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 reaching that audience.
Local SEO is a way to stand out even more when it comes to niches and the 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 with this strategy, we've gathered 6 tips to boost your local SEO and position your business as the best option for customers. Read on!
Understanding Local SEO: A brief overview of local searches
You know those searches for "restaurants near me," "hair salons in São Paulo," "dentist in neighborhood x," and so many others that we do all the time to find services, products, and solutions that are around us? That's exactly what we're talking about when we talk about Local SEO!
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 referring to this type of promotion aimed at potential customers near your store.
In other words, local SEO is the process of optimizing your online presence to attract more business from searches related to your business . It serves to increase the visibility of businesses, bringing more customers to the business and being an important step in building 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 clients
- Relevance: This considers how relevant your business is to what users have to offer. Therefore, keywords are the main way for search engines and consumers to understand you and why your business is a good option.
- Proximity: This criterion analyzes the distance of the business from the user or the location term they are searching for. The closer to the user, the more likely Google is to facilitate speed and ease of purchase.
- Reputation: This refers to the level of popularity of your business in the region, in other words, the brand's reputation. In this respect, customer reviews are a major indicator of quality, both for Google and other consumers.
Tips to improve your local SEO
Now that we've talked a little more about Local SEO, let's get down to practical terms. We've gathered 6 tips for your performance and results. Follow along!
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. Therefore, you need to optimize your website so that customer searches lead them to it.
In this sense, keywords are an essential part of the strategy, and it's necessary to know which words are crucial for your business and what your company offers. And beyond words related to your solutions, it's also important to invest in local keywords, such as city, neighborhoods, or even streets that make sense for your niche.
It's also important to optimize content that is relevant to the community, whether on your website or social media. Make it clear in your "about us" section where your company stands, and what your commitments and involvement with the community are.
In addition, look "inside" the website, check its title tags and meta descriptions, making sure that the entire site structure is optimized for your keywords, and also optimize images for better search engine delivery.
2. Create and manage profiles in online directories
Another essential strategy for local SEO is optimizing profiles on sites like Google My Business, since it's the digital showcase for locally-intensive searches. Even though having a good GMB profile is basic, many companies still don't give this step the attention it deserves, and it needs to be discussed.
Google and other search engines want companies to share as much information as possible about the business, and the more information provided, the better Google can assess its relevance in delivering the company in search results.
Keep information such as address, category, contact details, photos, and all other possible and existing data within the tool updated and with content so that the customer can quickly recognize and understand your business.
3. Encourage customer reviews
Customer reviews are important evidence for attracting new customers; after all, consumers seek opinions from those who have already tried the product/service to draw their own conclusions about whether or not it's worthwhile 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 rate businesses, but they need to be reminded to do so. Therefore, don't be afraid or ashamed and encourage your customers to leave reviews on the platforms about your business.
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 delivery to customers.
Create strategies for soliciting reviews and respond to all comments, whether positive, neutral, or negative. Show how the company values customer opinion and how their feedback is important for its improvements and growth.
4. Create relevant and local content
Creating content is another important part of SEO; after all, it's necessary to deliver what the customer needs, when they need it, positioning yourself as relevant and a potential problem solver for your audience.
To achieve this, in addition to an optimized website as we've already mentioned, creating relevant and local content makes all the difference, highlighting the region where your business is located. Understand which keywords meet local search demands and deliver the best results within your niche and environment.
When we talk about relevant local 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 advertising
Social media platforms are ways for customers to find businesses and products, and having a proactive presence is essential. Remember that social networks are gateways, points of contact, and sales channels for your brand, so use them appropriately and convey your brand message.
Be active on the social media platforms that make sense for your business and audience, share relevant content, interact with your audience, and use them to promote your brand locally. Additionally, invest in local and targeted advertising to reach your audience in your specific geographic area.
6. Offer local promotions or discounts
To attract even more people who are near your business, show them how advantageous it is to choose your brand, and to do this, invest in exclusive offers, promotions, and local discounts.
Encourage in-store visits, utilize drive-to-store , and ensure that interacting with your company is a good deal for consumers.
Furthermore, it can also be beneficial to invest in local events, workshops, and promotions, attracting and engaging your target audience, strengthening your brand's relationship and presence within the community.
Bonus: Statistics that prove the importance of local SEO
- Research is becoming personal – Google has seen a 60% growth in mobile searches for “__ for me” in the last two years and an 80% growth in mobile searches for “__ should I __” in the last 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 on Google Maps (Jumpshot / Moz).
- Google searches for "near me" increased by 500% from 2015 to 2017 (Think with Google).
- 4 out of 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 / Purchased).
- 65% of people use their phones when they think they want to buy something (Think with Google).
- 78% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase (HubSpot).
- 46% of all searches have a local intent (SEO roundtable).
- 50% of consumers visit a point of sale within 24 hours of a local search on their mobile phone (Marketing Land).
- 86% of people look up a business's location on Google Maps (SEMRush).
- 46% of Google searches are for local information. (Social Media Today).
- 97% 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 highlighting your business in such a competitive environment as the digital world, especially when we talk about local businesses and searches for "near me".
Optimizing your website, social media, and content is essential to establishing yourself as relevant. You need to be present at the right time for the customer, positioning yourself as a good option for closing a deal.
How are your local SEO strategies performing, and how is your company attracting people nearby to use your products and services? Take advantage of our tips, put them into practice, and count on us to further enhance your online and offline strategies!