Positioning your website, delivering content to customers and potential buyers, and showcasing your brand online is crucial to standing out from the competition in the vast digital world, and SEO is the key strategy for delivering it to the public.
Local SEO is a way to stand out even more when we talk about niches and physical proximity of companies to customers, after all, “near me” searches are increasingly important and growing within search engines.
To help you stand out even more in this strategy, we've put together 6 tips to boost your Local SEO and position your business as the best option for customers. Stay tuned!
Understanding Local SEO: A Brief Overview of Local Searches
You know those searches for "restaurants near me," "salons in São Paulo," "dentist in neighborhood x," and so many others we do all the time to find services, products, and solutions that are around us? That's exactly what Local SEO is all about!
SEO strategies are sets of actions that help professionals and companies promote their products, services, and businesses . When we talk about Local SEO , we're talking about this type of promotion to potential customers near your store.
In other words, local SEO is the process of optimizing your online presence to attract more business from searches associated with your business. It serves to increase the visibility of businesses, bringing more customers to the business and being an important step for the company to build a reputation among local customers.
In this type of strategy, the geographic component is essential for deliveries, and relevance, proximity, and prominence are the main pillars to be shown to potential customers:
- Relevance: This considers how relevant your business is to users. Therefore, keywords are the best way for search engines and consumers to understand you and why your business is a good option.
- Proximity: This is the criterion that analyzes the distance of the business from the user or the location term they search for. The closer the business is to the user, Google believes the faster and easier it is to purchase.
- Reputation: This refers to the level of popularity of your business in the region, i.e., the brand's reputation . Customer reviews are a key indicator of quality for both Google and other consumers.
Tips to improve your Local SEO
Now that we've covered Local SEO in more detail, let's get practical. We've put together 6 tips for your performance and results. Stay tuned!
1. Optimize your website for local searches
As we mentioned, local searches are what drive traffic to your website and social media, and consequently, to your physical store. To achieve this, you need to optimize your website so that customer searches lead to it.
In this sense, keywords are an essential part of your strategy, and you need to know which words are crucial to your business and what you offer. And more than just words that relate to your solutions, it's also important to invest in local keywords, such as cities, neighborhoods, or even streets that are relevant to your niche.
It's also important to optimize content that's relevant to the community, whether on your website or social media. Make it clear in the "About Us" section where your company is located, and what your commitments and involvement with the community are.
Also, look inside the site, check your title tags and meta descriptions, make sure the entire site structure is optimized with your keywords, and optimize images for better search engine placement.
2. Create and manage profiles in online directories
Another essential strategy for local SEO is optimizing profiles on sites like Google My Business , which is the digital showcase for searches with local intent. While having a good GMB profile is essential, many companies still don't give this step enough attention, and it's important to discuss it.
Google and other search engines want companies to share as much information about the company as possible, and the more information you provide, the more Google can evaluate its relevance to deliver the company in searches.
Keep information such as address, category, contacts, photos, and all other possible and existing information within the tool updated and with content so that the customer quickly recognizes and understands your business.
3. Encourage customer reviews
Customer reviews are important evidence to attract new people, after all, consumers seek opinions from those who have already tried the product/service to draw their own conclusions about whether or not it is worth doing business with the brand.
According to Birdeye, 92% of consumers consult online reviews before making a purchase decision, and having reviews makes all the difference to a business's reputation.
Remember that customers are often willing to review businesses, but they need to be reminded about it. So, don't be afraid or embarrassed to encourage your customers to leave reviews about your business on the platforms.
Each review is proof of a good experience delivered, and the more reviews, the better—not to mention that they also count towards your Google My Business ranking and rating, and customer delivery.
Develop strategies for soliciting reviews and respond to all comments, whether positive, neutral, or negative. Demonstrate how the company values customer feedback and how important their feedback is to its improvements and growth.
4. Create relevant and local content
Creating content is another important part of SEO. After all, you need to deliver what the customer needs, when they need it, positioning yourself as relevant and a potential problem-solver for the public.
To achieve this, in addition to an optimized website, as mentioned above, creating relevant and local content makes all the difference, highlighting the region where your business is located. Understand which keywords meet local searches and deliver the best responses within your niche and environment.
When we talk about locally relevant content, it's also important to create videos and photos of the store, products, and environments. After all, demonstrating the quality and efficiency of what the company can deliver to those nearby makes all the difference in whether or not they choose the brand.
5. Use social media and local ads
Social media is a way for customers to find companies and products, and being proactively present is essential. Remember that social media is a gateway, a touchpoint, and a sales channel for your brand, so use it appropriately to convey your brand message.
Be active on networks that make sense for your business and audience, share relevant content, interact with your audience, and use them as a way to promote your brand locally. Additionally, invest in local and targeted ads to reach audiences in your targeted geographic area.
6. Offer local promotions or discounts
To attract even more people close to your business, show them the benefits of choosing your brand by investing in exclusive offers, promotions, and local discounts.
Encourage visits to physical stores, use drive-to-store options , and make interacting with your company a good deal for consumers.
More than that, it can also be interesting to invest in local events, workshops and promotions, attracting and engaging your target audience, strengthening the relationship and presence of your brand in the community .
Bonus: Statistics that prove the importance of local SEO
- Search is getting personal – Google has seen 60% growth in mobile searches for “__ for me” over the past two years and 80% growth in mobile searches for “__ should I __” over the past two years ( Think with Google ).
- 30% of all mobile searches are location-related ( Think with Google ).
- 0.9% of Google.com search results get a click to Google Maps ( Jumpshot/Moz ).
- Google “near me” searches increased 500% from 2015 to 2017 ( Think with Google ).
- 4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information ( Google/Ipsos Media ).
- 18% of local smartphone searches resulted in a purchase within a day. ( Google/Ipsos Media ).
- 54% of smartphone users search for business hours and 53% look for directions to a local store. ( Google / Ipsos MediaCT / Bought ).
- 65% of people use their phone during “I want to buy” moments ( Think with Google ).
- 78% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase (HubSpot).
- 46% of all searches have a local intent ( SEOroundtable ).
- 50% of consumers visit a retail outlet within 24 hours of a local mobile search ( Marketing Land ).
- 86% of people search for a business's location on Google Maps ( SEMRush ).
- 46% of Google searches are for local information. ( Social Media Today ).
- 97% of consumers learn more about a local business online than anywhere else.
- 88% of mobile searches for a local business result in a call or visit to the business within 24 hours ( Nectafy ).
Conclusion
Local SEO is a fundamental strategy for making your business stand out in a competitive digital environment, especially when it comes to local businesses and "near me" searches.
Optimizing your website, networks, and content is essential to position yourself as relevant. You need to be present at the right time for the customer, positioning yourself as a good option for a deal to be closed.
How are your Local SEO strategies going, and how is your business attracting local people to use your products and services? Take advantage of our tips, put actions into practice, and count on us to further enhance your online and offline strategies!
