Local SEO is one good strategy for small businesses to aim for SEO.
You already have a niche, your city.
In contrast to an International SEO Strategy, that is broader, Local SEO is a niche oriented strategy.
With Local SEO, local businesses have the opportunity to rank faster on Search Engines, since they are only competing with their actual local competitors.
Why? Because when it comes to certain types of services that are merely aimed to be offered on a local basis, websites that have a Local SEO Strategy can come up first.
The differentiation of a local service is already given, the place.
No person from Germany would be searching for a local service such as plumbing in Mexico. Or even from all around Mexico, people from southern states would be searching to solve their plumbing problems and wait a norther plumber to come.
But how does local businesses can take advantage on SEO, and how they can improve their websites so that Search Engines start to love their sites?
Well, there exists services that give support on Local SEO services.
What you should consider before hiring a Local SEO agency?
Ask first for proven results, or also what is the strategy that a Local SEO agency would follow to achieve results.
I do recommend a mix of Youtube and Website Local SEO content mix.
This way local businesses could showcase just a few of their services or products and could start appearing on local search results.
As well, don’t forget that business directories such as Google Local Business are a free tool that can help you appear online for free.
Plus, it is important for local businesses to get REAL Reviews. There are many new services around the internet that can offer paid reviews, just to give your local business a “look of success” on Google Reviews. This would just hurt your future reputation, and you actually ask why are customers not coming.
There is already a Google Local Guide Community around the world, try to contact people who would give a real and honest review, remember that some ways to improve is to listen what is been working good, and what is working bad.
There is a kind of a sort not written ethic code between the real envolved Local Guide Community to write their review as they feel it, but of course there are some higher levels who sell their opinion, so that their badge appear on the business review.
So to sum up my tips on Local SEO:
1. Create localized content for Youtube and your Website.
2. Add your business to Google Local Business.
3. Get real review, or contact Google Local Guides and ask them for a honest review.
Now I leave you here some content shared by the Local SEO Agency of Monterrey, Pulso Digital, who tell us more in depth about Local SEO.
Imagine the following situation; someone searches the web for a certain product or service more specifically within your city and you appear first in the search.
Well, that’s basically what local SEO is all about.
We will show you below everything you need to know about local SEO and what you need to do to apply this type of SEO to boost your business to make it more successful.
Let’s go to the basics first, so we must understand what local SEO is.
When we talk about SEO, it is normal that we start thinking about aspects such as the creation of a blog or the search for keywords that allow us to improve conversion.
But something very true is that many times people do not make a search just to find information or to make a specific purchase, but also enter the web because they want to locate geographically what they need.
Who has not searched where something is in a certain city or town when entering the Internet?
Of course we can say that this will be something that will continue to be done because it is extremely useful.
Well, this is then local SEO, getting found in a certain geographic location.
In relation to this, we can point out that local SEO is certainly not suitable or effective for all brands or any company, since a company that does not have a physical space, obviously it will be useless to make use of this aspect of SEO.
But in the case of those companies that do have a physical point of sale and that are located in a certain geographic area, of course they should apply local SEO within their marketing plan.
Then, having a well-structured local positioning will increase the chances that a potential customer will find you and not your competition.
This is specifically what you are looking for with the application of local SEO.
Just as a very good SEO strategy in general provides a number of very clear benefits, local SEO also generates a number of advantages that we should certainly take advantage of, among them are:
It generates greater visibility. Something that is totally indispensable because the strategies that are applied here, will allow you to be located in the first positions within the existing search engines.
The number of potential clients increases. This is a direct consequence of the above. And we will be able to attract many more potential customers if our presence within the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) are improved.
We will be able to cover several types of channels. If we apply our strategy properly, we will not only be able to capture those customers who perform their searches from their PC, but also those who use their mobile devices for these searches.
Now that we know a little more about how positive the application of local SEO is for a brand or company, we can mention some key or important guidelines.
First of all, we must define as precisely as possible the activity to which we are dedicated, only in this way we allow Google to match without problems the search performed by the person with those results in which we will be present.
Once our business activity has been defined, the geographic area in which we want to stand out is established.
It must be set up very well if it will be a neighborhood, a certain population or a specific city.
As it happens within digital marketing, without being the local SEO an exception, we must establish and know the type of person we want as a customer. This way we will know what to do in order to attract the attention of potential customers and generate of course, profit.
We must be able to identify the main keywords that we can find in our sector, so the study of keywords is important. Take the necessary time for this, since this will be the basis of your strategy.
Once we have done the corresponding work with the targeted keywords, we can now work on the geographical terms of our field.
An example of this is that, if we are acting in a city, the keywords you have established must be followed by the name of that city. For example: “web positioning Monterrey”. With that, we will move from a national SEO to the application of a local SEO.
You also need to register your profile in Google my business. This will help us to have an impact at the local level. And it will be the basis of your local SEO process.
And we finish with the fact of having very clear how much resources we have. We are talking specifically in this case about budget, also about personnel and the tools we will use in the process.
Having said all this, we can conclude by pointing out that the mere fact of having a certain level of presence on the Internet has become a highly determining factor for a company, regardless of its size. Moreover, it can be said that it is something basic even for freelancers who want to make a niche within a certain sector.
And if we take into account that Internet access is a globalized fact, the optimal presence in this medium is absolutely essential for us to achieve our goals in a more efficient way.
On a more local level, we can then say without fear of being wrong, that local SEO will help us to be much more competitive, as we have already pointed out above, within our neighborhood, our town or city. Therefore, if you have a physical plant where your business operates, do not hesitate to apply this specific SEO strategy to attract more customers within that area and to stand out from your closest competition.