The overall goal of a local SEO strategy is to establish your store as the most trusted authority for Google searches related to products and/or services within a specific geographic area.
With searches for "near me" on the rise, it's crucial to create a local SEO strategy to optimize your online visibility and drive traffic to your physical store.
In this article we will show you how.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO or Local Search Engine Optimization are strategies that help businesses promote and market their products and services to local and nearby consumers .
Local SEO serves to increase the visibility of local stores in search results with local intent, bringing more customers to the establishment.
Because local SEO has a geographic component , it focuses on building an online presence in a local area. For example, if you search for pizza, local pizzerias will rank higher than pizzerias several miles away.
How important is a Local SEO strategy?
Creating a local SEO strategy is important because, in today's world, the customer journey begins online. According to industry data, 81% of consumers conduct online research before physically entering a store .
Another important behavioral change reported by Google was searches using the term “near me,” which increased by 75% in Brazil .
Today, we see a great need for local businesses, and this makes a lot of sense. For example, you want to go to the dentist. But no one wants to spend an extra 45 minutes traveling back and forth when good dentists are available everywhere. So, now consumers search on Google for local businesses.
That's where a local SEO strategy comes in, because Google will only show the locations most relevant to the consumer at the top of the search results.
Having a local SEO strategy is therefore important to help you appear at the top of search results with local intent.
What is a Local SEO Strategy?
A local SEO strategy aims to optimize a local store's online presence in Google search results for potential consumers near it.
In this strategy, you will make several changes to improve local SEO to win Google's Local Pack.
If you search for a specific type of business or service on Google, the first thing to appear is the Local Pack . It's essentially the Google Maps area that appears on the search results page and displays a list of the most relevant businesses—but there's only room for three!
If you don't have an SEO strategy to appear there, you're at a disadvantage compared to your competitors who already have one.
Local SEO Ranking Factors
According to Google, there are three factors that matter: distance, relevance, and prominence.
Distance: The closer you are to your customer, the higher you will rank in “near me” searches.
Relevance: The more relevant your business is to consumer searches, the higher your ranking will be in search results.
Prominence: This factor works slightly differently than the other two. If you have great customer reviews and a good reputation, you'll rank higher. For example, if you have a fashion store with a 4.9 rating and many positive reviews, you're likely to rank higher in local search than a competitor with a low rating and few reviews, who is closer to the customer.
How to create a local SEO strategy for your store?
Basically, Google wants to confirm that you are who you say you are , that you do what you say you do, and that you 're located where you say you are . You do this by providing as much information about your business as possible—complete and up-to-date information!
We already know that the factors Google considers for ranking are: distance, relevance, and prominence, and research conducted by Advice Local showed us the factors that can positively impact local SEO.
Top 3 factors that will improve your local SEO positioning
Check out the 3 factors that can boost your position in local search results:
- Google My Business 36%
- Reviews 17%
- On-Page Signals 16%
Other factors:
- Link 13%
- Quotes 7%
- Behavioral 7%
- Personalization 4%
full research here )
Adding the influence of Google My Business, reviews, and on-page signals, they represent 69% of the impact on a local SEO strategy . So, if you leverage these three factors effectively, you have a great chance of reaching the top of the search results!
The idea here is for you to understand the reasoning behind the algorithm and be able to do your own Local SEO tests, always remembering that you need to be relevant to the consumer and thus you will be relevant to Google.
Check out some strategies below that will help you with this.
5 local SEO strategies to put into practice now
1) Have a Google My Business profile
Having a Google My Business (GMB) profile is the first step because GMB is your digital showcase for searches with local intent. Just a reminder: it impacts up to 36% of local SEO.
As obvious as it may seem to tell you to have a GMN account, many professionals still don't give due importance to the step of filling out the information to have the most complete and up-to-date profile possible.
Google wants you to share as much information as possible about your business, what services you offer, and everything you can answer in your Google Business Profile.
The more information you provide to Google about your store, the more relevant it will be in search results . This includes a correct and up-to-date address, phone number, and opening hours, images, posts, responsiveness to customer questions, and, most importantly, a high number of positive reviews and a high reputation score.
In this post here there is a topic 7 tips for you to have a much more optimized profile on Google My Business check it out!
2) Have standardized Name, Address and Telephone information
Name, Address, and Telephone (NET) are very important from a local SEO perspective and are part of on-page optimizations, which impact 16% on SEO, but many professionals still fail in this requirement.
You need to pay attention to whether NET information is standardized wherever it appears on the Internet, from your corporate website to your GMN profile and other sites.
Google and other search engines cross-reference all these NET occurrences and reward companies that maintain a consistent and accurate profile.
For example:
- 🟢 CORRECT! Pharmacies Good Prices
- This is correct because it only contains the company name. If you have more than one unit, maintain the same name across all listings. This will strengthen your network's SEO.
- 🔴 WRONG! Good Price Pharmacies – São José – Florianópolis
- Note that we have the company name followed by the location; this is incorrect. There's a specific field for the address.
