Local SEO Grows Business

Become Famous in your Locality with Local SEO

The process of making a business profile on a search engine that appears at the top of SERP when localized searches are made is called local search engine optimization or local SEO. Search engines like Google and Bing allow the creation of business profiles with various details. The business details contain the Name of the Business, Address of the Business, Phone Number (NAP), description, business category, services or products offered, business hours, etc. The address provided is used as a key to list a business in the local searches. Search engines verify the address, phone number, and other details in various ways. Verified business profiles get priority in local listings. A local business listing is a free organic listing in the SERPs.

Search engines initially started to make changes in their algorithm of organic SEO to improve user experience. The searching user started getting the nearby business listing on priority. This result was to please both users, the searching user and the business which had to serve the user. This experimental concept clicked well and was liked by the masses. Search engines in the process of various algorithmic betterment reached the creation of business profiles for the best possible outcome. Today the world is witnessing the most accurate and satisfying local business listings by search engines.

Why local SEO is important for a business?

People are searching for businesses locally these days and the local search craze is increasing gradually. 46% of all the searches made over search engines looked for local businesses. Local businesses are trying hard to rank at the top in the business listings of SERPs. Due to the high demand for top rankings in local business listings of SERPs, businesses are looking for local SEO services from reputed companies. SEO services are required to beat the competition in the local listing. The hired SEO company applies local SEO techniques to list at the top of business listings of organic searches.

Implementation of local SEO takes lesser time and effort in comparison to national or global SEO for a business website. Localized SEO offers higher conversion rates together with a higher lifetime value of users. Local SEO offers higher click-through rates and far lesser churn rates to the website. It becomes lucrative in this way for almost all the business houses of any industry. In the case of some businesses, only local SEO can be useful. For example, a local hospital offers personal care services to senior citizens in a nearby area. In this example, global or national SEO services can’t be implemented. There are many services and products providing businesses that can be benefited by local SEO only.

How to implement local search engine optimization on a business website?

Like global or national SEO local SEO involves on-page implementation and off-page implementation. The way of implementation changes in the case of local search engine optimization.

Local on-page SEO

Besides the regular on-page SEO, mention the business address on the website together with the phone number with the area code. This helps search engines understand the locality of the business and list it in the SERPs whenever a search is made in the vicinity.

Local off-page SEO

There are many activities required to perform beyond the website to take advantage of local SEO. These activities are different than usual off-page SEO.

• Business Profile Optimization – To optimize the business website for a local audience, create a business profile on search engines like Google and Bing. Business profile page optimization includes title and business description optimization. These should be optimized as per the targeted keywords for local SEO. Use other details on the business page properly to take the maximum leverage.
  
  
• Regular Posts on Business Profile – There is a provision to submit posts on search engine business profiles. Regular posting will enrich the profile content which adds value to the local SEO. Use the topics related to the business niche while creating the posts.
  
  
• Maximize Reviews – Get as many reviews for your services or products as possible. Ask all your customers or clients to give their valuable feedback directly on the profile page. Send the review link to all of them and keep following until they do or respond somehow. The number of reviews and a greater number of stars impact positively the ranking on localized searches.
  
  
• Local Directory Listings – As many local authentic directories verify your business details that is much better. For example, you have mentioned your business name, address, phone number, etc. on your Google Business Profile, and the same information you have mentioned in your listing in the Yelp directory. When a Google bot crawls a Yelp directory listing with the same information then Google affirms the details with more authenticity and provides a priority in local search engine result pages.
  
  
• Social Media Profile – Create or optimize the social media profile page so that the NAP business information matches the business details provided on the local search engine business page profile. This will strengthen the business position on local searches. Also, put efforts to get a maximum number of reviews from users on Facebook or other social media platforms. This information is getting reflected on the search engine business manager profile page and emboldened the ranks in local searches.

How do near-me queries work in local searches?

Near me, queries provide results as per the increasing distance between the user and the relevant businesses listed. It doesn’t depend on any other factor. There is a myth among SEO professionals, mentioning ‘near me’ words at various places on the web page can bring the web page into near me search result pages. Mentioning ‘near me’ on the web page improves the usability of the page and doesn’t influence local search engine ranking. User engagement is a factor to rank higher during local searches. If a user passes more time and creates some events, navigates multiple pages on the website, etc. then the ranking will be higher in the local search engine listings.

In contrast, a website with a higher bounce rate will vanish from the top ranking of local searches as well as other searches too. To reduce the bounce rate of a website, webmasters need to select relevant keywords to rank and make website pages with a good UX. Relevant targeted keywords with even average UX combination in web pages offer a higher conversion rate.

How to tackle fake reviews issue in local SEO?

There is a possibility of posting fake negative reviews in bulk by competitors. Similarly, business owners can post bulk fake reviews to influence local search results. To my amazement, search engines are not tackling this major issue. This issue can be addressed at the algorithmic level as Yelp does. The business listing directory Yelp marks the profiles with a warning message to users. This has been tackled at the software programming level, human check doesn’t require. Search engines too can do something like this to protect genuine businesses and users.

