Local Search Engine Optimization – Local SEO for Your Business

Local SEO is the process of optimizing your business for local searches on Google and other search engines. This is commonly misunderstood as merely optimizing your company’s listing on Google My Business. Local SEO extends beyond being listed on My Google Business Profile or ranking on My Business Profile for specific keywords. It encompasses optimizing for organic searches related to local keywords. For instance, “AC Mechanic in Vadodara” is a location-specific keyword. If you optimize your web pages and your Google My Business Profile for the specified keyword, the process is referred to as “optimizing for Local Search” or Local SEO.

Why Local SEO Is Vital for Your Business

Most users searching for a product or service would prefer a local business for their needs before considering vendors or service providers outside their locality. For some services, this becomes more crucial than others. Local service providers like plumbers, electricians, and mechanics are preferred from within the locality rather than from outside the location. These services are often required urgently, and people don’t want to wait for a service provider from outside unless no local provider is available. Local services are generally more affordable than out-of-town service providers for obvious reasons.

With more people searching for local businesses, your listing as a local business provider becomes even more important. Any business, whether niche or general, can benefit from Local SEO. Additionally, consider the amount of competition you can avoid. You may face competition from a handful of businesses locally, but globally or nationally, you could compete with thousands or even hundreds of thousands of businesses. Your chances of reaching your audience are much higher when your business is optimized for local searches.

What Are Local SEO Ranking Factors?

When optimizing for Local SEO, several factors impact your ranking. These factors depend on how your website and Google Business Profile are optimized and how well your business is cited on third-party websites. Some of the key ranking factors include:

1. Google Business Profile Optimization: An average Google Business Profile drives 33 clicks a month, which is minimal for most businesses. However, a well-optimized and verified Google Business Profile has the potential to receive 600 calls a year—60 calls a month or 2 calls per day. These are leads, not just views of your business listings. Optimizing your Google Business Profile is the first step most Local SEO professionals take, as it is easy to set up and requires time from Google to rank after the update.
2. On-Page SEO: Once the Google Business Profile is set up, the next step is to optimize your web pages for Local SEO. This includes adding relevant, location-specific keywords to the web pages you want to rank for locally. On-page SEO for Local SEO involves optimizing your title tags, meta descriptions, header tags, and content on your website to include local keywords like location names.
3. Local Citations: Citations are references to your business name, address, and phone numbers on third-party websites. This could include Yellow Pages, directories, or local websites. Citations require that your business name, address, and phone numbers be exactly the same as listed on your Google Business Profile for Google My Business (GMB) to recognize that you are referring to the same business. All three details should appear on the same page where you are listed.
4. Reviews and Ratings: Reviews have a significant impact on how well you rank on your Google Business Profile. Take the time to acquire as many reviews as possible from your clients and customers. The better the ratings and reviews—both in quantity and quality—the higher your chances of ranking ahead of your competition. A few poor reviews may necessitate the need for Online Reputation Management (ORM).
5. Local Content Creation: If your website does not have relevant content, it is impossible to rank for relevant keywords. Creating locally specific content is essential for ranking your business locally.
6. Local Structured Data Markup: Structured data markup makes a significant difference in how you rank on Google. Creating a local schema markup for your web pages helps Google understand your content and how relevant it is to local searches.

These are the core changes that affect your Local SEO ranking factors but not the only ones. Factors may also extend to local engagement, mobile optimization, page speed optimization, geographic relevance, user experience, social media presence, and website load speed, among hundreds of other factors.

How We Do Local SEO

At Admarkon, we follow a white-hat process for Local SEO with local intent search optimization and hyperlocal SEO tactics. We begin with Google Business Profile optimization, ensuring local business geo-targeting for proximity-based search results. Local ranking algorithms, especially for Google Business Profiles, rely heavily on geographic keywords and geo-specific content optimization. With neighborhood-specific SEO, localized content and backlinking strategies, and geo-tagged content, we ensure better ranking for more keywords related to your business and industry.

National SEO vs. Local SEO: The Difference and Why It Matters

Before comparing Local vs. National SEO, it is important to understand the difference. Local SEO targets a specific geographic area. For example, “Plumbers in Vadodara” or “Electricians in Gorwa” focus on smaller areas, which means a smaller audience and less traffic. However, you also face less competition, can achieve faster organic ranking, and have better Google Business Profile ranking.

National SEO, on the other hand, focuses on a wider audience and has better reach but comes with more competition. Google Business Profile is not as relevant in these cases, and organic ranking requires more time, effort, and relies heavily on backlinks and topical authority.

Some businesses have a better advantage with Local SEO and may not require National SEO at all. For instance, a plumber in Vadodara, Gujarat, will probably not want to service clients in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Their business is 100% local and will not need to focus on National SEO. Conversely, businesses like manufacturing may want to serve clients nationally. A business manufacturing luxury clothing or engineering products may aim to serve clients all over the country.

Even if you are focused on National Business, Local SEO should be your first option. It is faster to rank and can generate business organically.

Also Read : Local SEO For Small Businesses