What is Local SEO?
In order to answer this question, it first
needs to be broken down.
SEO stands for “search engine
optimization.” For business owners and webmasters, this means optimizing their
website and webpages for the search engines. This ultimately means making those
pages the best possible so that search engines can find them and drive traffic
to the site.
When it comes to local SEO, the strategies
and tactics used are very similar, with the exception that they are focused on
optimizing local search. This means
utilizing search engines like Google My Business and other directories,
including local keywords, and ensuring that all content has a local focus.
By doing so, when customers hop online
looking for a business in their area – something more and more customers are
doing – they stumble upon the websites of a businesses that have what they need.
But they’ll only find those businesses that have taken the time to optimize their
online content for local SEO.
At its core, local SEO is simply a form of
advertising, and once businesses start seeing it that way, they quickly see how
important it is.
Local SEO is an extremely targeted form of
advertising because the business owner isn’t actually advertising directly to
the customer. It’s this way that local SEO is so unlike television commercials,
print ads, and brochures. While these methods may fall upon the ears of
hundreds or even thousands, and only get the business one or two new customers,
local SEO isn’t blanket advertising. Business owners don’t just have to put it
out there and hope for the best.
By its very nature, local SEO automatically
targets a specific audience. And, it’s even cheaper than all of those
traditional forms of advertising put together.
In order to understand SEO of any kind,
including local SEO, you must first understand the basics of how Google works.
Of course there are other search engines involved in search as well, but Google
isn’t just the biggest search engine, it’s also considered the gold standard
when it comes to SEO.
Constant new information is being created
online every single second. A new video is being uploaded, a new blog post, or
a new webpage, to name just a few types of online activity. In order to find
this information in the seconds it takes Google to pull up a search results
page, the search engine needed to come up with a way to quickly organize the
pages and find the most relevant to display.
When Google created a way to do it, it was
a fairly complicated nameless algorithm; people often referred to it as
“Google’s spiders”. In 2013 however, Google overhauled and simplified that algorithm.
They also gave it a name that it still uses today – Hummingbird.
The Hummingbird algorithm is made up of
many different parts, very much the same way a computer is made up of different
parts that all help it run and perform. Google regularly releases new parts
that have been added to the algorithm including Panda, Penguin, Mobile
Friendly, and Pigeon – the part of the algorithm designed to improve local
results.
There are certain signals the algorithm,
and all the many parts of it, look for when searching for websites to display
in their search results after a user has made a query. Two of the most
important signals are words and links.
PageRank – most often just called page rank
- is another part of the Hummingbird algorithm , and a very important one when
it comes to local SEO as it deals with links specifically. Page rank determines
how many other webpages point to one website, or one webpage. Every link is
counted as a vote for the webpage it links to, and each vote will increase a
website’s page rank, getting them to rank higher in the search engine.
Words are also easily one of the most
important signals the algorithm will look for. In SEO terms, these are known as
‘keywords’, and they are crucial. The keywords are the words someone will enter
into Google when looking for a particular product or service. So, if someone
was looking for a mortgage broker, they might enter the term “mortgage broker”
into the search field. At their most basic, this is how words signal to the
algorithm what the webpage is about.
Once a business owner understands how Google works, they can then learn to
work with it, and post content that
will direct Google – and therefore, users – to their website and to their
business.
This is local SEO, and there are a number
of best practices to follow in order to make the best use of it.
Once you understand how searches work in
relation to local SEO, it’s then time to start putting that knowledge to use.
As mentioned, there are a number of practices that can further a business’
local SEO efforts.
Business owners can choose to do as many or
as little of these as they choose, but to really make the most of an online
presence and brand, it’s best that they’re all done. The problem is that business
owners are often busy running their business and so don’t have the time to do
all of it on their own. This is where a local SEO consultant can help, and
there are always a number of them available. These specialists you’ll find very
easy with a quick Google search, as they truly know how to make the best of it!
Even business owners that work with a
consultant however, still need to have a basic understanding of how local SEO
works and the strategies used. This can help ensure that all work that’s done
within local SEO will still represent the voice of the business and the brand.
Google My Business, formerly known as
Google Places, has become the starting point for all successful local SEO
campaigns.
Google My Business is the foundation of
local listings and without it, a business’ name will not show up in the local
listings. These listings are already becoming more competitive. While Google
used to include a “7 pack” of local businesses, they have dwindled that down to
just three, so only the top three businesses are shown in full. The only way
for a business to give themselves the best chance to appear there is by
creating a Google My Business listing.
