Guide to Local SEO

Local business listings and citations play a vital role in reputation, rankings, and revenue. It is vital that you are consistent and precise with every listing. However, let's start with something simple and more important, something that most business owners ignore- Digital Knowledge Management.

What is Digital Knowledge?

Digital Knowledge includes location-specific information like name, address, and phone number along with more complex information like hours of operation and whether or not you are pet-friendly.

Since this information appears not only on your own website but also across your Google My Business, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Yahoo, Bing and the rest of the search ecosystem. It is massively important that you make sure this information is unified.

It is simply not enough to simply put the facts about your business on your website. You need to make sure all your information is the same across all social media platforms as well as it being consistent across the various apps, maps, directories and other services that consumers are using to search and find information.

Why is this important for SEO?

46% of all Google searches are looking for local information. When the facts about your business appear consistently across a lot of sources and search engines, consumers tend to trust the information more. Higher trust leads to a higher local search ranking and can eventually bring an audience of eager and ready to buy customers to your doorstep.

Your visibility and appearance in Local packs are about proximity, so monitoring and managing your search engine performance for your exact location is extremely beneficial. As well as this, focusing on your local queries will spare you the work and will save you money and time.

Local SEO top tips

1. Optimize Google My Business.

2. Improve your internal linking structure.

3. Optimize URL, title tags, headers, meta description, and content.

4. Add location pages your website.

5. Create local and relevant content.

6. Ensure your website is mobile-friendly for every user!

7. Ensure your name, address, and phone number are consistent throughout your online accounts and pages.

8. Optimize online directories and citations.

9. Get inbound links with relevance and authority.

10. Engage on social media and add posts to Google My Business.

How do I optimise My Google Business Online?

Previously known as Google Local and for a period of time Google+Local. Google My Business online is, as the name suggests, your business profile on Google.

Google My Business is often the first impression that people get for your business and brand; it cannot be ignored. It dramatically affects your visibility on the Local Pack feature, Google Maps, and organic rankings.

It feeds information to numerous places, including the local pack and Google Maps search results, but the most familiar appearance will likely be when it’s in the top right of a branded search for your business.

A big part of local SEO is making your GMB profile as up-to-date and accurate as possible so that it has a higher chance of appearing in the local pack, and trustworthy, attractive and appealing enough to warrant someone to clickthrough.

4 Important Local SEO statistics

1. 97% of people learn more about a company online than anywhere else

2. 61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site.

3. 78% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase.

4. 72% of consumers that did a local search visited a store within five miles.

Need help ? Why not book in a call with our SEO experts!