Learn how to grow your Small Businesses with this Ultimate Local SEO strategy to reach potential customers who are looking for your business in their area.
Are you a small business owner who hopes to bring local customers to your physical location and ultimately improve sales? Do you want to leverage online visibility to drive more sales? Just imagine having many local customers visit your website and walk into your store.
In today’s digital age, local SEO is important for small businesses to build their online presence and drive foot traffic to their physical location. This ultimate guide will show you how to optimize your Google Business profile, build high-quality local citations, create compelling content that resonates with your audience, and leverage online reviews to increase your local search rankings. You can get ahead of your competitors and attract more local customers with our compact guide on local SEO tips.
Quick Takeaway
Optimize your business’s online presence with our expert guide and attract more customers in your local area. In this article, I’ll show you the ultimate guide to local SEO for small businesses, which covers:
- What is local SEO?
- Why is local SEO important?
- How does local SEO work?
- Step by step guide to local SEO
- Local SEO tools
- How to track your local SEO results
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a strategy primarily aimed at increasing local business visibility and driving customers to your physical locations. If you serve customers locally, you should focus on local SEO so that customers can find you. By leveraging this SEO strategies, local business owners with brick-and-mortar locations can increase their visibility in Google Business profile listings through search engines, and establish a trusted reputation for their businesses. That includes optimizing your Google business profile, building high-quality local citations, leveraging online reviews to improve your search rankings, and tracking SEO performances.
Whether you are a small business owner or a local service provider, you have to ensure that your business is visible and accessible to customers who are searching for services like yours in your area. As of April 2024, we have 5.44 billion internet users, equivalent to 67.1% of the global population.
Therefore, as a small and local business owner, you can leverage the internet to build online visibility and boost sales. In this digital age, local SEO is never a luxury but a necessity for every business owner. That’s why this local SEO tips for local services and businesses is essential.
With more customers searching for products and services, local SEO can help your business appear more prominently in location-based search results on Google and other search engines. It can help you grow and achieve your business goals through search queries, Google My Business listings, local directory listings like Google Maps, website optimization, and online reviews.
Why is Local SEO Important?
Local SEO is an important strategy for businesses to reach their customers and drive traffic to their stores through local search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Today, many people use search engines to search for local businesses. According to Google, 28% of users who search for something nearby result in a purchase; 30% of mobile searches are related to location; and 78% visit the business in a day. Google began highlighting the importance of local SEO by incorporating local search results into organic search results. In fact, 46% of searches on Google have a local intent.
When your local business is ranked at the top of the search engine result pages (SERPs), it increases your business’s online presence and visibility, drives more traffic to your website, increases sales in your local stores, builds trust with potential customers, and gives you a competitive edge.
How Does Local SEO Work?
Google is the most used search engine in the world, and what it does is provide relevant local SEO results when users search for something based on the content, links, citations, and social media pages. Local search is more about providing local organic results that are more specific to the users’ locations. When you optimize your business for local search, you are making it easier for people to find you when they search for things.
For example, when users search for “Best coffee shop in America,” Google’s algorithm checks and returns a list of businesses ranked based on relevance, distance, and prominence of the enquirer.
The truth is that businesses with the best local SEO are more likely to rank higher in the local pack. According to Research Gate, the average top-ranking result has a click-through rate (CTR) of 9.28%; the second and third results have 5.82% and 3.11% CTR, respectively.
When ranking local businesses in Google Maps, local SEO results are primarily based on relevance, distance, and prominence. That shows how well your business matches what the customers are searching for, how far your location is from the searcher’s location, and how popular and how well your customized description, reviews, and ratings are.
Source: Google map
The local SEO ranking factors are consistent business name, address, and phone number (NAP) across business directories. Other important factors are high-quality backlinks from local websites, relevant content that is location-specific, Google Map star rating, the searcher’s location, online reviews, an active social media presence and engagement, and the number of check-ins at the location.
By the end of this ultimate guide, you can start optimizing your Google business profile or other type of profiles for local search results to grow your small business on your own.
Step By Step Guide to Local SEO
Here are 12 comprehensive step-by-step guides to local SEO:
- Optimizing Google My Business profile
- Maintain a consistent name, address and contact number
- Optimize online directories and citations
- Perform a local SEO audit
- Optimize the internal linking structure
- Do local keyword research
- Optimize URL, title tags, header, meta description and content
- Add location pages to your website
- Create local content
- Ensure mobile friendliness
- Local link building
- Participate in your local community
- Optimize Google My Business profile
Do you want to attract more customers to your business?
Of course, who doesn’t want to!? LOL.
Then, optimizing your Google My Business profile is the key. You can set up and optimize your Google My Business (GMB) profile for free in less than 5 minutes. You can also update it periodically to tailor your profile to your local business marketing strategy.
