What is local SEO?
Local SEO is a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that helps businesses be more visible in the local area’s search results on Google.
Any business or brand that has a physical store location or serves a geographic area can benefit from a local SEO strategy. If you search on Google or any other search engine for any important keywords related to your business and a map with listings appears underneath it (also known as a “map pack”), local SEO can help you grow your business locally. But to understand local SEO, you first need to know how Google works.
Benefits of Local SEO
Enhanced Online Presence
Local SEO efforts result in a stronger online presence for your business across various platforms, including search engines, maps, and directories. This increased visibility translates into more opportunities for customers to discover and engage with your brand, both online and offline.
Improved Rankings in Local Search Results
Optimizing your website for local keywords and phrases can propel your business to the top of local search results. When users search for terms related to your industry or location, your business will appear prominently, driving organic traffic to your site and physical location.
Higher Conversion Rates
Studies have shown that local searches are highly intent-driven, with a significant percentage of users making a purchase or visiting a store within a day of their search. By focusing on local SEO, you not only attract more traffic but also increase the likelihood of conversions, ultimately boosting your bottom line.
How are search engines evolving?
Twenty years ago, there were relatively few websites on the internet, so navigating the internet was very easy. Once the internet started to expand, search engines(google, yahoo, Bing, etc.) were created to allow users to find the sites or information they were looking for more easily.
If you typed any keywords into any search engine, that phrase was matched to any website’s content that included that keyword in your search phrase. When Google became the first search engine to use links between websites as a sign of which websites were trustworthy and had authority, relevance, and SEO, it swiftly overtook all other search engines using this similar strategy.
Today, Google looks at many factors on and off your website to determine if it’s relevant to display as a search result. Factors form your “digital footprint,”
Each aspect has a different weight or value, which the search engine combines to return specific results for your search query. Your digital footprint determines whether or not you’re a top result for an inquiry that a user types into Google.
How do Google search engines work?
When you enter any keywords into Google search, a list of websites that match your search, Google analyzes the pattern of several website signals or ranking variables, such as how relevant your site is, checks website performance mobile friendly, and SEO factors.
Most people are unaware that when they type any keywords into Google’s search bar, it doesn’t immediately perform a live search of the entire internet. No, It’s searching for a cached duplicate of every site that Google has found. The Google Index is the name of this replica.
Google uses “SPIDERS,” tiny programs that crawl any website to create the index. Every spider operates similarly: it begins on a single page, follows the links on that page, scans the information on subsequent pages, and so on.
As web content is crawled, Google’s servers store it, creating an index. The massive amounts of the spiders’ effort are mind-boggling; they rapidly and continually crawl trillions of pages. This keeps the index as current as possible, and new websites and links are quickly found.
How Google ranks search results
Google ranks hundreds of thousands of websites instantly using various techniques and algorithm techniques. These operations are referred to as algorithms. When a user searches for something on Google, an algorithm scans the index and displays a list of pages relevant to their search in organic results. Based on the relevance, importance, and popularity provided by inbound links, those results are selected and ranked by search engines.
The algorithm examines a number of both on- and off-site variables to decide whether websites provide content appropriate to your search. The list is expanded to include all relevant websites and is ordered by importance. The algorithm chooses which websites best respond to your search query, referring to the many on-site and off-site parameters, and those websites are presented at the top of the search results pages.
The SEO score affects your website’s relevance, prominence, and link popularity through optimization. If the appropriate digital footprint components are optimized, your site will appear higher in more search results.
Local SEO is a different pattern.
After analyzing the behavior of users during trillions of searches, Google figured out that people seeking specific types of businesses need results from their local area. Google’s local search algorithm includes a proximity factor and local SEO techniques, which is a fancy way of saying that Google considers your location when you search for a local keyword (a query with local intent). This happens even when the searcher doesn’t include a city name or “near me” in their search keywords.