Setting up a Google My Business listing
isn’t very difficult and will take just a couple of minutes. Business owners
should visit www.google.com/business to
get started, click on the ‘Start Now’ button and follow the subsequent instructions.
Google gives business owners the option of
filling out as much or as little information as they’d like, but it’s most
recommended that as much information as possible is provided. Other tips to
follow when creating a Google My Business listing is:
o
Choose a profile picture that
is intriguing to users and is relevant to the business.
o
While the picture is important,
the title of the image file is also important. It should include a keyword,
which could be the business’ location, name, or phone number.
o
Multiple images not only give
users better insight into the business, they can also give Google more
keywords. Several pictures should be uploaded, with each having its own
relevant keywords.
o
Categories are one of the
fields Google will search first when users are searching for a particular type
of business. Because of this, business owners must carefully choose a category
for their Google My Business listing.
o
Multiple categories can be
chosen, but Google recommends keeping it to one or two, if possible.
o
Once a Google My Business
listing is published, the exact name, address and phone number of the business
needs to be written down exactly as it’s shown on the listing. Other listings
are likely to be created in the future, and it’s crucial that all listings
remain consistent.
Google My Business might be the gold
standard of local SEO, but there are other online directories that business
owners should also utilize. They operate in a very similar way that Google My
Business does, and each only takes a few minutes to create. Having as many
listings as possible across multiple directories will give business owners a
bigger online presence and can help further promote the brand.
The top online directories every business
should appear on are:
o Yahoo! Aabaco
Small Business
o Bing Places for
Business
o Yelp for Business
Owners
o MerchantCircle
o Superpages.com
o CitySearch
o Mapquest/Yext
o Local.com
o Foursquare
o LinkedIn
o Angie’s List
o Manta
o Kudzu
Once a business appears across all online
directories, they will have already increased their page ranking for certain
keywords. Keywords play a huge part of local SEO. These are the words users
enter into search engines when they’re looking for a particular service,
product, or information. Google uses those words and searches across pages
online to deliver the most relevant results to the user.
The goal for businesses looking to succeed
in their local SEO efforts need to do a bit of research on these keywords.
While some keywords, such as ‘plumber’ for a plumbing business are going to be
obvious, others won’t be. And business owners that don’t perform keyword
research will miss out on some that could be very valuable to them.
Google is the authoritative voice when it
comes to SEO of any kind, so it makes sense that they would also offer the gold
standard in terms of keyword research tools.
Google Keyword Planner is free to use, and
it’s also one of the best keyword research tools available. Google Keyword
Planner tells website owners how many people are searching for keywords that
are relevant to their business. The tool will also break this amount down into
a monthly account. This can be especially helpful for owners of seasonal
businesses that may offer different products or services during different times
of the year.
The Planner can be accessed through any
Google AdWords account. Any business that has a website or blog likely has a
Google AdWords account. If not, one should be created by going to http://adwords.google.com. Once an account
is created, the Google Keyword Planner tool can be accessed by logging into http://adwords.google.com/KeywordPlanner.
Once logged into the Keyword Planner,
keywords can be found by entering the website’s landing page, business
category, and product or service the business offers under ‘Find new keywords’.
This is where business owners can enter the obvious keywords for their business
such as ‘plumber’ or ‘florist’ or other relevant terms.
This is what SEO consultants do with
general SEO, but with local SEO it needs to be taken a step further. Google
defaults the country targeting field to ‘Anywhere.’ But when local SEO is a
focus, it should be changed to a specific geographical location, such as
‘plumbers New York City’. After entering these terms and clicking ‘Get Ideas,’ a
list of keywords will be generated.
The Google Keyword Planner is just one tool
that’s available to help business owners generate keywords. There are many more
out there, and while some do have a small fee attached, it can be worthwhile
when quality keywords are delivered.
Some of the best keyword research tools
available are:
o Semrush
o Long Tail Pro
o SE Cockpit
o WordTracker
With a list of generated keywords in hand,
any business owner will be well on their way to improving their SEO efforts.
However, the keywords provided by the research tools aren’t enough if they
don’t include local keywords and long-tail keywords.
Many people think that using local keywords
is simply attaching the name of the city or state at the end of a keyword.
That’s partly true, but just like the keyword ‘plumber’ can generate dozens of
keywords, so can locations.