Google My Business is a Google marketing tool that allows local business owners to manage their online visibility in Google Search and Google Maps. Whether your business has a physical location or you sell goods online, an optimized GMB profile is a needful beneficial tool. If your business has a completed GMB profile, 70% of customers are likely to visit your store, and about 50% of them have the likelihood to purchase your products.
Customers won’t find or engage with your business if your profile is incomplete. It suggests unseriousness, and they wouldn’t want to commit their money to a brand that is not serious enough to complete its business profile.
However, a complete Google My Business profile gives your business a competitive edge.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to optimize your Google My Business profile in no time:
- The first step is to search for your business on Google and claim your listing by verifying your business through a phone call or email.
- The next step is to complete your profile by adding your business information, such as your name, address, phone number, working hours, a real and high-quality profile picture, a cover photo, and other information that allows your potential customers to reach you.
Source: Google Map
- Ask for reviews from your customers and respond to your customer’s queries and reviews, respectively. Both positive and negative reviews help your business rank higher in Google searches and Google Maps, lending credibility to your brand’s voice.
Source: Google Map
For instance, based on this ranking on the search engine result page above, “Onyx Coffee Lab, Bentonville” has the highest reviews, a good customized description, and other necessary business information was provided. It appears first, and it shows that local searchers are more likely to engage with it.
- Maintain a consistent name, address and phone numbers
If you want your business to appear in the local 3-pack, you should optimize your business information. This helps you convince search engines and your searchers that you are trustworthy. Most importantly, ensure that your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are the same for your website, Google My Business listing, social media pages, and local business directories and citations.
Note: A consistent NAP is a crucial ranking factor in local SEO because it makes it easier for search engines and users to find you. The spelling and formatting must be the same across all local business listings.
What does NAP mean in local SEO?
NAP stands for name, address, and phone number. Think of NAP as your business’s digital identity. It is the most essential local business information that is found in business directories and profile listings.
NAP determines how well your business will rank in local organic search results based on Google’s algorithm. Ensure that your business name, address, and phone number are exactly as they appear in the real world.
- Optimize online directories and citations
Optimizing your online directories and citations is key to improving your online presence and visibility for successful local SEO. Online directories and citations are those listings that help your business show up in search results and attract more customers. Directories like Yelp, Bing Places for Business, and Google My Business (now known as Google Business Profile) can help your business appear in local searches. High-quality directories and citations can also help you get valuable backlinks to your website.
Note: Ensure your business name, address, and phone number, which make your business more visible in local searches, are consistent. That cannot be overemphasized. Use location-specific keywords in your directory description. Tools like Moz Local, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and HubSpot can help you optimize your online directories and citations.
- Perform a local SEO audit
Do you know how important it is to appear in the local 3-pack?
Think of local SEO as a medical check-up for your business. You need a local SEO audit to identify areas for improvement in your local SEO campaign. To carry out a local SEO audit;
- Use local SEO tools like Moz Local, SEMrush, and HubSpot to track your local search rankings
- Check whether your business name, address, and phone number are consistent and accurate across all your online directories and social media profiles.
- Optimize your website for local search, including location-specific keywords as well as your title tags
- Earn reviews from your customers and respond to their feedback to show that you care about them. According to BrightLocal, 88% of users check out a business that responds to customers’ reviews
You may want to ask, “What if I have two coffee shops—one in New York and the other in New Jersey? Should I include both addresses in my listings?” The answer is no. All you have to do is create separate pages for each address and add location-specific keywords.
- Optimize the internal linking structure
Think of creating a website where users effortlessly navigate to find what they need. With an online presence as a website, search engines like Google will reward you with a higher ranking, and thus, your visibility will increase. Internal linking structure is a powerful local link-building tactic. It is like a treasure map for search engines.
A high-quality internal link structure will help you drive more traffic, maintain a competitive edge, and boost your conversion rate. Many studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between links and organic traffic. However, don’t let a poor internal linking structure hold you back! To optimize your internal linking structure;
- Use links that are relevant to your content.
- Use descriptive text to help search engines and users understand the content of the link. For example, if the content of your website is about services, instead of using “Click here” or “See here,” use “Book an appointment.”
Note: Avoid stuffing your content with too many internal links.
- Do local keyword research
Imagine being the top-ranking result when a user searches for your business in your area—that changes the game! Local keyword research process entails identifying and analyzing keywords and phrases that are unique to your local market.
Local keyword research will help you attract nearby customers and get ahead of your competitors. To carry out local keyword research, you must:
- Analyze your competition and search volume
- Use location-specific keywords
- Use keyword research tools like SEMrush, HubSpot, and Google Keyword Planner
These keyword research tools will help you understand the search pattern of your target audience and provide relevant keywords that improve online visibility and drive traffic to your physical location.