For instance, when you search for “pizza delivery” while at work, a list of restaurants close to your workplace is displayed in the local SERPs (search engine result pages).But if you conduct the exact search at home, the outcomes will be completely different. Given that you require a local pizza delivery, this makes sense.
Local search has been available for some time, but its use has been restricted because most people exclusively use desktop computers. Due to the recent explosion in mobile internet connectivity, local SEO has become crucial for the success of any company or business supplying local products or services, as well as local marketers.
What matters for local SEO?
What does this mean for search marketers?
While the local map pack appears within the standard Google organic search listings, the main search results for local rankings and the local map pack results are powered by separate algorithms. As a local business, you can appear in both the main organic search results and the local map pack search.
Moz, a marketing analytics software company, publishes its annual Local Search Ranking Factors survey, which includes the top 35 to 40 local SEO experts worldwide. Its findings offer the most insight into the factors influencing local search visibility.
Localized content and local link popularity are factors, just as they are in Google’s traditional search algorithm, so it’s important to create local landing pages for each of your locations—especially if you have multiple locations—where you should include not only your business name but also details like address and phone, as well as optimize their titles, tags, and meta descriptions to follow SEO best practices. This should be factored into your content marketing and link-building strategy as well.
If you’re new to online marketing for your business, one of the most difficult challenges is determining where to focus your efforts. Furthermore, location-based factors such as having a business listing in Google My Business, a local directory, local citations from data aggregators, and review signals—which your local customers should publish—are taken into account in your local SEO rankings. As a result, you should include them in your local SEO efforts.
It’s also worth noting that there are local SEO tools that can assist you in developing local SEO audits, such as developing keyword research focused on your local audience, building citations, managing Google My Business listings, business profiles, and Google posts; and even monitoring your inclusion in local packs. Website content is important, as it is in Google’s traditional search algorithm, but location-based factors such as Google My Business, citations, and review signals are also considered.
What schema will help a business to rank locally?
To help a business rank locally in search engine results, it’s important to implement a structured data schema markup that provides search engines with specific information about the business, such as its name, address, phone number, and other relevant details. Here are some schema markup options that can be particularly helpful for local SEO:
- Local Business Schema: This markup can be used to provide search engines with detailed information about the business, including its name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and other important details. It can also help to improve the appearance of the business’s listing in search results by providing additional information such as customer ratings and reviews.
- Organization Schema: This markup can help search engines understand the relationship between the business and other organizations it may be associated with, such as parent companies or subsidiaries.
- Review Schema: This markup can be used to display customer reviews and ratings for the business directly in search engine results, making it more likely that potential customers will choose the business over its competitors.
- Event Schema: If the business is hosting events, using Event Schema markup can help to increase visibility and improve its chances of ranking in local search results.
- Product Schema: For businesses that sell products, using Product Schema markup can help search engines display detailed information about the products, including prices, images, and customer reviews.
Overall, using schema markup can help improve the business’s visibility in local search results, which can help to increase traffic and ultimately drive more sales.
Future Trends in Local SEO
Predictions for the Evolution of Local Search Optimization
As technology continues to advance and consumer behaviors evolve, the landscape of local SEO is expected to undergo significant changes in the coming years. From the growing importance of voice search and mobile optimization to the rise of augmented reality (AR) and hyper-local targeting, businesses must stay agile and adaptable to capitalize on emerging opportunities in local search.
Conclusion:
With a better understanding of SEO fundamentals and how Google ranks local search results, you can now focus on movements that will optimize your site’s digital footprint in the local search ecosystem. This way, your company will appear higher on the results page, allowing more potential customers to find your business.
Numerous factors influence your visibility in these searches but keep in mind that local search is still evolving. Moz’s annual survey can help you form your strategy playbook by keeping track of which signals are becoming more and less critical. You’ll be able to serve more people in your geographic region—and grow faster—once you start improving each important signal area.
Contact us now for a manual SEO website Audit for free, and you can also ask SEO-related questions. We are helping to help your business.