For instance, local keywords for the term
‘plumber’ could include ‘New York plumber’, ‘Plumber in New York’, ‘Plumber
near New York’, and more.
When using local keywords, business owners
make it much easier for local people to actually find their business, and use
it. These keywords aren’t typically used so much for the search engines, as
they are the people that are using them.
The opposite is true for long-tail
keywords. Long-tail keywords are keywords that make up a phrase of about 5 or
more words. Google and the other search engines love long-tail keywords because
they best reflect the user’s intent; they tell the search engine exactly what
the user is looking for. Like local keywords, long tail keywords have a lower
search volume, but they do have a much higher conversion rate than head, or
standard, keywords.
In addition to local and long-tail
keywords, keyword modifiers can also be used. These come in the form of
adjectives or secondary products and services.
When using adjectives as keyword modifiers,
they can be anything from ‘best’ to ‘cheap’ or ‘affordable’. These are terms
that users often use when searching for a business because they’ll likely be
spending money there, and they want to make sure they’re using the best
business to get the most value for their money.
Secondary services the business offers are
also considered to be keyword modifiers. In the case of the plumber, this might
include keywords such as ‘plumbing repair’ or ‘commercial plumbers.’
Using keyword modifiers won’t only broaden the
list of keywords available, combining them with local keywords will also give
business owners great long-tail keywords.
Once a list of keywords has been generated,
they then need to be analyzed. This isn’t something that all businesses do, but
they should, as it will show which keywords are still quite relevant, and which
are starting to fall in popularity.
Google once again, is on top of this. Using
Google Trends, found at https://www.google.com/trends/,
keywords can be entered and business owners can see which keywords are searched
for most often. Even more, Google Trends will also break down this volume into
specific areas, making it a huge asset to those focused on local SEO.
Of course, while Google might be the first
go-to for many webmasters, there are others out there to try, and just like
Google, they’re largely free. They include:
o SEO
Book
o Web
SEO Analytics
o Internet
Marketing Ninjas
Once all the research has been done, the
next steps to improve local SEO actually happen on the page, and it all starts
with the title tag.
A title tag is the title that’s shown in
the search engines as the title of the webpage. It also appears at the top of
the browser of any webpage. And when it comes to content, the search engine
algorithms place a lot of importance on them, as they really give the robots
and algorithms an idea of the context of the webpage’s content.
But what makes a great title tag?
o
They are less than 55
characters.
o
The business’ name is clearly
visible.
o
They include one primary
keyword that has high volume and is highly relevant to the business.
o
Use keywords close to the
beginning of the title tag, if possible.
o
Title tags should be unique,
with each webpage having its own title tag.
o
When focusing on local SEO, the
geographic location should also appear in title tags.
After the title tag, the next aspect of any
webpage the robots will search through is the meta description. The meta
description are the one or two lines that appear underneath a page’s title in
the search engine result pages. Like title tags, meta descriptions appeal not
only to the search engine robots, but also to readers who are looking for
interesting information.
Also like title tags, there are tips
business owners can follow to make sure they’re creating great meta
descriptions.
o
They should contain important
keywords relevant to the business, and that have a high search volume.
o
Each meta description should be
unique, just as title tags should.
o
Each page within a website
should be optimized for different keywords.
o
Users will also see the meta
description, so it’s important that it’s engaging and entices them to click
onto that webpage.
o
Like title tags, for local SEO
purposes, the geographic location should also be included in meta descriptions.
Optimizing images is important for a couple
of reasons. The first is that image files are by their very nature, much larger
than text files and therefore, take much longer to load. However, Google and
the other search engines now consider the loading speed of a website when
ranking pages, and they’ll place slower-loading pages further down in the
search results page.
But while the search engines may realize
that a webpage has a file on it that will take longer to load, they cannot read
or understand image files. So when there is an image on a page, the search
engines only know that it’s an image file; they don’t understand what the image
is actually of. This is another reason why image files need to be optimized.
Luckily, there are a few ways to optimize
images so that the search engines can better load, and better understand them.
o
Resize images to the smallest
file size possible, without affecting the quality of the image.
o
Inserting ‘Alt Text’ code to
each image when it’s uploaded to the website will tell the search engine what
the picture is of. This way they’ll be able to identify and understand the
image, and rank the page appropriately. Adding ‘Alt Text’ code to images is
different for every blogging and website creation program and platform, but
it’s generally very easy across the board.
o
Name all images that are
uploaded to the website, and be sure that their names include relevant
keywords. This will help the search engines understand what the image is about.
o
Give all image file names on
one website have a unique name.
o
While it may seem odd to attach
a geographic location to an image file, it’s important to do so, as it will
tell the search engines even more about the file.
