Use Local SEO to Reach More Customers

If you’re a brick and mortar business or a local service-based business, then local SEO is something you need to know about. Local SEO is search engine optimization that’s based around particular location-based searches. The results you see are dependent on your physical location and/or location-based keywords that you use.

For example, anytime you use the words “near me” on Google, you’ll see local SEO results for whatever you were searching for. “Restaurants near me” will show you restaurants close to your location. If you search “pet store in San Diego”, you’ll see results for pet stores in San Diego no matter where you’re physically located. Because these results are picked based on a specific set of criteria, that be both a big advantage or disadvantage for your business. If your business information (location / service area) and local SEO are current and optimized, your chances of appearing in search results is high. If your info and local SEO are not up to date, your business will be left out of the results and customers won’t see you.

“Pet store in San Diego” pulls Featured Snippets that include national brands and local pets stores alike based on business relevancy, information indexed by Google, and customer reviews/ratings.

Another powerful advantage of local SEO is how the results you see are displayed on the search page. Local SEO results are often displayed as Featured Snippets, which are displayed at the very top of the search page, above the normal lines of results and even above paid ads in most cases. These Featured Snippets often contain images, descriptive text, or buttons to further enrich the result. Because of the position and detail of these results, they often get a higher number of clicks than regular search results.

Luckily, managing business information and local SEO is easy thanks to powerful tools from search engines. Google My Business is an awesome tool for managing business information that contributes to local SEO results. Bing Places is the Bing equivalent to Google My Business. Each of these tools provides businesses a platform to manage basic business information, share details about products and services with consumers, receive and manage customers reviews, and share posts about updates and events. We’ll focus on Google My Business for the sake of conciseness the rest of the way, but if you generate significant web traffic from Bing or another source, you should optimize local SEO on those search engines too.

Three things you must do in Google My business

Keep Business Information Current

Your business information is the core of how Google determines the relevancy of your business for different searches. You need to make sure your business listing is as complete and accurate as possible. Provide thorough descriptions of your business and your products/services and make sure all applicable products/services are listed. Business hours must be current at all times, especially for holidays and special events. If someone searches for a grocery store on Christmas Eve and you have your business’s hours updated for that day, you’ll rank quite high for that search. There is no substitute for thoroughness and detail when displaying relevant business information.

Add great photos and videos

Remember, local SEO results are often Featured Snippets! These results often include images, so making sure you have clear quality images included with your business listing will make you look great. The more variety you can include in your listing, the better. Include images of the interior and exterior of your space, photos of products and services, and keep customer photos from reviews if they’re of acceptable quality. If you have the skills, videos are a great way to make your business stand out from others and showcase what you’re about.

Interact with customer reviews

Finally, Google My Business is where customer reviews are showcased to other interested, potential customers. When your business profile appears, customers will be able to see your star rating and will able to see individual reviews by clicking. A great way to enhance your profile and show customers that you care about their feedback is by interacting with their reviews. A thoughtful response to their review can show appreciation for a positive review or offer an opportunity for constructive feedback on a negative one. Always show your professionalism in your response and customers will appreciate your rapport.

Local SEO gives smaller businesses a chance to compete against larger competition in their market. With their relevant business listing, qualified businesses can jump to the top of search results pages and interested customers can find exactly what they’re looking for. With easy to use and powerful tools like Google My Business, it’s simpler than ever for every business to complete in the vast SEO landscape. If you want assistance in creating or optimizing your local SEO strategy, get in touch with us!