Local SEO

Like any other type of SEO, the ultimate goal of local SEO is to catapult your brand to the top of search results on the major search engines, such as Google and Bing. When your website is at the top of rankings, you win more traffic to your site. More traffic = more sales.

But not all traffic is created equal. If you’re a plumber in Dallas, Texas, for example, your target audience is limited to your local area. It’s not just enough to appear at the top of search every time someone looks up “plumber”. You need to be targeted with your SEO strategy if you want to get clicks that convert.

Enter local SEO.

Local SEO is about priming your website to rank for a specific local audience. Around 46% of Google searches have ‘local intent’ — meaning searchers are looking for products and services in their neighbourhood. Local SEO puts your business front and center of those searches. You’ll maximize your reach amongst a relevant target audience and maximize your revenue. Win.

So, what really goes into local SEO? Let’s say someone is looking for a plumber in Dallas. They might type ‘plumbers near me’ or ‘best plumbers in Dallas’. We know that’s you. And with a quality local SEO strategy, Google knows it too.

Local SEO campaigns include all the same things a normal SEO campaign would: content, on-page optimization, keyword research and link building. The difference is that it’s laser-focused on local audiences.

When these all come together, the magic happens. You’ll get more local visitors to your website. And they’ll convert into real sales for your business.

Let’s put it this way: Local search is one of the most important digital marketing actions you can do for your business. Local search is booming. More than half of online searches now specify a location, and 4 out of 5 people who use Google Search and Google Maps are looking to find local information.

Here’s the truth. If you’re a brick-and-mortar business with an address in a specific location, you can’t afford to NOT rank high on a local search. Your local audience is the most targeted and relevant pool of traffic you can get. And they use search engines to find what they’re looking for: 71% of people say they search for the location of a business before they visit for the first time. If you’re not showing up at the exact moment a local customer is looking for your business, they’ll go to the competition — even if you offer better products and services.

Local SEO is also a conversion powerhouse, especially on mobile. More and more searches are being carried on mobile devices, and people are using their phones to make important purchase decisions, even if they end up sealing the deal in a physical store. 80% of local mobile searches result in an offline purchase within 24 hours, and half of all people who did a local search on their phone went to a physical store within a day. In comparison, only a third of people do this when running a local search on their computer or tablet. Google even has a Local Pack to save users time on local searches.

Need more convincing? Here’s the zinger. 78% of local-based searches on a mobile result in purchases being made offline.

If you’re ready to capture quality local traffic and convert it into revenue-boosting results, we’re here to make it happen. Our seasoned SEO gurus are in it to help you win it. With the right know-how, experience and SEO tools succeed, including Moz Local and Ahrefs, we’ll build a strategy to skyrocket your business to the top of local search. Cha-ching.

If you want to smash the competition and boost visibility in local search, you need to do a few things and do them well.

The first and most important is to claim and optimize your Google My Business account. We’re talking about making your listing the best and most complete listing it can be. Choose the correct categories, add pictures, get reviewed, respond to reviews and so on. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. It helps to create a local listing for your business across other major and niche directories. The more directories your business is listed on, the more Google will trust your business and the higher you will rank in local search engine results pages (SERPs).

Let’s move on to the second most important thing: your website. This needs to be local SEO friendly. Add geo-specific location pages to your website — this is particularly useful if you’re operating a franchise with multiple locations. But simply adding a few location-specific webpages won’t cut it. Your whole website should be optimized to rank high in local SERPs. This means fine-tuning all your on-page elements, such as headings or unique, relevant content that focuses on your market.

And while we’re on the topic: creating local content is essential if you want to rise the ranks on local search engine results. Start writing about local or industry news to engage local audiences. Think local news, fundraisers, and other topics relating to your business and the area. This builds your profile as a member of the local community while also making your website more local search friendly.

Once you’ve got all those sorted, it’s about links. Inbound links are an incredibly powerful tool to boost your local ranking. This raises your domain authority, and tells Google that you’re the best in your industry. Focus on getting quality links back to your website that are local and relevant to your business, such as sponsors and partners. Local PR coverage from newspapers and bloggers is also incredibly powerful for local SEO.

It goes without saying, but none of this will work if your website isn’t built to take advantage of SEO in general. Build a solid link profile. Make sure your meta descriptions are optimized. Use relevant keywords. Make sure your website is taking advantage of all the proven tactics for organic SEO.

Another aspect of local SEO is consistency. Google LOVES consistency. It wants to make sure it’s giving the best and most accurate information to searchers at all times. If you have different phone numbers or spell your business name differently, it hurts your ranking and your bottom line. Make sure your name, address and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all review sites, directories and social media. Not only will the right business citation make it easier for customers to find you and business, but it will also help you rise the Google search rankings.

Finally, with the number of local voice searches rising exponentially, your website should be optimized to take advantage of these potential customers. People using voice search use more long-tail keywords when compared with regular searchers. Your content needs to be primed for voice SEO, so Google recommends your business when someone runs a local voice search.

Phew. That’s a lot. Here’s the bottom line: to take full advantage of everything local SEO can do for your business, you need a strategic and targeted approach. It’s not enough to put your address on your site and expect to be on top of local search ranking trends. It takes know-how and constant optimization to get to the top — and stay there. Don’t panic. OMG can help.

Work with SEO Gurus who make it their business to grow your business. We’ll fine-tune every aspect of your website so it’s primed for rankings AND revenue. Thousands trust us to put their business on the local map. Do the same, and we’ll help you get more customers through the door.

Local SEO is local SEO. Regardless of whether you’re using Wordpress or any other content management system, the basics don’t change. You still need a Google My Business account, user reviews and geo-targeted pages. It’s also still key to optimize for both mobile searches and voice searches — and, of course, build that solid link profile. The biggest difference between optimizing for Wordpress specifically is your ability to leverage certain plugins.

Wordpress has a few handy plugins that help supercharge your local SEO. At the very least, get the Local SEO plugin as well the Business Listing plugin. These allow you to take advantage of Local SEO road maps, the Keyword Research Tool, the Competitor Keyword Spy Tool, Suggested Content Submission Websites, and their Proprietary Keyword Effectiveness Index. Judge how easy it will be to rank for specific keywords and how effective those keywords will be for your business — then focus your efforts accordingly. You can also scan your business listings to see where you have missing listings or incorrect listings across the web with the Business Listing Scan.

But while all of the local SEO tools available through these plugins are extremely helpful, it still takes know-how and an understanding of broader SEO and search result ranking to translate Wordpress plugins into real business results. Here at OMG, our Gurus know exactly what it takes to harness Wordpress to make your rankings soar. Drop us a line today, and learn how we can grow your business in the local area.