Anchor text isn’t something that webmasters
and business owners have complete control of, but they can optimize it to work
in their favor.
Anchor text is the text that is used when
one website links to another website, otherwise known as backlinks. Business owners
want anchor text linking to their website that is relevant to their business,
so keywords such as “plumbers in New York” or “plumbers near New York.”
While anchor text isn’t completely within
the control of the business owner, anchor text is also included within an
actual website, when one page links to another. This is an area where business
owners can truly optimize their own anchor text, as it helps the search engines
understand the keywords business owners use to describe their own page.
While you might not be able to fully
control the quality or quantity of backlinks, business owners can analyze and
track their backlinks through a number of resources. The most commonly used
are:
o Ahrefs
o Linkody
o Cognitive SEO
o Kerboo
o Link
Research Tools
Mobile, mobile, mobile – it can’t be said
enough. If business owners want to improve their local SEO, they must ensure
that their website is mobile-friendly; there’s just no way around it.
In one of their latest updates, Google
announced that that they had focused on mobility, and that sites that weren’t
100% compliant with the new mobile requirements would be penalized. And that
those penalizations would come in the form of those websites being placed lower
down on the search engine results page.
There is really only one way for business
owners to make sure that they are 100% compliant, and that’s to speak to their
web host, webmaster, or website design team. Making a website fully compliant
with every mobile device and smartphone on the market is a job that can only be
done behind the scenes.
Using headings and sub-headings on a
website is another great way to grab the attention of the search engines. These
again, give the search engines an indication of the context of the webpage, but
it helps if the headings and sub-headings are tagged.
Headings are the most important, and
there’s typically only one on each page. These should be given an “H1” tag,
which will tell the search engines that text is for the main heading on the
page. Sub-headings can be given tags as well, and these are typically “H2”,
“H3”, and so on as needed for each subsequent sub-heading.
Of course, wherever there is text within a
webpage, there are also keywords and this includes headings of all kinds. The
most important, or most relevant, keyword should be included within the “H1”
tag. And when it comes to local SEO, the most important keywords should include
the geographic location of the business.
The URL is the address that can be seen in
the browser and it indicates the webpage that a user is visiting. URLs are
often overlooked by business owners when performing SEO, but they can be very
important.
For instance, the following URL: www.aaaplumbers.com will tell visitors and
search engines that the webpage most likely falls under the plumbing category.
However, this URL: www.aaaplumbers.com/plumbing-services/newyork
tells users and search engines so much more about the page, and the company.
Like meta descriptions, optimizing URL
structure is something that is done within website creation platforms and
programs, so each will be slightly different. However in most cases, it’s not
difficult and will take just minutes to do.
Schema.org has revolutionized the way
search engines display websites in their results pages. Schema is a markup code
that can be placed on any website to allow search engines to give more
information to the user. This information can include things like online
reviews, prices, sitelinks, number of hours, and even entire menus right within
the search results.
Not only does Schema help the search engine
robots, which will in turn increase a website’s page ranking, it also helps
users and thereby can increase the click-through rate.
Because Schema gives the users so much more
information, they tend to click on more websites that have included Schema
because they know so much more about it. This can increase a site’s CTR
(click-through rate), which will also increase a website’s page ranking.
To include Schema markup code on a website,
visit schema.org and click on ‘get started!’ The schema markups that local
businesses tend to make the most use of are:
o Local Business
Schema and Geotag
o Review
o Events
o Coupons and
offers
o Videos
o Persons,
individuals and employees
o Products
o City
Citations in the local SEO world are any
mentions of a local business on other websites. In order to be considered an
actual citation however, the name, address and phone number must all be
included. This is known as ‘NAP’. The search engines love citations, even when
there is no backlink to accompany them.
Often business owners make the mistake of
thinking that just like anchor text, they have no control over the number of
citations for their business online. However, this is not true. One of the best
ways to get citations is to create profiles across all of the online
directories mentioned in Best Practices 1 and 2. Because these will all include
the NAP for the business, each will be considered an individual citation.