- 🔴 WRONG! Good Price Pharmacies | Pharmacy, Medicines, Generics, Perfumes, Cosmetics and Personal Hygiene
- Note that we have the company name followed by a list of keywords. Don't include any keywords next to your business name. After the launch of the Vicinity Update , Google began penalizing companies that use this practice.
3) A chain or franchise with multiple units
If you're a business with multiple locations, you need a separate GMB profile for each store. Google considers each individual location a separate entity and business, so if you're a chain, you need a separate GMB profile for each location.
A big advantage for companies with multiple stores is the number of pages with addresses pointing to the corporate website.
For example, if you have 500 stores, you'll need 500 separate pages on your website, clearly labeling each location with address and phone number information (and a map if possible). All this information makes you more relevant in Google's eyes.
Great tip! When setting up your GMB business profile, you'll be asked to add your website URL, but this is where many people make a mistake. Most people add their website's homepage URL to their Google Business Profile, but this is incorrect . Instead, add the landing page for that specific location, not your homepage.
4) Keywords
I mapped and identified keywords with local intent and which ones are leading consumers to find your store's profile.
GMN offers a space for you to describe your business in 750 characters. When describing your company, use the keywords you've identified strategically.
For example:
Harmo is the Experience Marketing in Brazil, perfect for retail chains with physical stores . We are the only 3-in-1 solution that integrates Digital Presence ( Google My Business , Facebook Local, Tripadvisor, iFood ), Reputation Management Satisfaction Survey Management ( NPS, CES, CSAT ), creating a powerful lead generation engine. Listen, interact, analyze, and act on customer needs throughout the entire journey , transforming your customers into the main channel for acquiring new customers. Harmo: Experience is the new Marketing .
5) Google Reviews – Ask for and respond promptly to customer reviews
It's no wonder that reviews are the second-largest factor in local SEO ( 17% ). According to Birdeye, 92% of consumers consult online reviews before making a purchase decision.
When customers search for the best local businesses near them, Google aims to deliver the best results. To do this, Google considers the same factors as customers when determining a business's trustworthiness. Because customers trust reviews, so does Google's algorithm.
That's why you need a good customer review management strategy . Here, we'll cover the main points to keep an eye on.
But first, it's important that you understand the role of reviews in the customer journey and in Google's algorithm.
When a customer reviews your store on Google, whether positively or negatively, they're providing Google with some very important information:
- Whether the company is a legitimate operation;
- If it has real customers interacting with it;
- How well the company serves its customers;
- User-generated and updated content.
How to use Google reviews to improve local SEO:
1) Always ask for customer reviews
Customer reviews are user-generated content, and this type of content has a strong influence on Google. Plus, you get new, fresh content on your page every day.
Each review is social proof of the good experience delivered by your store, services, products, and customer service, so the more positive reviews, the better.
Positive reviews also contribute to a higher reputation score, and the more positively reviewed you are, the better.
So, have a strategy for asking for customer reviews.
2) Respond to each assessment appropriately
A company's responsiveness reflects on the experience, customer service, and overall perception of the company.
Respond promptly to all reviews, especially negative ones. 45% of consumers say they're more likely to visit a business if it responds to negative reviews. (Source: Online Reviews Statistics and Trends: A 2022 Report by ReviewTrackers)
Take advantage of the opportunity to respond to a review to index important terms for your business and further strengthen local SEO. Respond using strategic keywords for your business.
Check out this checklist on how to respond to Google reviews
A) Always thank them for their review! Regardless of whether it was positive or neutral.
B) If the review was negative, acknowledge the issue and apologize for the negative experience. Don't over-explain; trying to justify or question the customer will irritate potential customers who will read the response. Respond by putting yourself in your customer's shoes and thinking about how you'll look good in the photo by showing that you accept criticism because you want to constantly improve to serve your customers better.
C) Repeat the positive points that the client wrote, this way you reinforce SEO.
D) Always use your company name in responses to positive reviews.
E) However, never include your company name in your response to negative reviews. You don't want your company name associated with negative experiences in search results.
F) Use and abuse keywords, highlighting your qualities and strengths.
G) Offer new information in your answers. After all, thousands of people will read your answers and learn about the news, which can generate more sales.
H) Never use canned responses or copy and paste. Copy and paste is worse, much worse, than not responding at all , because it sends the message: "All I want is to get these reviews out of the way, I don't care what you (the customer) are saying about me."
See how you can respond to reviews with a more strategic approach?
Conclusion
Google's algorithm is constantly updating to better serve consumer search requests. But online customer reviews will always be your best social proof of relevance.
It's worth noting that to be relevant to Google's algorithm, first think about being relevant to your customers. Offer a good experience and engage them to review your store.
We hope this article helped. And if you need solutions to make the process more efficient, we'd be happy to help!
Here at Harmo, we're Brazil's leading authority on local SEO. Feel free to schedule a 25-minute meeting with us.
