Ranking high in Google My Business and local map packs is now imperative for brands attracting nearby customers searching by location. While organic visibility was once primarily about informing searchers globally, savvy businesses now partner with SEO companies providing proven SEO services to capture traffic searching locally too.
Read below for our comprehensive local search optimization checklist to start driving more store visits and sales in your area.
1. Optimize Google Business Profile Listing
Think of your Google Business Profile like a website homepage for your local bricks-and-mortar. Complete key fields like address, opening hours, photos, services, attributes, and messaging to present useful information to searchers.
Google Business Profile Optimization Tips:
✔ 100% Complete profile
✔ Include good quality photos
✔ Accurate categorization
✔ Compelling business description
✔ Response to all reviews
2. Earn Customer Reviews
Local search rankings account for both quality and quantity of customer reviews on platforms like Google, Facebook and Yelp. Just a few positive unstructured citations make a difference early on.
- Ask happy customers to leave an honest review after good experiences
- Thank customers publicly for leaving feedback
- Be responsive to any negative reviews as well
Ideally, aim for between 10-30, 4 or 5-star Google reviews emphasized in rich snippets beside your local pack listing. Yelp and other profiles should contain growing numbers of reviews over time too.
3. Build Structured Citations
Structured citations refer to directory and listings websites that display consistent NAP (name, address and phone number) details for a business location. Major sites include:
- Apple Maps
- Foursquare
- Hotfrog
- TripAdvisor
The best SEO company always builds business listings on niche and local citation websites related to your industry like auto garages, restaurants, dentists, law firms, etc.
4. Publish Optimized Local Content
Creating locally-focused on-page content signals relevancy to users searching for goods and services around them. Helpful location-based content also quickly earns clicks, calls and conversions.
Local SEO Content Tips:
- Publish location pages for all branches
- Create content targeting regional keywords
- Highlight community involvement
- Share local promotions and events
- Embed maps with locations shown
5. Connect Schema Markup
By implementing JSON-LD structured data properly on local landing pages, important information like addresses appear directly in search snippets.
Essential markup to connect local relevance includes:
- Business name, address, phone
- Opening hours schema
- Area served covered
6. Enable Local Link Signals
Lastly, secured hyperlocal backlinks pointing at key location pages and your Google Business Profile extend trust indicators to improve local search authority within geo-targeted bounds.
- Claim and optimize free local directory listings
- Guest post on regional blogs when possible
- Sponsor local events and initiatives
- Volunteer for neighborhood groups and boards
The Growing Necessity of Local SEO for Businesses
As you can see, enhanced visibility in the local SEO realm now requires going beyond just traditional web presence factors relevant globally. Google is catering more toward satisfying location-based searches for nearby goods and services.
Businesses who dedicate resources toward mastering core local optimization elements highlighted above will gain an advantage on competitors still overlooking hyperlocal demands.
While searchers evolve to using smartphones for instant information retrieval around them, brands must likewise adapt through customer-focused location strategies earning local pack real estate. Will local SEO soon outweigh traditional organic visibility for some brands? Time will tell.
Matthew is a seasoned researcher and writer with over five years of experience creating engaging SEO content. He is passionate about exploring new ideas and sharing his knowledge through writing. Matthew has a keen eye for detail and takes pride in producing content that is not only informative but also visually appealing. He constantly expands his skill set and stays up-to-date with the latest SEO trends to ensure that his content always performs well in search rankings. Matthew can be found reading, surfing, or experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen when he’s not writing.