Webartifice
About Local SEO
A Small Business Advantage
If your business provides a local service, or you welcome customers to your premises, Local SEO is an opportunity that you shouldn’t miss.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is a method of marketing your business to people who are…
- Local to you
- Interested in your product or service
- Actively searching for your product or service online
The benefits of local SEO are that you expose your business to potential customers who show clear intent by looking for a local company.
The methods used in Local SEO can differ significantly from traditional SEO.
Why Local SEO is Important
Google has told us that many people complete searches with “local intent.” They search for products and services that are local to them and use local search phrases to get more focused results.
To take advantage of this behaviour, your business must be prominent in search results. Therefore, you need a local SEO strategy to be visible in search if someone local to your business searches for your products or services.
If you own a small business, leveraging Local SEO can significantly increase your exposure in search results, especially when used with traditional SEO practices.
What are Local Search Results?
What identifies a local search?
If search engines believe you have made a location-based search or a search with local intent, they return results that they think will provide you with the information you seek.
In addition, if the search engine considers your search to be commercial, they will likely produce a list of businesses that can help you out.
Google identifies local searches by considering local SEO ranking factors. For instance, where you are; they do this through the browser or device you are using and whether the words you use show clear local intent, such as “near me” searches.
Search engines provide the information in various ways that are not influenced by standard SEO practices, so this is where Local SEO becomes valuable.
Local Intent – An Explanation
Your location influences all Google search results. However, how targeted on your locality the results are, depends on whether Google considers your search to have local intent.
Let’s compare two related search phrases: “how to fix a leaking tap” & “plumber to fix tap near me”. They both provide two different sets of results.
The first searcher was looking for information about how they could fix a tap, and the second was looking for someone close by that will fix a leaking tap. The second showed “local intent”.
This is where Local Search comes into play. Local search results can differ from generic results significantly.
Local Search Results Example
The types of results that Google provides can be confusing for those who want to market their business through search. Local search results muddy the water still further. Let’s try and make it a little clearer.
The Local Pack (AKA 3 Pack)
Here we’ve used the search query “plumber near me”. Part of the returned page shows the “Local Pack” that you can see to the left.
The local pack contains a lot of helpful information, including the location on a map, whether it has any reviews and the business address and phone number.
In addition, often opening hours and photos are also shown, so it seems that these plumbers are not getting the optimal benefits from local search.
You’ll notice the red dots on the map; they are secondary results that Google thinks are less important but relevant to our search.
The “More places” link at the bottom opens up Google Maps, providing more choice.
The information displayed here comes from a Google Business Profile, more about that in a minute.
Organic Results
Google also provides organic results on the page; I’ve shown the top 5 to the left. This area is influenced to a greater extent by traditional SEO practices, but we can do some things to improve your locally focused position.
You’ll notice that some results gain a star rating; your website’s content or external review systems influence this.
If you want your business to appear in organic results for this type of search, you will need some content on your website that reinforces your locality.
As you can see, there is only one actual plumbing business shown in organic results. So there is room for improvement.
Google Ads
The rest of the results page, often at the top and the bottom, is made up of Ads. These adverts are paid for via the Google Ads system. If you aren’t running Google Ads, your site won’t appear here.
So you might ask, why don’t I just pay Google to appear in Ads instead of investing in SEO? On the face of it, this seems like a good idea. However, running a successful ad campaign for local services is not just a matter of throwing money at Google.
Google still want to ensure your service is relative to the user’s search intent and that your business is trustworthy. Standard local SEO practices have a big part to play in improving ad campaign success.
Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile plays an integral part in Local SEO. It’s a service that allows you to claim a profile and provide accurate information about your business. The more information you can provide, the more likely you’ll appear in relevant searches.
You can populate your profile with a great deal of information helpful to searchers. For example, you can include and services you offer, your contact details, a description of your business, your business category, and your opening times. It’s also possible to provide images and even post short messages to promote your company.
Some things appear in your profile that you have no control over. For example, features such as Attributes, Questions & Answers, some photos and Google Reviews are generally provided by the public, ideally by people who have used your products or services. You also have no control over the “People also searched for” feature.
Because your Google Business Profile is so powerful, keeping it up to date is very important.
If you don’t take control of your Business Profile, Google will populate it from other sources it finds around the internet, which has happened to the profile we can see here. So this company has a great deal of scope for improvement.
Additionally, if you don’t take control of your profile, you won’t have the opportunity to respond to reviews about your business that people have left on Google.
Reviews are essential to your business. Therefore, any method of thanking people for their thoughts or having the opportunity to respond to a negative review is welcome.
What Else Influences Local Search Results?
Apart from the Business Profiles, Google uses any other reputable source of information regarding your business.
Sources might be directory listings on sites like Yell or Thomson Local or citations in services like TripAdvisor, TrustPilot or social media. Of course, Google isn’t the only search engine; Bing provides a similar service for businesses.
You must ensure that the information is correct and consistent wherever your business appears online.
How to Rank Well in Local Search Results
After reading through the above, you’ll have a good idea of what’s required to rank well in local searches and which local SEO strategies might work. To recap, results are influenced by:
- Locality
How close is your business to the person who is searching? - Significance
Are your products and services related to the search phrase? - Reputation
Has your business got an excellent online reputation?
Local SEO Solutions
I can help with…
- Localising Website Content
- Claiming and optimising your Google Business Profile
- Claiming and optimising your Bing Places Profile
- Reviewing/Creating Business Citations
- Managing Reviews
Local SEO Help
If you would like help appearing more prominently in local search