Got a business with a physical store or serve customers in specific areas and want to know how you can reach them better? Local SEO is the tool you need. Local SEO management improves websites to increase traffic, leads, and brand awareness from search results close to a business. Search engines like Google rank these results around 3 key things – proximity, relevance and prominence.

Proximity

How close is your place of business to the person searching for your products or services? If you are looking for a local SEO management agency, you might search for “local SEO company near me”. If your search is near our business, we are more likely to show up in the results.

On the other hand, if you’re based in Auckland and you search “best local SEO packages”, Google will avoid showing SEO agencies in Christchurch – unless the location, in this case Christchurch, is mentioned in the search.

• Ensure your business has an up-to-date Google Business Profile and NAP citations (name, address, phone number).
• Consider building unique local SEO landing pages for each location you operate in, i.e., if you provide the same products/services in multiple cities.

Relevance

Just like with Google Search Ads, it’s all about how relevant the search term is to your business.

• Think about the keywords or phrases your customers would use to find you. Not just your business name; put yourself in their shoes and keep it simple!
• Improve your Google Business Profile by using relevant keywords. This means updating your profile regularly.
• You can also improve your Google profile by creating new posts (including links to other content) and by using keywords in your website page titles plus online reviews.

Prominence

How much ‘authority’ does your business have over others in your area? This is built up through digital ‘signals’ influencing popularity and trust.

• Build backlinks by getting relevant local websites to include links in their content back to your website.
• Increase your social media mentions and follows.
• Encourage reviews and engagement.
• Aim for positive Google reviews through your Google Business Profile. Strive for 5-star ratings with comments.
• Get your NAP citations listed correctly on as many relevant business directories as possible (e.g. Yellow, Neighbourly, Localist, etc.).

The more websites pointing to your website, the more social engagement, the better the reviews, and the more consistent the citations, the more trust and authority you will build with search engines like Google.

How does local SEO work and how will it add value to your business?

So we’ve explained the three key parts of local SEO management and strategy – the ‘why’, but now let’s understand the ‘how’ – how it works, and what you should focus on by highest priority to lowest.

Local organic ranking signals

Managing your local SEO efforts takes consistent time and energy. Maximise your results using our handy local SEO checklist as a starting guide. The higher the score (out of 100), the more influence that signal has. It affects where you show up in local search results for a relevant query.

The below infographic is based on a local search Whitespark study.

You can download the infographic above via this link here.

If you want further help with local SEO management, contact our team of local SEO specialists here.

Local pack ranking signals

The local pack is a set of three local business results with a map of their locations from Google Maps.

It uses the same signals as local organic rankings. However, the importance of each signal is a bit different, there is a much greater focus on the Google Business Profile. On-page signals, like quality content, and review signals are also important.

The local pack is what’s known as a Search Engine Results Page Feature (SERP Feature) and is a great way to get in front of your customers other than the standard ‘10 blue links’ you usually see on a page of search results.

According to the local search study by Whitespark, the top 10 most important ranking factors to achieve a spot in the local pack are:

If you’d like more help with local SEO management and improving your Google Business Profile, we can put together a custom proposal purely for this. Get in touch with us today.

Complement local SEO management with Google Search Ads

• Google Search Ads can be a powerful complement to your local SEO management strategy simply because they provide businesses with increased visibility and targeted reach.
• Local SEO services help improve your local search results. In contrast, Google Search Ads (or Microsoft Bing Ads) lets you show up at the top of search results by paying for ads.
• By running targeted ad campaigns, you can show your products or services to potential customers. These customers are actively searching for local keywords or phrases that relate to what you offer.
• This strategy works well if your brand wants to quickly increase online visibility. It helps you reach a wider audience and promote time-sensitive offers or events, especially to your local community.
• By using local SEO and Google Search Ads together, you can create a strong online presence. This helps you attract both organic and paid search traffic. This combined method boosts your chances of attracting qualified leads. It also increases website traffic and drives more conversions and revenue.

Where to from here?

Whether you want to optimise your current digital strategy, want local SEO management services or are looking for “outside the box” ideas, we can advise you about the fastest and most cost-effective way to grow your local business.

Get in touch by calling us on 0800 2666 245 or by completing our contact us form and we will be in touch with you soon.

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