The best places to get or create citations
are:
o
Third-party websites, such as
online directories
o
Local blogs
o
Industry-focused directories
o
Industry-focused blogs
o
Citations from competitors
Reviews online today are the driving force
behind most of the purchases that are made, both online and in-store. More than
ever people are researching products and businesses before they use them, and
having no reviews online can be just as bad as having negative reviews out
there.
In order to get reviews, all business
owners have to do is ask their customers. Ask them to visit review sites such
as TripAdvisor or Yelp and leave positive reviews. Also make sure that this is a
consistent effort. Having a few reviews online just isn’t enough. Business
owners need to continuously make sure new positive reviews are being added all
the time, both to keep them up to date for users, and to keep the search
engines happy.
Some tips to help businesses increase the
amount of positive online reviews they receive are:
o
Make it easy by including “Find
us on Google/Yelp” banners on the business’ website.
o
Place direct links to review
websites within different areas of the business’ website and/or in email
signatures.
o
Send thank you cards, and ask
for a review by including a link in the card.
o
Offer an incentive, such as a
monthly draw for all reviewers, to entice people to leave reviews.
o
Be sure to always thank
reviewers.
Social media has a huge influence on local
SEO for a number of reasons. One is that it lets a business claim more of their
business’ name and brand online. There may be lots of “AAA Plumbers” or even
“AAA Plumbers NY”, and the first business that claims that name across
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms will have the
advantage in building that brand and image.
Social media is also a great way to get
reviews and citations that are mentioned above. Every time someone mentions a
business on Twitter, their followers can see it and your followers can see it.
And if that mention gets a retweet or two, the number of people seeing that
tweet about that business can quickly escalate into the thousands.
Social media also lets business owners
interact directly with their customers, which is another reason it’s a great
boost to local SEO. Business owners can tweet about their upcoming promotion,
or upload photos of their newest products. This will drive in the business
that’s right around the corner of a local business, and that’s what local SEO
is all about.
The biggest social media platforms
businesses should be on are:
o Facebook
o Twitter
o Instagram
o Tumblr
o LinkedIn
o Google+
Once all of the SEO and local SEO work has
been done on a website, the last thing a business owner should do is leave it
to run on its own and hope for the best. Algorithms for Google and the other
search engines are always changing, certain keywords trend more than others at
different times, and things are always changing. Business owners that don’t
keep up with those changes regularly will be left to eventually, do all the
local SEO work all over again.
And this is an area once again, where
Google has provided an answer, and it’s in the form of Google Analytics.
Google Analytics, which can be found at http://analytics.google.com, is a tool
that can be used to track every activity that happens when users visit your
site – and it’s completely free to use. Once an account is created and Google
has started to track conversion rates and other aspects of the website, it
takes about 24 hours for a website’s stats to appear. After that it will track
continually, and users can look at it any time of the day to see what their
website has been doing for the past hour, day, week, or month.
Every business wants know how their
competitors doing, and especially, how they are doing in relation to the
owner’s business. They may visit the store, inquire among mutual customers, and
generally keep an open ear for news about their competitors. But, a business
can audit the local SEO efforts of their competitors as well to see how they
stack up, where they can improve, and where they have an edge over the
competition.
Performing local SEO audits on competitors
isn’t difficult, although it can take quite a bit of time. In reality, it’s
just checking all the same steps and Best Practices that have been mentioned,
but tracking them for the competitor. This may involve checking out their
Twitter profile, or their Google My Business listing. A quick search of the
competitor’s name in Google will bring up relevant results, as will searching
for reviews and citations.
Auditing the local SEO efforts of
competitors is important because, just like all other areas of business, it can
help one see where in relation their business stands.
Many business owners mistakenly believe
that local SEO efforts are highly technical, and that they require an in-depth
knowledge only held by the most well-trained IT experts.
This simply isn’t true.
Implementing local SEO strategies does take
time, and it certainly is a bit of effort. But it’s also something that every
single business can do, and it doesn’t require a great deal of technical
knowledge.
Still, finding the time to dedicate to
implementing those strategies can be difficult, as business owners are
generally very busy running their busy. For these individuals, a local SEO or
marketing consultant can help take care of all a business’ local SEO
requirements, and helping them realize the successes they’ve always been
dreaming of.
However business owners choose to do it,
there’s no doubt – and study after study has proven it – local searches are
increasing. And when businesses can keep up with those trends, and make it
easier for local people to find them, they can use those searches to their advantage.
They can use them to actually increase their customer base, and increase their
bottom line.
