LOCAL SEO: 7 TIPS ON HOW TO IMPROVE LOCAL RANKING
Being in business means that the majority of your customers will be those who are within your locality. If a customer can get something close to them, why do they need to ship or go looking for it in a further location?
According to WebFX, 28% of local searches result in a purchase, and 46% of Google searches are for local businesses. Those are some very juicy statistics and valuable traffic that could turn your business around. This is a sign to pay more attention to your local ranking.
Before we dig deep into statistics and technical terms, let’s explain what a local search is.
What is Local SEO (Local Ranking)?
Local SEO means local search engine optimization. This is the process of improving your website to rank higher during local searches. A local search is when a user does a search for products or services that targets a specific location. E.g. Phone repair in Nairobi.
80% of local searches convert and 50% of local searches result in the users visiting the locations of the target businesses. How do you improve your local ranking to get the local search traffic to your website?
How to improve your Local Search Ranking
You first must understand what the determinants for local searches of search engines are, in this case, Google. All search engines have different algorithms but Google has the lion’s share when it comes to search engine use dominating the market with slightly over 80%.
The three main determinants of local ranking are;
- Relevance – Google aims at delivering results that best suit search queries. That means Google will look at your keywords and phrases to see if you match what the query needs. If you search for pizza joints in your local, Google will not display pasta.
- Distance – Google will take into consideration the proximity of your business when it comes to local ranking. This is a key point since Google will want to display businesses in that vicinity or near the target location.
- Popularity – How well a business is known weighs into the results. Some businesses or places are prominent offline and may not have a good presence online, never the less, they could come up higher in local ranking. This is because Google uses information from all over the internet including directories, reviews from all over the internet, links, backlinks, and articles. E.g. A hospital may not have a good social media presence but because of its prominence, it will come high in the local ranking.
Now that you have an idea of what is considered, let’s take a look at how you can improve your local ranking by doing local SEO.
1. Create a business profile on Google My Business
This is the most important step in the process of optimization for local ranking. Listing your business in Google My Business will automatically improve your visibility in the search results. This is a free service that you should take advantage of and is very easy to do.
Here’s what to do;
a. Go to Google My Business and click on Manage now
b. Sign in to your Google account if you’re not signed in
c. Add a business name, Google may have the name of your business so you can just select it.
d. Choose your business type
e. Add your website/ online store (it’s optional but we highly recommend filling the box)
f. Enter the business type
g. Enter your business address
h. Select your location on map
i. Add your phone number
j. Finally, upload the business
It is advised that you fully complete these stages, some have the option to skip but ensure you fill each of these boxes with the correct information.
Once you’re done with creating a listing for your business, Google will have to verify either through a phone call or via a postcard. When you’re done with verification, it is time to continue optimizing your profile. Some of the most important optimizations you can do here are;
Add photos – Photos are very important to a business. They increase the click-through rate and according to Google, business profiles with photos get 35% more clicks. There are different types of photos you can add namely; logo, cover photos, and additional photos. Logos will go a long way to help customers identify you.
Additional photos bring more personality and life to your business. You can add photos of your business from the outside, especially the surroundings, and this way, anyone familiar with the location can easily locate you. You can also add photos of inside your business and also photos that have more character e.g. a club could add photos of patrons having a good time.
Add business hours – List business hours, opening time, and closing time including special hours for the weekends and holidays. Customers will not reach out if they are not sure of your operating time.
Add business category – Add the category most relevant to your business.
Add your website – Adding your website gives Google a little bit more insight into your business and Google is also able to associate your content with your business hence giving you a better chance of ranking.
2. Do your website’s SEO
Once your business is listed in Google My Business, the next step is to do the overall SEO for your website. Fix any issues that may have negative impacts on your website for a chance to rank higher both in global and local searches. We have an article detailed talking about website SEO.
3. Local keyword research
When it comes to local search ranking, you have to know what people are searching for. Make it your priority to do local keyword research. Target words that are relevant to your business and expand the scope of your keywords.
You may be offering phone repair services and target the keywords ‘phone repair in Nairobi’ over and over. This might limit your scope. A potential customer may search for a screen repair shop, which you do but you haven’t outlined that. Always come up with a wide range of keywords and phrases and strategically place them.
If you are new to keyword research here is the guide on how to do it and there are several tools listed that can help you do comprehensive research.
4. Add Structured Data
According to Google, Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page and classifying the page content; for example, on a recipe page, what are the ingredients, the cooking time and temperature, the calories, and so on.
In simpler words, structured data will display results in a rich format. Results may be accompanied by things such as time, prices, and other important details. Structured data appears on top of the search engine results page. If your page is optimized for structured data, then it will have a higher local ranking. Follow Google’s guide on how to add structured data or have a professional do it for you.
5. Name, Address, and Phone Number Consistency (NAP)
As stated above in the article, when it comes to ranking, Google will collect information and signals from all over the internet. There are several business listings available, some are big directories, some are websites linking to you, they also could be local directories, and many others.
Ensure that the name, address, and phone number stated are all correct since they have a very big impact when it comes to local ranking. Google might get mixed signals if these crucial details are different in the different directories or citations. Remember, Google will always want to give their customers the best results and if something seems a miss, they might as well rank it lower.
6. Collect reviews
Reviews have a lot of weight when it comes to your local ranking. Authentic, positive reviews can do the trick to rank you high in local searches. It will really help you appear in the snack pack ranking which has a lot of traffic.
Example of a snack pack.
Whenever customers walk into your business and you serve them, you could ask them to do a review on your business. Ensure these reviews are done in places that are relevant, especially business directories, your website, and also on your GMB listing.
Do not pay to get reviews!
7. Local link building
Link building is one of the best ways if you want your website to rank higher generally. It is very effective and as you guessed it, difficult. Backlinks from other websites will boost your domain authority, which means how much Google trusts you.
The higher the domain authority the higher you get ranked. For higher local ranking, get local websites and directories to link back to you. Getting backlinks is one of the hardest SEO strategies, it takes time, persuasion, and creativity but hey, I can promise you it’s worth all that trouble.
Conclusion
SEO is a PROCESS, results can be seen in a month to a year’s time. Be patient and consistent to bear results. The best thing with SEO is that it will be a long-run project and once you maintain your website when it ranks high, it can top for a very long time in the local search.