Local SEO – what’s it all about?

If you’ve been plugged into your SEO news over the past year then you’ve probably heard a lot of talk about Local SEO. But why does this matter? Well, 46% of all Google searches today are looking for local information. So, if your business hasn’t gone through the process of optimising for local SEO then there may be opportunities to connect with local customers that are going to waste.

What is Local SEO?

It’s all about improving how you perform in searches, especially if you’re a real life business and have a physical location. If you optimise your online presence for Local SEO then you can improve the way it shows up in searches that are being carried out by customers in areas that are local to you. That means that if there is someone in the local area who is searching for products and services that you offer, you’re more likely to connect with them.

What can you do to improve Local SEO?

There are lots of ways to make it easier for your business to show up in searches that are being carried out by local customers. Here are a few of them:

• Make sure you’re optimised for Google My Business. This means creating your Google My Business page, using Google Posts in your account and getting as many reviews as possible. If this goes well your business could show up in the sidebar space in search results, potentially exposing it to many more new customers.
• Share your Google My Business page on social media. Google now factors in content that is shared on social media too so this can make a big difference.
• Carry out a Local SEO audit. It’s not just about getting the basics in place when it comes to Local SEO but ensuring that you can also use it to achieve SEO goals. Your audit should cover factors such as whether the site is crawlable or has errors that would make indexing difficult and how well the website performs.
• Review the internal linking structure of your site. Internal links matter, just like external links do. They can improve website navigation, support information architecture and distribute page authority, all of which matter to search engines.
• Make sure your website has location pages. This is especially important if your business is based in more than one location – add a different location page to your website for every office/shop etc.
• Write for your local audience. When it comes to content it really pays to focus on what users will enjoy these days – rather than just writing for search engines. So, look at the local news, community, culture or industry that is going to be most relevant to the people who live nearby.
• Be active in the local community. This is a great way to effectively generate lots of digital PR and make everyone who lives near your business into brand ambassadors.

Local SEO can be a powerful tool for expanding your audience – these are just some of the ways you can get started with it. To find out how Iconic Digital can help you with your local SEO, get in touch today and call us on 020 7100 0726. Find out more about our Search Engine Optimisation Agency in London.