Local SEO for SMEs that want more calls and local enquiries
Get found more often in local search results and for ‘near me’ searches
Local SEO Services - how to beat the big boys and win online!
Local SEO services are a set of specialist search engine optimisation techniques that help local businesses rank at the top of the search results.
We have all heard of SEO, but when it comes to regional and local companies there is now a new element that Google is pushing – and that is local.
Local SEO Services: Dominate Local Search and Beat Big Brands
Whenever you search, you get a set of personalised results based on your search history and your location. Relevant results are presented by the search engines, plus a few adverts of course!
The race formerly was to be on the top of the organic search results – to be No.1 on Google.
However, that now has changed! Google now presents a mini-map section at the top of the SERPs – whenever a location is relevant. This is the local search results.
This is the new game in town!
Relevance
How clearly your business matches what someone is searching for.
Proximity
How close your business is to the person searching, or how clearly you serve that area.
Prominence
How trusted and established your business looks online through reviews, activity and authority signals.
We help improve all three
How good Local SEO transformed one local business
The challenge: Establish a new business online presence in the competitive bbq space
What we did: We created and optimised their Google Business Profile, and built multiple backlinks and local citations to improve their prominence in local search.
The result: You can see in the graphic how they reached the top of the ‘map-pack’ on Google search across the North of England. Even though they only had 3 reviews at the time, our work pushed them to the top of search results in their area.
Here you can see them appearing ranked #1 on Google’s Local Pack:
Yorkshire Fire is a great example of one of our clients who were able to benefit quickly from good Local SEO. They are just one of the local businesses that have seen a big boost to their online visibility since we have helped them with their Local SEO.
One month after we launched their website, they were featured on Yahoo. You can read that feature here.
Local SEO Services should boost your GMB listing & drive more calls to your business!
Your Google Business Profile or GBP (formerly Google My Business) listing is now as important as your website. Some would argue it is more important.
So how do you improve your GBP listing so that you are featured in the Google 3-pack? This is where you need to engage specific local SEO services and optimise your business listing correctly.
You need to understand SEO and how Google uses what you put into your GBP listing to rank and show businesses in the 3-pack. This is a separate and new form of local SEO that not many people are tapping into just yet.
Most people now use local search terms such as ‘plumber near me’ to find nearby local businesses. However, traditional SEO techniques cannot target ‘near me’ searches effectively.
We are able to use video to get your business to the top of SERPs the same day – which can give you instant visibility online.
For long-term results, optimising your GBP listing and building backlinks will take you to the 3-pack and keep you there. Bringing you more clicks and customers to your business.
Can you benefit
from local SEO?
Any business with a physical location or that serves a geographical area can benefit from local SEO
What is the most important factor for local rankings?
Backlinks. The quality and number of your backlinks are still the most important factor for local search results.
What else can you do? Optimise for Mobile Search!
75% of Local searches from a mobile device result in a store or website visit within 24 hours!
“A great and professional company to work with, I’ve collaborated with MW digital on numerous projects with some impressive results – highly recommend.”
Satisfied
customers
Why use Local SEO?
Localised Search Engine Optimisation (Local SEO) is the optimisation of a local business’s website and web pages to affect their visibility when searched online. This can result in more traffic and awareness for the business and hence growth.
It can be hard for local businesses to compete with national-scale companies. These big brands have benefits like brand recognition and better funding than local businesses. These advantages can make it hard for them to compete for visibility online and for business.
This is where Local SEO comes in!
Local businesses can benefit from Local SEO as a way to compete with larger national businesses for visibility online.
One main tactic is to rank for all those “near me” searches.
It gives benefits to the local businesses by letting them take advantage of something a national-scale business cannot. By focusing on topics and popular search terms for your localised area, you can be the first to appear for local searches nearby.
A business like Tesco has stores all over the UK. Therefore it doesn’t make sense for them to market to a specific local area. If a local business makes the most of their Local SEO, they can gain a big advantage in terms of generating more web traffic for their business.
