Local SEO: The Unsung Hero of Digital Marketing Success
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Talk about UNDERRATED. Local SEO is essential yet neglected in most digital marketing strategies. Businesses want immediate results and fail to understand the significance of quality long-term content.
Before We Begin, What Is Local SEO?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of setting your website and all of your content up to appeal to specific algorithms that search engines use to rank quality content. While general SEO focuses on acquiring a high rank in niche-specific queries, local SEO pulls geographical location into the equation.1 This is especially important for brick-and-mortar locations. For example, if you own a local car dealership in Beaverton, Oregon, you want to be the first result when someone in your area searches for a “car dealership near me.”
Here’s a comprehensive guide to local SEO from one of my favorite resources, HubSpot.
Tip: If you’re interested in learning more, SEMRush offers a 100% free local SEO course that has 10 lessons and takes about an hour to finish. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to level up their basic understanding of local SEO quickly.
Okay, So What Does All That Technical Stuff Mean Exactly?
Search engines use artificial intelligence to crawl, index, and rank all online content and filter out the best results. Your SERP position on the results page relies on your content containing the necessary elements Google is looking for while not implementing penalizing elements. In short, local SEO works to gain preference from these platforms with a more specific geographical target. Instead of competing with the major companies in your market, you’ll be working to stand out in your local community.
Every SEO dreads the almost weekly algorithm changes, but it’s important to adjust and be on your toes.
That’s Fantastic! How Can It Help My Business?
According to RVS. Media, there are at least 11 key benefits of local SEO:
Enhanced Traffic
Better Conversion Rates
Less Advertising Costs
Continuous, Long-Term Business Growth
Long-Lasting SERP (Search Engine Results Page) Rankings
More Local Reviews
Google’s 3-Pack Enlistment
Mobile Optimization
Community Building
I’m Sold, How Do I Implement Local SEO?
According to HubSpot, here are 10 tips to improve your local SEO right now:
Optimize for Google My Business
Engage on social media and add posts to Google My Business
Ensure your name, address, and phone number are consistent online
Optimize online directories and citations
Perform a local SEO audit
Improve your internal linking structure
Optimize URL, title tags, headers, meta description, and content
Add location pages to your website
Create local content
Ensure your website is mobile-friendly
Get inbound links with relevance and authority
Participate in your local community
Exciting! Are There Helpful Tools To Use?
Absolutely! Here are some of my favorites:
In addition, SEMRush published their favorite 54 best SEO tools free & paid. There are a ton of great options depending on your wants and needs.
I’m Looking Forward To Improving My Local SEO! Any Last Tips?
Yep! Try and establish these pillars when establishing your local SEO plan:
Technical. This includes tasks like fixing technical errors, using the proper URL structure, setting up the right website hierarchy, managing page speed, etc.
Content. While more exciting and creative than technical SEO, content is time-consuming and expensive (if outsourced). Having said that, it’s the fuel to any good SEO strategy. Without it, you aren’t going anywhere.
Authority. You need to tap into the authority of other websites to set your brand apart. The more you align with other trustworthy sites, the faster you’ll grow.
Hayden Schuster
