What Is Local SEO & Why Is It Important?

When your business has an online presence, you have the power to reach customers worldwide. But if you want to grow your reputation with people in your city, town, or neighborhood, local SEO is incredibly important. By learning how local SEO works and what you can do to improve it, you can increase brand awareness, improve conversion rates, and generate more foot traffic. 

What Is Local SEO & Why Does It Matter? 

Search engine optimization can help your business rank higher on Google, which organically increases your visibility around the globe. But for many businesses—especially those with a physical storefront or offices—success starts at the local level. Local SEO is important for building your brand and generating sales because it makes it easier for people in your neck of the woods to find your business and engage. 

Google search results look different for users depending on where they are in the world. That’s because Google’s algorithm considers relevance, distance, and prominence, which allows it to deliver accurate results to queries. If you’ve just opened a flower shop in your neighborhood and want to drum up business, appearing in the local pack near the top of the results page when someone in your city searches for “flowers near me” can be a huge difference-maker. 

Local traffic to your business website generates strong leads and high conversion rates. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce notes that local SEO is useful for generating traffic and sales because it’s more likely to attract customers intending to patronize a business. Local SEO is important because it puts your name closer to the top of the list of options for those customers. 

How Do You Improve Local SEO For Your Business? 

Users increasingly rely on “near me” searches and Google Maps to connect with local businesses and find the goods and services they need. So how do you increase your visibility in these searches? Google recommends completing and verifying your Google Business Profile to include your address, phone number, current business hours, and other pertinent information. 

Responding to reviews on Google, Yelp, and other platforms also helps increase your prominence and builds brand cachet—just be sure to respond to negative reviews and comments appropriately. More reviews and a higher average review score make your business more prominent, so encourage customers to leave honest reviews about their experiences whenever possible. 

An updated Google Business Profile and strong digital reputation management are good examples of off-page SEO with a local slant. So is forming relationships with other local businesses, which helps establish your reputation. But if you really want to improve your performance at the local level and rank well in SERP, on-page SEO is every bit as important. One of your first steps should be to perform local keyword research. You can leverage tools like Keyword Planner, Google Trends, and Google’s Local Year in Search 2023 to find relevant keywords that perform well and help your website rank higher in search. 

You can also use these tools and research to determine what’s working well for competitors and gain ground on them in Google rankings. On the other hand, you can leverage local partnerships from an on-site SEO perspective by getting backlinks from other businesses, in newspapers, and from supporting local events. 

A balanced and varied local keyword strategy will help you get the most out of your on-page SEO efforts. Look for keywords related to the goods and services you offer—if you’re a florist, for example, “flower delivery,” “floral arrangements,” and “wedding flowers” could be solid opportunities to sieze. You can implement these keywords throughout your website, on landing pages dedicated to specific products and services, and in blogs. Don’t forget to incorporate keywords in your metadata, alt text, and slugs, too. 

Boost Your Local SEO Efforts With Page One Digital

Local SEO is extremely important for growing your business, and a sound strategy can produce impressive results. Page One Digital is all about producing impressive results, and we’d love to work with you to improve your local SEO efforts. From SEO Audits that can enhance your website and generate more quality leads to Content Marketing that can help shape your brand identity, we are here to help. Contact us today, and let’s get started!