What should be in your Local SEO strategy?
Using a Local SEO Strategy can help you win online in your area
Local SEO is defined as getting your business website listed at the top of local search results and into the Google Maps section at the top of SERPs. Essentially, can you come out on top in your local area?
With every search you do, your location is automatically picked up, and this affects the search results you receive. So if you are in York, and search for Chemist, you are NOT going to see lots of Chemists from London - you will see the ones more local to you! No doubt, you will be familiar now with seeing a mini-map section at the top of search results? Such as this...
These are the local results - and where you want your business to appear. So how do you do this?
So what should be in your Local SEO Strategy?
There are a number of key strategies that you can use to boost your local search results performance
- Ensure your website is optimised for local searches
- Claim your Google My Business/ Google Maps listing
- Optimise your Google My Business/ Google Maps listing for the services you offer & locations you serve
- Post regularly to social media AND your Google My Business/ Google Maps listing
- Secure listings in as many local business directories that you can
- Ensure your NAP (Name, Address, Postcode) are exactly consistent across all platforms
- Get as many customer reviews as you can - posted on your Google Map listing - and keep them coming month after month
Beyond this, there are numerous other SEO techniques you can employ to boost your website rankings. Ultimately it comes down to relevancy, proximity and regularity.
How regular posting helps your search rankings
To appear in the search results you need to have relevant content on your website, be in the proximity of the person searching and also to be regularly updating your content. The first two are fairly obvious - as if your site is not relevant to the search, then why would you appear? So you need to optimise your site for the keywords and searches you want to be found for. Secondly, your maps listing needs to be in the proximity of the searcher for it to be shown. This is why your Google Maps listing is so important in local SEO.
So why do you need to have regular content? If you consider that the search engines are always trying to serve the best results to their users, then if you just create a website and leave it unchanged for years, why would that still be considered relevant 1, 3 or 5 years from now? It needs to be updated. This is why so many people use content management, blog creation (such as this!) and social media posting to keep their business relevant and up to date.
Can you think of a site that almost always appears in search results? Wikipedia - and as it is almost constantly being updated you can understand why. Now you don't need to be continually updating content - you have your actual business to run! If you can post/ blog/ update once a week, then that is good. More than this is great. But keep it regular! If you need assistance with this, we can help - get in touch here.
And our final tip is...
Use your Google My Business/ Google Maps listing like you would any other social media channel!
In terms of local search, we would suggest using your GMB is a great tool.
Many people are familiar with posting to Instagram or Facebook on a regular basis, but for local businesses, Google should be considered the No.1. Post photos of work completed, updates on your products and services, promotions and more! Treat it just like any other social media channel and watch it help your local SEO results improve!
MW Digital Yorkshire is a full service digital marketing agency based in York, North Yorkshire. Specialising in helping SMEs and local businesses throughout the UK improve their online performance and grow their businesses. If you are interested in search engine optimisation, a new/ improved website, content marketing or social media management, then call us today or use our contact us form here.
