What does local SEO bring? If you are still asking yourself this question, you should keep the following numbers in mind.
50% of the people who are looking for information with a local reference such as the location of a bakery, the opening times or how to get there are there by the next day at the latest. Of all searchers, 18% become customers on the same day.
50% of people who are looking for information with a local reference such as the location of a bakery, the opening times or how to get there on Google Maps will be there by the next day at the latest. Of all searchers, 18% become customers on the same day. Local SEO is therefore not a “nice to have”, but a must-have, as there are many potential customers willing to convert.
Even if the Internet is a great way to network globally and to get information, many search queries are in our immediate vicinity. And here, too, it is important to take the front seats, especially with the growing popularity of digital assistants and voice search. This is where SEO services in Dubai comes in.
Local searches
Imagine the following scenarios : Where can I get a nice birthday cake for the next children’s birthday party? Where can I find a lawyer? Where is the next supermarket? You type it into your smartphone and see the shops in the area. You are looking for a business with positive reviews and then you go there by bike, car or walk, navigated with Google Maps.
A short time ago the city center was a major ranking factor. That has changed today. The search results vary greatly depending on the user’s location. For Android there are apps that manipulate the GPS location and thus allow a test. Getting search results even more local is good for local businesses because it makes it much easier to compete for customers and thus compete with fewer companies.
Who Needs Local SEO?
Any company of any size that looks after their customer base or their customers on site should of course be found online. In addition to lawyers, doctors or restaurants, these can also be agencies or regional branches of large companies. If you have a physical address and want people to come there, placement in the local search results is important.
What are Local Pack Results?
The “Local Pack” is the name given to the three local stores that Google considers most relevant to the search query. According to a study by Moz , 33% of clicks go to a search result within the Local Pack, while 40% click on an organic search result.
The picture above shows a typical local search query. Above the so-called “Snack Pack” and below the organic search results. Exciting: The results from the “Snack Pack” and from the organic search are completely different.
What do we learn from this? It pays to have good rankings in both search results.
Which ranking factors are there?
Officially, of course, there is no reliable information, but a study by Moz comes up with 8 ranking factors in the local search:
- Google My Business signals (distance, categories, keywords, etc.)
- Link signals (inbound anchor text , domain authority, etc.)
- Ratings (positive / negative, rating frequency, etc)
- On-page signals (keywords in the title, domain authority)
- NAP or Citation Signals (uniform NAP, entries in yellow pages)
- User signals (CTR, clicks to make calls on mobile devices, etc.)
- personalization
- Social signals (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Mobile friendliness is a basic requirement
80% of local searches are carried out using smartphones and tablets. This means that the landing pages should also be optimized for these devices. In addition to the mobile-friendly test, there are two basic rules that must be observed.
- No Flash (not supported by iOS and Android)
- Responsive design (adapts the texts, buttons and forms to the respective screen size)
Local SEO only works with a My Business Account
In order to be officially recognized by Google as a business or company (the algorithm certainly already knows, but still), a profile must be created on Google My Business (GMB).
The GMB profile can contain a variety of information that you enter yourself, e.g. B. Services you offer, contact details, business description, categories and opening times.
A big part of local SEO is making your GMB profile as current and accurate as possible so that it has a higher chance of showing up in the Local Pack and is trustworthy, attractive, and engaging enough to get a click. Google My Business, while incredibly powerful, is just one example of what is called a NAP.
Local citation or NAP – entries in business directories and directories
Local citation refers to the mention of a company including local data (name, address, telephone) on the Internet. Entries in local and thematic business directories are immensely important for local search engine optimization. It is irrelevant to Google whether you have a free entry or pay for an extended entry. In addition to the reach of a company entry via these directories, an entry for Google is an important signal for the awareness of your company on the Internet.
Please check all company entries for an identical spelling for:
- The local
- Yelp
- The phone book
- Yellow Pages
- 11880
- Do you know a
- way2business.de
- pointoo.de
- yellowmap.de
- Industry-specific platforms such as “Jameda” for doctors or “Kununu” for employers
Content for local SEO
Good texts for local SEO have a regional reference, and this is also reflected in the various places on the page:
- Title tag,
- Hx headings
- IMG alt attributes
Important: Always the respective keyword in combination with the location. Texts tailored to the location also appeal more to users. All of this is then rounded off with measures from online marketing so that it gets reach.
Schema.org for local businesses
Schema.org is a joint project between Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! The aim of the project is to better understand information on websites in order to provide searchers with better search results. The labeling of relevant information from company name, address, telephone number, coordinates, payment methods, etc. can be specified here by companies. Structured data are important as a ranking criterion. This enables the search engines to correctly define the content and use it for local searches. However, it should be checked whether the additional effort is worthwhile, as not every content management system can. We recommend doing it though, as Google will very likely reward the website.
Social media for local businesses
Signals from social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. are also recognized by the Google algorithm. This can be likes, shares or tweets. These “ social signals ” are also important in local searches.
Without your own social media channels, you can enable your visitors to like and share and actively encourage them to do so. The integration is relatively easy. Here are three examples of sharing a website as a text link:
Although social media channels are not officially ranking factors, social media is simply part of it and rounds off the image of your own website.
But Attention , only for local search better position a Facebook page to create a Twitter account, without having maintained this is an own goal. If nothing happens on the channels, there is no interaction or new posts, this is not a positive signal to the search algorithm. Therefore, the first step is to think about whether this step makes sense for the company .
Advertising in local search
Since 2016 it has been possible to advertise on Google Maps . In addition to organic optimization, the target group can be reached directly.
Local SEO checklist
So what do I have to consider in order to be relevant in the local search?
- Pay attention to uniformity in all channels
- Encourage customers to give reviews. The reviews are optically prepared by Google in stars and stand out.
- See negative reviews as an opportunity to optimize and respond to the review!
- Use appealing photos
- Keep the website up to date
- Create important directory entries and regularly check that they are up to date
- Incorporate customer feedback and other structured data into the search result via schema.org
Conclusion
Local SEO has become an integral part of many industries. Many users not only want to find the address or telephone number of a business on the Internet, they also want to get an idea of the company.
On which it depends? Above all, honesty and timeliness. A trustworthy image of a company as well as important keywords in connection with the relevant place name in order to generate customers from prospective customers. Plus SEO so that you can take advantage of the local service.
The future of local SEO
Where is the local search headed? Here are a few thoughts:
- Search engine algorithms are becoming more and more intelligent and in the future they will be able to answer more and more search queries directly without referring to their page. But don’t panic. You don’t (only) want the traffic, but the calls, emails, visits, etc.
- User behavior is becoming an increasingly important ranking signal. Google may use data such as brand searches , calls resulting from search results, navigation to a business in Google Maps, user behavior on the website, etc.)
- More advertising in local ads
Professional SEO with Seo Experts in Lahore & Dubai
Do you need help with SEO, whether locally or internationally? We at Brand AdvoKates are experts in search engine optimization and would be happy to help you.