Today, word-of-mouth publicity and local advertisements are great mediums to attract customers from your local area. However, online search is equally impactful, if not more. A recent social media report suggests that almost 97% of search engine users search online to find a local business within their vicinity.
If your business is not optimised in the local search, you could lose out on potential customers. In other words, integrating local SEO could be the key to staying relevant and competitive while expanding your business.
However, if you are relatively new to this local SEO game and your business needs help, contacting an SEO company in Mumbai will help you increase your ranking and visibility.
In this guide, we will talk about what local SEO is and how it can help improve your ranking. Let’s get started!
What is Local SEO?
To understand what local SEO is, it is essential to understand what it means. Local search is when your potential consumer searches for your businesses, products, services, or other information relevant to one specific location.
They could search for an upcoming concert in their city or other services or stores like bakeries.
For example, when you look up the keyword: concerts in Mumbai, the search engine will show a list of events happening in the upcoming week and month.
Similarly, if you search for the keyword: Bakeries near me, you’ll be shown the nearest bakeries in your area sorted according to their popularity. A local search is a powerful tool for small businesses.
Today, 46% of Google searches look for local information. If your company is not optimised for local SEO, your business could miss out on significant traffic.
In short, local SEO is important for your business to be relevant in the race. To understand how to optimise your business for local SEO, we have curated a comprehensive guide that offers more profound insights into local SEO.
How to do local SEO?
Optimising Your Google My Business Profile
Google My Business or GMB is one of the important strategies for local SEO. This tool allows you to create free business listings. According to Moz, GMB is an important factor that Google considers when ranking for organic local search results. It takes a few minutes to set up your profile.
However, the challenge is verifying your listing, as physical locations must submit a code sent via postcard. Google does this to ensure the physical location entered exists. Setting up your profile does not guarantee you will appear in the search results. It is more for competing in the ranking. Once you have set up your profile, you still have to optimise it to outrank your competitors.
To start optimising your Google My Business profile, here is a simple checklist:
- Provide accurate and up-to-date information.
- Include your logo, hours of operation, acceptable payment methods, the product or service you sell, and plenty of images.
- Provide additional information related to your business.
- Encourage your customers to review your business online.
Do Local Keyword Research
Keyword research for local SEO demands a more straightforward outlook. Some locations and cities are likely to have more competitive keywords than others; there is usually a much smaller competitor pool for local SEO keywords.
A simple formula to brainstorm a list of seed keywords is: [product or service] in [location]
A seed list can be created by combining the products and services with the business locations.
For example-
- Furniture store in London
- Coffee shop in Wales
Or you could search for tools for local keyword research. If you want to know more about Local SEO, refer to our article Best SEO tools for local keywords to find which tool works the best.
It is advisable to focus on your seed list of the actual locations. By optimising your listings, you are conveying to Google the local signals required to show your location to the searcher in the right geography.
On-Page SEO for Local Businesses
- Optimising Your Website for Local Searches
Optimising your website for local search does not mean adding many location words into pages here and there; you need to show Google why you are an authority in your vertical and local area. This could mean publishing relevant news, creating expert guides in your area, or adding a location page. The key is to speak about your local area with expertise, authority, and trust.
- Creating Location Pages
Location pages are a must if you provide services in multiple locations. Adding these location pages makes it easier for search engines to locate your listing and deliver the appropriate location to the searcher. These pages need to provide the following information:
- Store hours
- Name, address, and phone number
- IndividualisedIndividualised descriptions
- Google Maps attached to each location page
For example, if you are a doctor who operates from multiple locations, you can create location pages so Google knows to show you when the user searches for doctors near that area. You can also read our local SEO tips for doctors to improve your ranking.
- Schema Markup for Local SEO
You should apply for local schema markup or structured markup data to every webpage to optimise your website for local SEO. It is an additional feature you can add to your pages to make it easier for search engines to understand who you are, what you do, and where you might be located.
- Mobile Optimisation
Regarding local searches, mobile devices are the go-to option for consumers. Whether looking for a restaurant nearby or a local service provider, people often turn to their smartphones for quick and relevant information. Acquisio found that 75% of local searches exhibiting intent result in offline purchases. By making your website mobile-friendly, you can ensure your company appears in local search results.
- Managing NAP Information
NAP, an acronym for Name, Address, and Phone Number, represents online business contact information. Consistency in NAP data is important for search engines to verify a business’s authenticity and location, which can improve search rankings.
Building Local Citations and Backlinks
- Local Citations
By this point, your website is well-optimised for local SEO, but it might not be ranking for your target keywords. This is likely because it needs more authority to outrank other competitors.
The key to boosting a website’s authority is showing Google you’re a credible and active business. One way to signal to Google that you’re a legitimate and active business is to add your business to directories like Yelp or other relevant local communities according to your industry.
Adding your business to directories is known as citation building.
Your NAP information must be consistent across all the directories to which you add your business. Otherwise, it sends mixed signals to users and search engines, affecting your ranking.
- Backlinks
Search engines want to show users credible and reputed businesses, but how can the search engine judge? The primary method is for search engines to look at other websites linked to your website. The logic is if a highly reputed website sends its users to your website through a backlink, the website must believe your business is credible. For example, if a big fashion brand includes your website, it suggests they trust it. Therefore, high-quality websites linking to your website are ideal. As you may have guessed, not all links are equally powerful. Higher-quality websites with well-established authority are much more powerful than small blogs.
As a local business, it’s also important to earn links from other businesses located in your community. This signals to Google that you’re credible and relevant to that community, which will help increase your ranking in your city. Contact link-building services in Mumbai for better backlink optimisation.
Customer Reviews and Reputation Management
Online reviews are an integral trust signal for Google. Reviews are like a vote of validation of your products for your customers. Around 81 per cent of consumers read reviews online before purchasing. While reviews aren’t visible on your website, they are a great strategy for your local SEO. These reviews help you rank better on the search page and signal the consumers that these products are tried and recommended by their peers. Here are some ways to encourage customers to leave reviews:
- Ask them in person to leave a review.
- Provide a page on your website with instructions on how to leave a review.
- Send an email or text message asking them to leave a review on your website.
Conclusion
Local SEO plays an integral part in any SEO strategy for local businesses. Local SEO helps you gain visibility and be found by your audience when they are searching for you online. While there are plenty of ways to optimise your local SEO, following the above-mentioned local SEO tips will help you gain better clarity on how to earn more search visibility. With the right local SEO strategy, you can start your journey to gain brand recognition and authority.
As a reputed and leading local SEO agency in Mumbai, Capsicum Mediaworks offers comprehensive local search engine optimisation services to businesses globally. Backed by a team of SEO experts, our professionals assist you with conversion-driven local SEO services to ensure that your business listing ranks high in SEO local search queries and helps you achieve your revenue growth.
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