“45% of global shoppers buy online and pick up in-store” – Google
“76% of people visit businesses within one day of searching” – Google
“28% of people who search for products nearby make a purchase” – Google
60% OF ALL CALLS GO TO THE 3-PACK.
Companies featured in the Google 3-pack
receive the majority of the calls and clicks!
Presented with these results – which locksmith would you choose to call?
Clearly one of these 3, and probably the one with the most reviews.
So irrespective of the company that is at No.1 on Google, below this map
section, it is most likely one of these companies will get the click or the call!
PREFER A VIDEO TO WATCH?
The Importance of Local SEO
To put it simply, Local SEO is an effective, affordable way for a local business to boost its visibility and search rankings online.
Many businesses have already begun to make the most of Localised Search Engine Optimisation for the advantage they can gain over national businesses in their local area.
All of this may seem like a brand-new, cutting-edge tactic but it has been around for some time now. However, in the time we have had the technology to make the most of it, its effectiveness and importance for local businesses has continued to grow.
Our technology is constantly growing and evolving. By recognising this, we can confidently say that the importance and effectiveness of Local SEO will surely do the same.
SEO vs Local SEO
Normal SEO involves improving your website’s visibility on a national or global scale.
Local SEO is different because it allows you to focus on improving your visibility to users in your area.
Local SEO makes the most out of local, “nearby”, searches to improve the rankings of your website and web pages.
Your Google Business Profile is very important in Local SEO. You can use your GBP page to better meet Google’s ranking factors and increase your ranking in searches for keywords and phrases.
It is important to list out details of your company on your GBP page. By adding information such as your company name, address, phone number, hours and similar details, Google can get more information on your business that it can use for future searches.
Google’s ranking factors determine search rankings for businesses and are therefore very important if you want to appear in searches.
The most important ranking factors are relevance, proximity and prominence.
Relevance determines how well the search intent of a user fits with your business, being as clear about your business improves the chances of it being relevant to a user’s search.
Proximity is a big factor for ranking in local searches, if Google doesn’t know your address it can’t recommend you in localised searches.
Prominence refers to how much activity there is around your business. For example, if your business page isn’t updated with reviews and new photos often, it will not be as prominent as another business’s GBP.
So, if you are making the most out of your GBP in Google’s search rankings, Local SEO can really have a big impact on your business!
How it works
Local SEO usually involves editing a business’s website and also its GBP Page (Google Business Profile). This is done to elevate its position on google search for specific keywords and phrases.
Search engines like Google will have bots that crawl through web pages, taking information and putting them into an index. This information is used to estimate how well a website or web page matches what the user is searching for. It is important to consider that these bots don’t just try to match keywords with the user’s searches. They also try to understand the intention behind someone’s search to increase the likelihood that the results are what they wanted. With good Localised SEO, your website and web pages have a much higher chance of being suggested by Google.
Including local and hyper-local content such as street names and landmarks is important for local businesses. This will help your business will match more local user searches and improve your position in Google’s search rankings.
Another big advantage is that you can’t pay search engines for higher organic search rankings. Because of this, Local SEO services can be a great way to gain affordable exposure for your business.
We don't work with just anyone!
FAQs
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO helps your business show up when people nearby search for the services you offer.
E.g. for ‘near me’ searches
Do I need Local SEO if I already have a website?
Yes – a website alone is not enough if local customers cannot find you in Google search and maps.
Is a Google Business Profile important?
Absolutely – it is one of the biggest factors in getting found locally and turning searches into enquiries.
Can Local SEO help me get more calls?
Yes – better local visibility means more of the right people find you and contact you.
How do I know what needs improving?
A proper local SEO review will quickly show where you are being missed and what to fix first.
Ready to see how local SEO could help your business?
Tell us a bit about your business, your website and what you want more of.
We will come back to you with a clear view of what stands out and what we would do next.
Prefer to talk first? Book a free consultation.