Creating an effective local SEO strategy

Local SEO is an important factor to take into account for any business looking to attract customers within a certain area. But what is this, how does it work, and what are the options for creating an effective local SEO strategy?

So what is local SEO?

Local SEO is a branch of SEO that focuses on making sure that your businesses online presence is optimised to rank for relevant searches in your local area, attracting local traffic to your website. This can bring a number of benefits and advantages, when implemented correctly, and generally has 3 main areas for consideration. These include:

• Relevance- How well your business, and the content of your website, matches the search intent of the user.
• Proximity- How close your business is to the user’s location.
• Prominence- How well-known or reputable your business is, both online and within the local area. 

Creating an effective local SEO strategy

So what are the important steps for creating an effective local SEO strategy? Well there are several, including:

• Optimising your GMB listing
• Keyword research
• Localised content
• Website optimisation

Optimise your Google My Business (GMB) listing 

If you want to show up in the top ranks of the Google search results, you will need to claim and verify your GMB listing. With this, your business address, phone number, opening hours and website link will be listed with Google, for potential customers or clients to see everything they need, right from the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). Not only is this convenient and easier for people looking for the services or products you offer, in your area, this also helps to build trust too. This is because, with your GMB, your previous customers and clients can leave public reviews. In addition, a completed GMB listing will also allow your business to be listed on Google maps, which will show your potential customers and clients exactly where your business is located. 

Keyword research

It’s also important to identify relevant keywords that have a local intent. These can help your website rank for local search terms relevant to your business, especially if you use location specific keywords in your website content, meta descriptions, and headings. 

Localised content

You will also need to create content tailored to local audiences. This could involve writing blog posts, creating landing pages, or producing videos addressing local topics, events, or news. This can be very beneficial for establishing industry authority and relevance within the local community.

Optimise your website for local searches

Your website itself will need to be optimised to a high standard for local SEO. Many people making local searches are using a mobile device, while they are out and about, so it’s essential that your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly. 

Local reviews 

Finally, GMB listings allow reviews to be left and seen when your website is searched for. It’s important to encourage satisfied customers and clients to leave positive reviews, and it’s also important to respond to any negative reviews and address customer concerns professionally. This can bring a number of benefits to your business, and your local SEO strategy overall. 

What are the benefits of an effective local SEO strategy?

There are a number of advantages and benefits to developing an effective local SEO strategy. These benefits include:

• Increasing business visibility online- An effective local SEO strategy can be a reliable way to boost your business rankings online, making it easier for people in your area to find you, while also driving more traffic to your website, and helping to build consumer trust. 
• Targeted traffic- By optimising your website and content for local keywords and phrases, you attract highly relevant traffic from people actively seeking products or services in your area. This targeted approach leads to higher conversion rates and can boost your sales or sign ups.
• Competitive advantage- Local SEO strategies allow small to medium sized local businesses to compete more effectively with larger businesses, even with a smaller budget. This is because Google will rank websites that are local to the searcher higher on the SERP, helping your business gain a competitive advantage.  
• Improved user experience- If your website is well optimised in terms of local SEO, you can be sure that this will provide a better experience for your users. This is because local SEO strategies also involve optimising for mobile devices, and ensuring accurate business information across online directories. This makes your website easier to use for potential customers or clients, and also means that all the important, necessary information is easier to access. 
• Building consumer trust- When your business consistently appears in local search results, it builds trust and credibility among local consumers. Being visible in local listings and having positive reviews helps to establish your reputation as a reliable and trustworthy choice.
• Higher conversion rates- Local searches often indicate high intent to purchase. When people search for businesses “near me” or in a specific location, they are more likely to convert into customers. As a result, an effective local SEO strategy can help your business to be visible when it matters, and help to boost conversion rates, sales and sign ups. 

What is the importance of continuing development for local SEO? 

It is essential for any business to keep up to date with continuous development in terms of local SEO. This can include:

• Changing algorithms- Search engines like Google are always updating the ranking algorithms to make sure that searchers get all the information they need, and have the best possible experience. But this means that what works today may not be effective tomorrow. As such, keeping up with algorithm updates and adjusting your local SEO strategy accordingly is essential to maintain visibility and rankings in search results.
• Shift in consumer behaviour- One aspect that should not be overlooked is changes to consumer behaviour and search trends. Over time, search intent and behaviour can change, and it’s important to stay up to date so that you can adapt your local SEO strategy to meet shifting consumer preferences.
• Local relevance- Local SEO is inherently tied to the local community. As such, continuing to develop your local SEO strategy demonstrates your commitment to serving the needs of local customers, strengthening your connection with the community and enhancing your local relevance.

For effective SEO that you can rely on, including local SEO, we are the team for you here at Pumpkin Web Design. Not only do we create stunning websites for businesses across all sectors, we also put the work in to make sure that your website performs well, attracts customers, and boosts sales and sign ups. Why not get in touch today to find out more?