increase your brand awareness, and boost your conversions.
But how do you rank well on Google for local searches? What are the best practices for local SEO?
In this post, I’ll share with you 9 local SEO tips that can help you get listed on Google’s local pack and organic results. These are:
- Set up a Google My Business page
- Claim your listing on other websites
- Add accurate information to your business profile
- Encourage customers to write reviews
- Optimize your website content for local search
- Focus on ‘near me’ search terms
- Get featured in local magazines and blogs
- Build local links
- Track your local SEO performance
Let’s dive into each of these tips in more detail.
1. Set up a Google My Business page for local seo
Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to create and manage a business profile on Google. It helps you showcase your business information, such as your name, address, phone number, website, hours, photos, and more.
Having a Google My Business page is essential for local SEO because it helps you appear on Google’s map pack1, which is a set of three local business results with a map of their locations.
To set up a Google My Business page, you need to follow these steps:
- Go to https://www.google.com/business/ and sign in with your Google account.
- Enter your business name and address.
- Choose the most relevant category for your business.
- Verify your business by phone, email, or postcard.
- Add more details to your profile, such as a description, services, products, offers, posts, and photos.
2. Claim your listing on other websites
Google is not the only place where people can find your business online. There are many other websites that offer local listings, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Bing Places, and more.
Claiming your listing on these websites can help you improve your online visibility, reputation, and authority. It can also help you get more citations, which are mentions of your business name, address, and phone number on other websites.
Citations are important for local SEO because they help Google verify your business information and location. They also signal to Google that your business is relevant and trustworthy.
To claim your listing on other websites, you need to follow these steps:
- Search for your business name on each website and see if there is an existing listing.
- If there is an existing listing, claim it by verifying your ownership and updating the information if needed.
- If there is no existing listing, create one by filling out the required fields and adding relevant details.
- Make sure your business name, address, and phone number are consistent across all your listings.
3. Add accurate information to your business profile for local seo
One of the most important factors for local SEO is the accuracy of your business information. You want to make sure that potential customers can easily find and contact you.
To add accurate information to your business profile, you need to follow these tips:
- Use a local phone number and address that match your website and other listings.
- Include keywords that describe your products or services in your business name and description.
- Choose the right categories that match what you offer.
- Add opening hours and special hours for holidays or events.
- Add photos that showcase your location, products, staff, and customers.
- Respond to customer reviews and questions promptly and professionally.
4. Encourage customers to write reviews
Reviews are another crucial factor for local SEO. They help you build trust and credibility with potential customers. They also influence how Google ranks your business in the local pack and organic results.
According to a study by BrightLocal2, 87% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2020. And 73% of consumers only pay attention to reviews written in the last month.
To encourage customers to write reviews, you need to follow these tips:
- Ask them politely after they purchase from you or use your service.
- Send them a follow-up email or text message with a link to leave a review.
- Offer them an incentive or reward for leaving a review (but don’t bribe them or ask for positive reviews only).
- Display your reviews on your website and social media platforms.
- Thank your customers for their feedback and address any negative reviews.
5. Optimize your website content for local seo search
Your website content is the foundation of your local SEO strategy. It tells Google and your customers what your business is about and why they should choose you.
To optimize your website content for local search, you need to follow these tips:
- Conduct keyword research to find the most relevant and popular terms that people use to search for your products or services in your area.
- Create landing pages for each of your locations, services, or products, and optimize them with local keywords, images, videos, and testimonials.
- Include your business name, address, and phone number on every page of your website, preferably in the header or footer.
- Add schema markup to your website to provide structured data to Google about your business, such as your name, address, phone number, reviews, ratings, and more.
- Make sure your website is fast, mobile-friendly, and secure.
6. Focus on ‘near me’ search terms
One of the most common types of local searches is the ‘near me’ search. This is when people use phrases like ‘plumber near me’, ‘pizza near me’, or ‘dentist near me’ to find businesses that are close to their location.
According to Google3, ‘near me’ searches have grown by more than 250% since 2017. And 76% of people who search for something nearby on their phones visit the business within a day.
To focus on ‘near me’ search terms, you need to follow these tips:
- Include ‘near me’ keywords in your title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and content.
- Use geo-modifiers in your keywords, such as your city, state, or neighborhood name.
- Optimize your Google My Business page and other listings with accurate location information.
- Encourage customers to check-in at your location on social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram.
- Get backlinks from local websites that mention your location.
7. Get featured in local magazines and blogs
Getting featured in local magazines and blogs can help you increase your brand awareness, reputation, and authority in your area. It can also help you get more exposure, traffic, and leads to your website.
To get featured in local magazines and blogs, you need to follow these tips:
- Research and identify the most popular and relevant publications in your niche and location.
- Pitch them a story idea that showcases your expertise, value proposition, or unique selling point.
- Provide them with high-quality content that is informative, engaging, and helpful for their audience.
- Include a link to your website or landing page in your bio or content.
- Promote the feature on your own website and social media platforms.
8. Build local links
Links are one of the most important ranking factors for SEO. They signal to Google that your website is trustworthy, authoritative, and relevant.
But not all links are created equal. For local SEO, you want to focus on building links from local websites that are related to your niche and location.
To build local links, you need to follow these tips:
- Create valuable content that attracts links from other websites, such as blog posts, guides, infographics, videos, podcasts, etc.
- Reach out to local influencers, bloggers, journalists, or organizations that might be interested in sharing or featuring your content.
- Participate in local events, sponsorships, charities, or awards that can generate links from local media outlets or websites.
- Join local directories, associations, or chambers of commerce that can list your business on their websites.
- Ask for links from your customers, partners, suppliers, or vendors that have websites related to yours.
9. Track your local SEO performance
The last tip for local SEO is to track your performance and measure your results. You want to know how well you’re ranking on Google for local searches and how much traffic and conversions you’re getting from them.
To track your local SEO performance, you need to follow these tips:
- Set up Google Analytics and Google Search Console on your website to monitor your traffic sources, and keywords rankings.
- Set goals and track conversions from your local SEO efforts, such as calls, leads, sales, or bookings.
- Use tools like Ahrefs or Moz to analyze your backlink profile and find new link opportunities.
- Use tools like BrightLocal or Whitespark to audit your citations and find new citation sources.
- Use tools like Google My Business Insights or Local Falcon to monitor your map pack rankings and visibility.
By following these 9 local SEO tips, you can improve your chances of getting listed on Google’s local pack and organic results. This can help you reach more potential customers in your area and grow your business.
If you need any help with your local SEO strategy, feel free to contact us. We are a team of experts who can help you optimize your website and online presence for local search. We can help you with keyword research, content creation, link building, citation management, and more.
Contact us today – We look forward to hearing from you!
1. google.com, 2. linkedin.com, 3. google.com.au, 4. support.google.com, 5. ahrefs.com, 6. backlinko.com, 7. searchenginewatch.com, 8. leavingworkbehind.com, 9. forbes.com