- Optimize URL, title tags, header, meta description and content
The optimization of your website’s URL, title tags, header, meta description, and content is also referred to as on-page SEO. These are local SEO basics that help Google know what your page is all about so that they can assign rankings for a specific search query. One thing you should keep in mind is that Google crawls pages from top to bottom. It will crawl (scan) every indexable page on your website.
What is a URL?
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It is a web address used to locate specific content or entities or resources online. A well-structured URL is very important for local search engine optimization. You can optimize your URL by making it descriptive, rich in keywords, and easy to read.
What is a title tag?
A title tag is your web page’s headline. It is what appears on the search engine result page (SERP) when a search query is made. Here’s what you have to do to optimize your title tags:
- Make it short, descriptive and concise.
- Ensure it can catch the reader’s attention
- Use relevant keywords, like your name and the headline of your content. In cases where you offer services, you must include your physical location.
In the above image, in blue, you see the title tag: “Starbucks Coffee Company.”
What is a header?
A web page header is one of the HTML elements. HTML (HyperText Markup Language) elements include headings, paragraphs, tables, images, and links that enhance the structure of web pages, readability, and keyword relevance.
You can optimize your headers by using header 1 (h1) as your title tags, and other headers (h2, h3, h4, h5, and h6) as subheadings. Also, you can use tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Surfer for your header’s optimization.
Note: Avoid stuffing your headers with keywords. Make it concise, and structure it logically.
What is a meta description?
A meta description is a piece of information that attempts to describe the content of a web page with the smallest characters possible. It is the summary of your web page that informs users on the search engine results pages (SERPs) that you have what they are searching for. Also, it’s a preview of your web content.
Your meta description is like a pitch; make it count. You must ensure that your meta description is compelling and should grab your readers’ attention. A meta description is usually between 50 and 160 characters, but in most cases, Google cuts it off if it exceeds 155 characters. Therefore, 155 characters are recommended.
A well-crafted meta description can:
- Improve your search engine ranking
- Increase your click-through rates (CTR)
- Enhance your user’s experience
What is web page content?
Web page content refers to the actual information present on a web page. It comprises links, headers, paragraphs, keywords, quality images, and word length. We’ve talked about incorporating internal linking, keyword research, and relevant title tags.
Content optimization is the process of improving your content to increase search engine ranking and enhance users’ experiences and engagement. When done correctly, your content and web page can become more visible to more people. In addition, ensure your content is informative, comprehensive, and engaging.
- Add location pages to your website
A location page is very important, especially now that searchers use mobile phones to search for businesses near them. Implementing the SEO Near Me strategy is okay, as it has led to the popularity of “business near me” searches. It has increased the online presence of multiple businesses in local searches.
Adding location pages to your website provides users with your business name, address, phone number, working hours, unique description, reviews from happy customers, and parking/transit information.
- Create local content
Search engines like Google prioritize relevant and location-specific content for local SEO. As a small business owner, local content helps you appear in local search results and improves your visibility. Local content may include events, stories, news, guides, images, videos, infographics, and customer testimonials and reviews.
Note that your content must be updated regularly. Keep it fresh and relevant to maintain your competitive edge and optimize it for local search.
- Ensure mobile friendliness
As more customers use their mobile phones for shopping and searching, there’s a need to ensure that your web page is mobile-friendly. Mobile-friendliness is one of the key ranking factors in local search results. Ensure your page can load in no time on mobile devices and not just on desktops. This will not both enhance users’ experiences and also make customers more likely to visit your store.
- Local link building
Local link building is the process of getting relevant links from other websites in the same local market to your website, with a focus on local relevance. This strategy is pertinent to improve the ranking of other websites in local searches and to help you drive more traffic to your website.
So, what next?
Here are 9 local link-building tactics to optimize your local link-building structure:
- Add internal links
- Use links that are relevant to your content
- Get links from top-ranking sites
- Reclaim lost links
- Pursue other local link opportunities
- Buy companies’ website
- Get local citations
- Get links from your competitor’s site
- Claim unlinked mentions
- Participate in your local community
Your business can reach a wider audience when you participate in your local community. This strategy can attract more customers and boost sales when you get listed on social media pages and participate in local community events as a local authority.
Local community events to register your presence includes to sponsor a local event, donating to charity organizations, attending conferences, collaborating with local businesses, and hosting events. This participation will build a strong relationship between your business and community, earn inbound links, and also increase your brand awareness.
Local SEO Tools
Local SEO tools are essential for the optimization of local SEO to enhance ranking on search engines, increase visibility, drive traffic, and boost sales.
