Local SEO or local search engine optimization is a process similar to SEO. In local SEO, the online visibility of a business is increased through its website or web page. Local SEO helps your local business be more visible in local search results on a search engine. These can be a bakery, a local grocery store, or a dentist’s office, basically any business with a geographical location. Local SEO has helped multiple local brick-and-mortar businesses convert into big brands and even go global.
I’m not going to toss a group of random statistics at you.
But I do want to briefly show you a few fascinating statistics to highlight just how huge SEO is for local businesses. Did you know that after performing an online search for a product/service in their neighboring area, 76% of customers visit the business within that day! And that 28% of all local searches result in a purchase?
If you are a locally focused business, you must know the power and reach of a local search. If you live in a city like Karachi. Then you must get local SEO services for your business. As the business market of Karachi is highly competitive and this statement needs no proof. I mean look around you! Almost every local business has gone global in Pakistan.
In this section, we will cover the most effective and must do things to improve local SEO:
One of the initial steps of improving your local visibility and ranking higher in local search results is to set up a Google My Business (GMB) listing. One of the reasons to have a Google My Business listing is that you will be amongst all of the local businesses in your locality that are available on the internet. Another thing to do is to try to be on the top of the GMB. Setting up a GMB listing is not at all that hard. However you will need to fill out all the details of your profile. Google facilitates its business users by telling them how much of your profile is done. So if you miss anything make sure to get it to a 100% and fill all the fields. Once you have listed yourself on GMB, time to get SEO into action. On GMB you can create mini-posts for your clients and show Google that you are actively managing your list. To use this to a full flash advantage of this, share these posts on your business’s social media.
Whilst creating a business listing it is crucial to insert the correct name and place information. If all of your listings have your correct information, it is much simpler for Google to trust them. If there are errors in your listings then Google has no way of knowing it. Something as small as an incorrect phone number is a red flag. Google might delete your GMB listing if it doesn’t know that if your business is legitimate. There are also obvious drawbacks such as miscommunication with the customers. So try to double-check the information you enter on the listings.
One of the fundamentals of SEO is targeting local keywords. Local keywords are more self-explanatory, but you should still research according to your business needs.
For example: If you are an SEO marketing agency in Karachi, then you will want to compare search volumes for different variations of searches like “marketing in Karachi, SEO services in Karachi”
Once you have a list of local keywords you want to rank for, the next step is to optimize your website with them. Obviously, site optimization is a lengthy topic on its own, but here are some of the local SEO optimization basics:
∙ Headers
∙ Meta Description
∙ Title tags
∙ Body
∙ Footer
Another thing that a lot of people miss is the proper management of your online reviews. Positive reviews are obviously good for your business and its reputation. Positive reviews not only make you represent a positive image of your local business but also happen to rank you higher and display positivity when searched online. On the other hand, bad reviews can really raise some eyebrows about your business. Of course, there is not much you can do to stop all those negative reviews besides refreshing your listing and improving service.
It is crucial to add the number of check-ins at your store. Not only does it increase the digital traffic of your website or business but it also increases the physical foot count of your business. In simpler words, it makes more people visit your business. You see, most people try a new place because of the number of reviews and check-ins in the store.
Once you have mastered the fundamentals, you may be tempted to put your foot on the brake and stop the process of SEO. However, SEO is an ongoing and continuous process. Once you get a hang of it and use it to your advantage, there is no coming back. Instead of putting an end to the process you can carry it on and maintain and optimize it. If you want to gain more fruit from the tree of SEO. Then you should try a Local SEO audit. A basic Local SEO audit includes the following:
∙ GMB Audit
∙ Google search console audit
∙ On-page SEO audit
∙ Citation Audit
∙ Website Audit
∙ Competitor Analysis
You can pick the one according to your need and increase even more digital traffic.
As recent studies have shown, that the number of active users on the internet by smartphone is more than 51%. Then you must make your website compatible enough to be frequently used on their mobile phones. Most people who don’t feel catered to on your website might immediately leave.
So make sure to optimize your website for smartphones.
Having an expensive SEO campaign and keyword search is just not enough for having a perfect digital presence. You also have to focus on the content of your website. Having thin, irrelevant, or un-optimized content on your website is absolutely fatalistic and having poor quality content is by far the biggest and most frequent mistake made by businesses when it comes to their local SEO
Your website is the only form of your representation on the internet. A silly mistake that businesses make is that they don’t share their contact information on their website.
Your website is the only form of your representation on the internet. A silly mistake that businesses make is that they don’t share their contact information on their website.
