Introduction To Local SEO From Semalt

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To rank for local searches such as "plumber in Leicester" or "plumber near me", you need to make your company's website optimized for local search results.

At Semalt, we do several technical, off-page, and on-page SEO tasks to achieve this. We have been able to rank thousands of local businesses with our AutoSEO and FullSEO packages. This article will explain what local search engine optimization (SEO) is and how it works. What does it do for your business, and why is it important?

Now let's take them one after the other!

What is Local SEO?

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A type of marketing that helps local companies show up higher in Google's local searches is called Local SEO. It is done by businesses that want to make it easier for people in their area to find them online.

You need to know about local SEO if you want to sell goods or services to people in a certain town or city.

If your business has both a physical and online store, you must ensure that local SEO is part of your marketing plan. How will people in your area find your business if you are yet to make it easy for them to do so?

At Semalt, we can help you build a strong SEO strategy to boost your business visibility in your local search results.

To do SEO for a local business, you'll do a series of things to make the business more visible in local search results. Best practice strategies include the following:
A local company may benefit from this sort of SEO by having a more prominent presence in Google Maps, the Local Finder, the Local Pack, and the Localized Organic Results. 

We understand that not everyone is cut out for tasks like this. And that's why we have professionals to help take the burden of getting these tasks off your shoulder.

Local Pack

When you do a local search, the Local Pack is at the top of the search engine results page. Listings appear next to a map with pins showing where each business is. The results for the Local Pack are based on the Business Profile, not the business's website. You'll need a set and well-optimized business profile to rank in this spot.

Getting into Google's Local Pack is very helpful. The most clicks naturally go to the top three results, which can lead to more sales and more money.

Local Finder

The Local Finder is a long list of Business Profiles for local businesses that match what you are looking for. If you click on "More places" at the bottom of the Local Pack, you'll go to the Local Finder.

Localized Organic Results

The localized organic results are shown below the Local Pack. The local search algorithm decides the order of the listings based on several ranking factors, such as how well the page is optimized, how many reviews it has, and how many links point to it.

Google Maps

On Google Maps, the list of nearby businesses will be much longer. On the left side of the page, the results are listed, and on the right, the locations of the businesses are shown on the map.

Benefits Of Local SEO

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Local SEO marketing makes your business more visible in the local search results. Which is why you need professionals like us to handle it. So, it can help you reach more people in your area, get more foot traffic, get more sales, build your reputation, and grow your business. 

1. Get in touch with more people

If your business shows up more often in local search results, more people are likely to find it. From here, the searcher might go to your website, call you, or decide to visit your business in person.

2. Improve your image

Notwithstanding the kind of business you run, in the long run, you need a good reputation. Local search marketing can help you build a good reputation in the public eye.

Getting new reviews online on a regular basis is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your online reputation. Reviews are a big part of how people decide what to buy. A steady flow of new reviews is also a known ranking factor for local SEO, so this is a win-win activity.

3. Increase the number of sales

Making your business website more visible in search results will lead to more people visiting it, which can lead to more sales such as sales, subscriptions, or service inquiries.

Customers will only sometimes need to visit your website because they can often find the information they need in the search results.

How exactly does local SEO work?

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It would be best if you did several marketing activities regularly to show up more often in local search results. These marketing activities are as follows:

1. Managing and optimizing your business's profile

Setting up a Business Profile is a key part of any local SEO strategy that works. If the business has yet to claim its free Business Profile, it won't be able to show up in Google Maps, the Local Pack, or the Local Finder.

Once the profile is set up, some initial optimization tasks need to be done. For example, photos need to be added, and a business description needs to be written with keywords in mind.

Additionally, you will have to keep an eye on your GBP and do these tasks to optimize it:

2. Getting a Good Reputation

As we've just seen, managing your reputation is a key part of a good local SEO plan. This is mostly done by getting reviews and showing your brand's personality online, such as through social media and email marketing.

When it comes to getting reviews, the first step is always to provide great customer service. You shouldn't expect five-star reviews if you know you don't deserve them. When the reviews start coming in, it's important to answer them quickly and professionally.

Your brand reputation is also affected by what you do on social media and in email marketing. Make sure that your brand and message are always front and center and that you talk to your online community in a professional but friendly way.

3. Optimizing Your Site

It's important to optimize your website for the local search algorithm. To do that, you'll need to:
A key part of local SEO is ensuring your website has high-quality, relevant content. You may create content in a variety of formats, including blog entries, movies, podcasts, animations, and more.

You must do keyword research and understand the needs of your audience if you want it to be helpful to them.

Great content will also help you get links to your site, which is another factor in how well it will rank in a local search. We also have creative and experienced writers at Semalt to help you create valuable content.
Building links within your site is simple but powerful, but it's often forgotten. Links that go from one part of your site to another are called "internal links." 

They help Google understand your website better, which makes it easier for your site to be shown correctly in the local search results pages.

When you add internal links to your site, ensure each link goes to a relevant page with good anchor text.
A site that is "mobile responsive" looks good and works well on all screen sizes, even those on small cell phones.

Google's Mobile-Friendly Test can be used to see how well your site works on a mobile device.

Google released the page experience update in 2021. This update takes into account several things related to the user experience. 

A site's "page experience score" should be checked in Google Search Console. Core Web Vitals is a vital part of this update and should be given the most attention when considering mobile responsiveness.
When you use attractive images on your website, it looks better. You should always optimize your images for search and choose good, relevant ones.

The process of optimizing images includes adding descriptive alt text and keywords to the file name. As a result, it is easier to find in search results and makes the web easier for people with disabilities. 

You should also ensure that your images are in the right size and format, so your website runs smoothly.

Content metadata helps search engines understand what your site is about. It would help if you used title tags and meta descriptions for this.

Spend time going through your website to ensure that your images and content are optimized.
Everything you do on your website should focus on ensuring users have a good time. This will help your SEO campaign in general, not just locally. 

If someone can't find what they're looking for on your site, for example, because the layout is hard to understand, they'll probably go back to the search results and go to a competitor instead.

Summary

This overview of local SEO should help point your business's SEO strategy in the right direction. Make sure your content and details are up-to-date and correct.

If you need help with your local search engine optimization strategy, Semalt is the go-to person for the job. With our years of experience and expertise, your business will be visible to the right audience.