Local SEO

     Do you have a local business that relies mostly on a particular region for customers? You want to know how to increase your customers? Do you want to increase the visibility of your business online? Then you have landed in the right article. In this article, we will discuss local SEO, and how to improve your business with Local SEO, and the pros and cons. If done right, your local business can boom with the help of “Local SEO.” 

     According to statistics, 46 % of online searches are about local businesses. Even then, 56% of the local business persons haven’t enrolled in Google My business. Small-time local business persons may think that this is unnecessary, but having visibility in Google will improve your local business. Since everything has become online nowadays, it’s better to strengthen your presence online with the right type of SEO. 

What is Local SEO?

     Local SEO is designed to optimize and increase the visibility of your local business, thus increasing your business prospects. It is the process of optimizing web searches to promote your company among the local public. When I say web searches, I don’t mean just Google searches. Every other search engine, like Yahoo, Bing, and Yelp, etc. Because your business should be visible everywhere, making Google is a top priority because most of the online searches happen in Google. 

     To get things more clear, let’s take an example. Your search for “best coffee shop in Los Angeles.” Now you will get some best coffee shops suggested by Google. These are the “local business” with proper SEO, which made them gain the spots. These are based on user ratings and “local SEO.” Google tells us that most local people search for local businesses online. Thus it’s essential to improve your “local SEO.” 

Organic results and “snack pack” results:

     When you do a keyword search or query search in Google, you get a few sets of results. There are “ad pages” under products, which are placed as advertisements. And then there’s “snack pack” results. These are the results that come in the box under the search bar. This appears on the first page of the search result with general information. If you search for “best coffee shop in Los Angeles,” it will have a list of coffee shops in La with details like “dine-in,” “take-away,” and sometimes directions too. 

     The next type of search results is the “organic search results.” Now, this is the type of search results most people aim for. Because these organic search results are authentic and help the visitors to get what they are searching for. Statistics show us that 33% of the people go for the “snack pack” results, while 40% of the online users go for organic search results. 

Guide for “Local SEO”

     Now that we know “what is Local SEO,” let’s learn how to push your business using Local SEO. With the following steps and procedures, you can rank your business on top in search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Yelp. 

1. Keyword research:

     Keyword research is a cycle of finding and deciding the most important keywords for a given site’s destinations. All in all, it’s finding not just the keywords you need to rank for yet, also the ones you should rank for (what individuals who need what you have to bring to the table look for). Appropriately done, keyword research likewise yields the subjects for which you should make content on your site.

Using ahrefs tools:

• Keyword difficulty tells us about the problem of ranking that specific keyword. If you are a new site and the keyword you are researching has 40 and above keyword difficulty, it will be hard for you to rank for that keyword. That’s why for new site developers, long-tail keywords can be helpful as they have low keyword difficulty making them easier to organize. 
• While searching for the keyword, you should give the country name because keywords and their difficulty differ from country to country. After searching for the keyword, you will have the volume data. The volume data refers to the number of search volumes in the given area at a specific time frame. These data tell you the number of searches the keyword has. The global work speaks about the total number of inquiries from every country.

1. Enrolling in Google My Business and Bing Places:

Google My Business:

   This is a free tool given by Google to local businesses who want their presence in Google searches. It’s a free tool to use for anyone who runs a local business and needs their business to pop on top. According to statistics by Moz, “Google My Business” is a crucial tool to rank higher in snack pack results. Follow the procedures below to get into Google My Business. 

Step 1:

     The first step of “Google My Business” is giving your business the name. Now, there are two ways you can give your business a name. You can either provide a new name for your business or give an existing business name in Google. 

Step 2:

     The next thing Google asks is the business’s location. Now, if Google already identifies your business, you will fill the address portion. But if you have a new business, you have to fill this address space. But there might be many confusions according to your business. You might have a virtual company, multiple business places, or business partners who work from home. So put a stable address that is easily accessible to you and your targeted audience. 

Step 3:

     The next thing you should do is locate your address in Google maps. This helps your target audience to find your business soon. It also allows Google to give directions to your customers. Many people trust Google maps when it comes to locating the store. You can also add your mobile number and website if you have one. This will provide additional information about your business to the masses.  

Step 4:

     Now, this step is a crucial one for Google My business. You have to select the category your business is related to. For example, you may have a coffee shop, a restaurant, or even an Inn and resort. Select the category according to your business. If you have no idea about your business, glance at the competitors, and look at what they have provided. 

Step 5:

     After giving out the necessary details about your business, like location and address, now you have to verify your business. This verification process is done either by a phone call or postcard. Just be prepared. 

Step 6:

     Once the verification is complete, you can optimize your business even further. You can add your business images, add categories, add your working hours, and other services that you might offer. This is a great way to increase the audience for your business. 

Bing places:

     Bing places are also a lot like Google My business. The steps are more or less the same procedures you did for your Google Business. Even though Bing controls only 33 % of total searches, it’s better to enroll your business module in Bing. Just name your business, add address and contacts, add your business location, verify your business, and optimize them, then you’re done. It’s just as simple as that. 

Uses of Local SEO for your business:

1. Places like Best Buy, Walmart have tons of customers and years of reputation. If you are having a small-time supermarket but want to reach the right customers, local SEO is one way. Local SEO improves your business visibility to your targeted audience. 
2. Loyalty is something that doesn’t happen overnight. So to gain loyal customers, you have to be transparent about your business to your audience. And local SEO will help you gain an audience. 
3. Investing in local SEO is a great way to boost your local business. In this way, your business reaches the right audience; thus, your business revenue can boom higher. Google uses a few local ranking factors to rank your company among its competitors. To optimize your local SEO to rank higher. 
4. Local SEO also helps to gain more leads for your business. If you have a website for your business, local SEO can also increase traffic for your website. As we said earlier, local SEO also helps to gain trust in your industry. 
5. In this digital era, every business has two faces. One is the physical front of your business, and another is the digital front. Both sides need to be maintained to have a profitable business. 
6. As per the name, local SEO mainly targets the locals around your business. For example, you run a coffee shop in Los Angeles; the local SEO targets the people around Los Angeles who want to know about a better coffee shop around them.