When your business has a physical location, local SEO plays a critical role in generating customers and therefore, sales. This is equally important whether you’re running a hairdressers, a restaurant, hotel or even a local garage. 

As a local business owner, it can feel like an uphill battle competing with the likes of Walmart of Amazon for the top spots. While that may be true for organic search listings, when it comes to shopping local, it’s a whole new kettle of fish.

What is local SEO? And why is it important?

We all know that the purpose of ‘regular’ SEO is to improve your visibility on search engines, but sadly, many forget local SEO when their business has a physical location. Local SEO serves as a platform to promote your business in location-based searches, with many users searching and calling right from their smartphone. 

When a user is searching for a nearby store or service, it is crucial to include your town or city name and postcode (or zip code) in order to become searchable. But I’m not talking about keyword stuffing, nor am I suggesting you only mention your location on your contact page.

Get the most out of local SEO

In order to take advantage of local SEO, you need to think like a user. Pop onto Google and make a search of your own in your local town or city. Let’s say you’re looking for a garage to take your car, what is going to be the most important to you?

• Their location?

• The fact they have a website?

• Or their reviews?

For certain services, we can always be a little apprehensive about trying them for the first time. And nobody wants to get ripped off when it comes to fixing a car, do they? Naturally, we often rely on the opinions of others to influence what we do, which is why reviews work so wonderfully - They build trust.

How do you improve your visibility on Google?

Utilise Google My Business. Claiming and setting up a profile for your business is easy, then all you need to do is ensure all the information is accurate and up to date. Keep your opening hours updated, check your address and contact information and optimise it for SEO. GMB is Google’s directory of local businesses, so you need to stand out.

Gain reviews

A vital piece of the SEO puzzle. As I’ve already mentioned, when you think like a searcher, you’ll come to realise how important reviews are for customers. Both gaining reviews and responding to them is super important for your online presence. Whether positive or negative, customers can tell a lot about a business in the way that it responds to feedback.

Don’t be afraid of asking your customers for reviews. You can either do this in person and offer an incentive, or if you have their details already, simply follow up with an email. If you don’t have their email information, reviews are a great way of building your mailing list.

Be active on social media

For many businesses, social media can feel like a chore. But it doesn’t have to be when you have a strong social media strategy (psst, we can always help you there). But in all seriousness, social media is a great way to engage with customers and build your brand loyalty. Google will take this engagement into consideration when it ranks local businesses too.

• Check out ‘Why should your business be on social media?’
  

Why use Google My Business?

Google My Business (GMB) is a fantastic tool for getting your business shown online. 

But where do you really want to be? The 3-Pack. No, I’m not talking about a really lame gang, I’m talking about these:

But why are these three spots so important?

Being in the 3-Pack is like ranking 1st in organic listings. When you make it into this 3, you’re instantly getting seen. But how do you optimise for the Google 3-Pack?

• First, you need to ensure your GMB page is completely filled out and up to date.

• Receive multiple positive reviews, which will boost your visibility

• List your business on other directory listings, ensuring that all the same information is 100% accurate and consistent.

• Boost your backlinks. Both from ‘standard’ backlinks and locally relevant sources.

• Build a strong presence on social media and other platforms to establish yourself.
  

Is your business ranking locally?

If you’re looking to give your local SEO a boost, get in touch and let’s get started.