In the case of Google business profiles, fake reviews can be posted or reported in the Google business profile help community section. The local SEO expert community has been demanding a solution to this issue for a long. Search engine business profile owners can take direct help but others can use the community help only in this regard.

Does algorithmic change by search engines impact local search results?

There are two updates known so far for the local search results by the Google search engine. One is known as the Possum update and the second one was the Hawk update. Both were related to the redundant search result data in local searches. One was to stop repetitive listings of the same business profile and another was to stop just neighborhood businesses (within 50 feet) to appear in the local search results. These updates were to improve the user experience (UX). How to rank in the local search result pages has no algorithmic update so far.

Algorithmic core updates declared time-to-time by search engines normally do not impact the local search results. The two organic search results are kept separately in terms of algorithm. SEO experts working for local searches feel at ease in this regard as regular algorithm updates for core search engines keep rolling now and then.

How to hire local SEO services from a reputed online marketing company?

There are a few basic things to keep in mind while hiring a local search engine optimization service for a company. After explaining the local SEO requirement, look at whether the company understands your business well or not. Besides the overall SEO experience of the company, working experience in local SEO should be a must. Hire an SEO expert from a local SEO company who has a higher number of years of hands-on experience. Ask for multiple profiles of the professionals and then shortlist from those to some profiles as per your SEO requirement.

Arrange a video call to take interviews with the search engine optimization professionals shortlisted. It can be arranged by using Skype, Google Meet, MS Team, Zoom, or likewise online video call applications. After easing with introductory chit-chat, ask a variety of questions to verify the SEO knowledge, working experience, challenges tackled, communication skill, personality, etc. Shortlist if you like the candidates from the multiple SEO candidates interviewed. Never hesitate to say a big no to the company if the candidates interviewed are not satisfactory. Ask the service provider to send more SEO profiles. Repeat the SEO expert selection process until you find the right candidates.

What has been included in local SEO services hired?

Ask for keywords analyzed by the local SEO expert for approval. Check all the keywords whether those are going to be searched by your audience after hiring the local SEO services. Keywords analysis is crucial for the overall success of SEO efforts. The local SEO company setup a business profile on search engines like Google and Bing with all the proper details provided by you. The business page created is optimized to make it search engine friendly. The local SEO service provider verifies the business address provided on the page. The company wins reviews on search engines from the clients or customers for the business. Reviews are won on directory sites and social media platforms by local SEO service providers.

The hired company creates and publishes posts on the search engines like Google. The company applies on-page and off-page SEO to get top rankings in local searches. The web pages of the website are made engaging to reduce the bounce rate and improve page visitor engagement throughout the website. A bounce rate of a website can be minimized by ensuring the selection of the right keywords. Improved user engagement is necessary to minimize the churn rate of a professional website. The SEO organization ensures the ranking not only in the local places but in localized organic search result pages too. The whole local listing services are provided within the stipulated time frame.

Following are included in the local SEO servics:

• Google My Business profile page creation and optimization
• GMB profile page verification
• GMB profile page management
• Citation building
• Local guest post services
• Local press releases
• Google Local Ads Service
• Reputation management (reviews)
• Conversion rate optimization

Are local SEO packages included with hired national SEO services?

If the rankings are coming across the country then the service offered is called national SEO services. This is unlike the local SEO which is applied to a specific place, street, county, or city. Usually local SEO packages are already included in national or global SEO services. Some digital marketing agencies keep separate packages for all and offer separate local packages even if a national package is already subscribed. This is justifiable even. Both types of processes involved some different activities too besides most of the common activities. For example, creating a business profile page on search engines is not a must for regular SEO, unlike local SEO.

Similarly, local business directory listings, winning reviews at various platforms for the business, etc. are not necessary for national or global SEO unlike these are a must for local search engine optimization. It will depend on the digital marketing company hired whether the packages designed have a hybrid model or not. When finalizing the SEO package that time it can be discussed and the whole requirement should be brought in the light of the company. After seeing the SEO requirement for your business, the SEO company can come up with a custom SEO package for you that might suit your business in the best possible way.

Why local SEO has more conversion rate?

The process of making a website visitor into a customer or client is called conversion. When a visitor comes to the website after making a local search on a search engine and becomes a customer or a client then it is called conversion through local SEO. It has been proved with a repetitive observation that the conversion rate is very high through local SEO traffic in comparison with the traffic to the website with all other means. This makes local SEO lucrative among business owners. Higher conversions bring higher sales and higher sales attract more profitability. Please visit SEO services for Real Estate agents, SEO services for lawyers, SEO services for healthcare, SEO services for dentist, web site services, for information on our services to lawyers, dentists, real estate agents, etc.

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