Now that we have covered the optimization of local SEO, let’s check out the features and pricing of some of the SEO tools.
Here are some of the local SEO tools:
- Google Search Console
Pricing: Free
Google Search Console is a free digital marketing tool offered by Google to help local businesses like yours monitor, maintain, and improve their performance. Examples of such performances include clicks, impressions, and position. It views and measures your traffic on Google Search and also helps you understand how Google sees your business name, address and phone number. With the Search Console, you can confirm whether Google can find and crawl your site.
You are also eligible to receive email alerts whenever there’s an issue with your URLs or Google observes indexing, spam, and other issues. You can get it fixed in no time with the URL inspection tool. You don’t have to register for Google Search Console to be included in search results but you should familiarize yourself with it as a business owner.
- SEMrush
Pricing– Free local citation scan, Basic: $20 per month, Premium: $40 per month
SEMrush
SEMrush offers a set of robust features, including listing management, local keyword research and analysis, local SEO auditing, competitor analysis, citation management, local rank tracking and reporting. This tool can help you manage all aspects of online visibility.
With SEMrush, businesses can track local search rankings, and manage their Google Business Profile listings. It has a user-friendly interface and features that make it an essential tool for small businesses wanting to optimize their local SEO efforts.
- BrightLocal
Pricing- Track plan: $39/month, Manage plan: $49/month, Grow plan: $59/month
BrightLocal is a local SEO tool created to help small businesses improve their online visibility. It offers a wide range of features, including local search rankings tracking, Google Business Profile management, local citation management, review management, and local SEO audits.
Additionally, BrightLocal provides keyword research tools, competitor analysis, and a local search grid to visualize online presence. It also generates detailed reports and measures key metrics, thus making it easy to track progress and optimize local SEO efforts.
BrightLocal offers various plans and prices (with free trials) to suit different business needs.
- Moz Local
Pricing: Lite plan: $14/month, Preferred plan: $20/month, Elite plan: $33/month
Moz Local is an SEO tool that monitors, reads, and responds to review sentiments on different sites from a single dashboard. It easily posts offers and updates to engage your customers. Moz Local also provides excellent reporting and insight metrics. Additionally, Moz Local is the least expensive of all the stated, priced local SEO tools.
How to Track Your Local SEO Results
Local SEO results are the outcome of how well your website ranks in search engines and drives more organic traffic. In a case where Google updates its algorithm or your competitors change their content, you need to keep an eye on your SEO performance.
Top Metrics to Measure the Success of Local SEO
Here are the top metrics to measure the success of local SEO:
Monitor your Google Map Rankings
Position your business listing at the top of Google Maps local search results or map rankings! When users search for your business, are you aware of the factors that influence your Google Maps ranking? Your local ranking is influenced by:
- the distance of your location from the user,
- the relevance of your business, and
- how trustworthy and reputable your business is based on happy customers’ reviews and testimonials.
To monitor your Google Maps rankings, check the click-through rates to your website, the ratings and reviews of customers, Map packs, and target keywords. I’ll advise you to make use of local SEO tools like SEMrush, Google Search Console, BrightLocal, Ahrefs, Moz Local, Google Business Profile Insights, and others mentioned in this content. Utilize their dashboards to measure the success of your SEO.
Monitor Local Rankings in Google Search
Your business can gain insights into revenue generated from local search efforts, your conversion rates, online visibility, and active engagements when you monitor your local ranking in Google search with any of the local SEO tools.
Local Search Traffic
Local SEO serves as a bridge between online and real-world engagement. It drives not only online conversion but also foot traffic to your store. With Google Business Profile Insights, you can track the number of users who search, visit, or click on your page.
You can also monitor your organic search traffic, traffic from online directories and citations, cost per acquisition (CPA), return on investments (ROI) on your page, take action and how long they spend on your page.
Google Business Profile Insight
Do you want to know how many times your business appears on search engine result pages? How many times do users click on your Google Business Profile listing?
Google Insight is downloadable data that helps you understand what works for your business and what does not. It helps to optimize your local SEO efforts for successful local SEO campaigns.
Local Backlinks
Local backlinks may seem hard to get but you can leverage tools like SEMrush to build backlinks. As a small business, you need such backlinks to boost your search ranking and drive traffic from linking your web page to your page.
Conclusion: Improve your small business visibility with local SEO
Just to quickly brush over all that you have learned from this resource; now, you have a clear understanding of the ultimate guide to local SEO, which covers how local SEO works, a step-by-step guide, local SEO tools, and how to track and measure the success of local SEO campaigns. Therefore, as a local service provider or seller of goods, you can improve your business’s online visibility, attract customers, and drive sales to your business through search engines.
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