A Complete Guide to Local SEO
At its core, Local SEO is about connecting your business with the right people in the right place. It can be tricky to learn how to do this alone, which is why we are creating a complete guide that will teach you everything you need to know. We'll share some of our extensive knowledge with you - but for now, let's outline what makes up Local SEO.
Local SEO is made up of three factors: content marketing, on-page factors, and off-page factors.
Off-Page Factors
The first step to Local SEO is having a presence in the real world. This means you have to have a physical store, have a local phone number, and have some kind of physical address listed on your website. If your business won't be taking advantage of a brick and mortar store, you can still get a lot out of Local SEO, though it's gonna be more complicated to get it right. We'll get into that later.
Content Marketing
The next step to Local SEO is content marketing. When you have a local presence, people will want to know more about your business. You can tell them a lot about how well-known you are, what kind of clients you have, and even how much you're known for helping people.
There are tons of content marketing tactics that make up Local SEO. We'll go through some of them below - but keep in mind, this is by no means a complete guide.
Content Marketing Tactics:
Posting Updates to Your Social Media Accounts:
The thing you have to remember is that if you're trying to reach out to people in your target market, your content needs to be local. People reading your post won't be just from across the country - they'll be from close by. They need to know that you're there for them, and that's why posting updates onto social media sites is a great way for you to start building a local following.
Of course, it's not just about you updating your social media accounts. People need to know that you're doing a good job of making a connection with them. If it seems like you don't care about what your followers want, you'll lose them. This is why scheduling updates in advance is a good idea - it lets you make sure that the content you're sharing is relevant to your followers right now.
Infographics:
Another way to help prospective clients know what you have going on is with infographics. Your infographic will need to be local, as well. If it doesn't, then people won't take the time to read it. Also, be sure to include a link within the infographic to either your website or social media account - this will help you get added traffic to your site and let people know that you're serious about Local SEO.
Top Tips and Guides:
There are tons of topics that people want to learn about, but don't always know where to go for information. If you have skill with a certain topic, why not share some of that information with others? This will ensure that your business is seen as an expert in the field.
Podcasts
Podcasts are another great way to provide valuable content. Your podcast can go over any number of topics - from tips on managing your social media accounts to how you got started with Local SEO. Your podcast will have to be local, though, so it needs to be based in your area of expertise.
Videos:
If you have an interesting story to tell or a lot of knowledge on a topic, why not share it? You can create video content about how you got started with Local SEO, how to set up your blog, or anything else that helps spread the word about your business. This is another great way to help people find your content that they might not normally see.
Creating a Wishlist:
Creating a wishlist is another great way to build a local audience. Your wishlist will have to be completely local, though. It doesn't matter if you're in New York or Seattle - if your wishlist doesn't include what you have in your area, then it's not going to work. Rather than creating a list of products that you're going to buy at a later date, create a list of people who you would like to meet with in the future. Also, make sure to include the location of the person on the list.
On-Page Factors
Some of these factors are more important than others - but all of them are important. If you don't get any of these things right, your Local SEO will suffer badly. That's why you have to be sure that you're getting all of these components taken care of.
Business Name: Make sure that when someone searches for your business, they find it. If you go by a different name that's not what's on your site, then people won't be able to find you when they search for the right keywords.
Category Placement: If you're in a certain category on a website, make sure that your listing is in one of the top spots. People often rely on these sites to help them decide where they should go. Of course, listing yourself high also means that you need to optimize your description so you can get some traffic from it.
Call to Action: If your website is designed well, then you should be able to tell people what to do next. You can give them a phone number, a link to your social media account, and even a way for them to get in touch with you via email. Your business depends on it.
Google My Business: If you're serious about SEO, then you need to take advantage of Google My Business. This provides great information about your business, like the hours you're open, what kind of service or products that you provide, and other significant information. It's all listed right on the main page of Google when someone searches for your business.
Website Optimization:
You can't succeed in Local SEO without taking great care with your website. It's easy to get sidetracked by Facebook ads or any other form of advertising - but doing so will get you nowhere fast. Your website needs to be designed well, and it needs to have the right information on it. If you're not sure what that is, then take a look at our guide to setting up your main website.
Getting Adding Local Stores:
This is the easiest way for you to gain Local SEO. You can follow people around who are searching for things in your area - for example, if someone searches for baby clothes in your city, then you want to check out what they have to offer. If you want to get past the initial stage of Local SEO, then you need to start adding local stores.
Start by researching what people in your area are looking for. You can use various resources, like Pinterest or Google Trends, to find out what they're interested in before you go searching for things. Then, find out what they sell and add their store information onto your website.
When you add in local stores, you have to make sure that the store is relevant to your website. For example, if you sell baby clothes then you need to add in only stores that sell baby clothes. That's why it's a good idea to check out their social media accounts or even research your competition - this will help you know what you're up against.
Link Building for Local SEO:
The best way to get people interested in your business is by having other businesses talking about it. This is why it's crucial to start putting in some quality links. This takes practice, of course - but if you get it right, then you'll be able to see serious results.
You'll need to get started with Local SEO by building good content. That means that you're going to have to invest time and money into content marketing and creating valuable information for people to read. Go over all of the different steps that we talked about above and then start linking up for more traffic and exposure.
Once you have that set up, then you'll need to start putting in some quality links. You already know that the best link building is related to content - but it's also important to have a few other things in place. If you're looking for local SEO tips, then take a look at our guide - this will help you find out what you need for success.
Local SEO Tips:
There are quite a few things that people overlook when it comes to Local SEO. If you're not taking care of some of these, then you'll lose out on a lot of opportunities to build your business.
Competition: You need to know what's happening in your local area. If there are other businesses that are doing well on the same type of listings, then you might have some troubles.
Search terms: If you want people to find your information, then make sure that the right words are used. Search engines like Google pay attention to this - they don't want to reward bad behavior. That's why it's important that you get things right.
Keywords: Keywords are the most important part of Local SEO. If you get things wrong, then your website won't even show up on Google for any of the right searches. Make sure that these are done properly to start with for best results.
Integrate yourself into local communities: Make sure that you get out of the house and start networking with other people in your area - especially the ones who have businesses in your area. This will give you a chance to let them know that you're there and that you're going to be a great help to them.
Make sure that you have these things set up before you start local SEO - otherwise, you'll be left empty handed. Don't give up because of these tips - instead, look at them as an opportunity for growth. Use our Local SEO guide for more information on how to get the most from your campaigns.
