Local SEO has been a powerful tool for local businesses looking to increase their online visibility within a specific location. This gives local businesses an advantage over global brands.  

The limited geographical reach and low budget may seem like a disadvantage. But Local SEO flips it in your favor. It gives local businesses the opportunity to rank on the first page of Google. This not only generates digital traffic for your business but also empowers customers to walk into your physical location.  

However, you must understand what Local SEO is before you can apply it to your benefit. 

What Is Local SEO? 

Local SEO is a strategy used for search engine optimization that helps local businesses increase their online visibility within a specific geographical region. It is used to convert traffic into paying customers.  

Local SEO is an essential aspect for any business’s marketing strategy. It is especially true for those businesses looking to increase their localized traffic, leads, and brand awareness. 

Before understanding how it works, you need to know how Google determines local rankings. It does that by focusing on three important elements: 

1. How well does your local business profile match the search intent of the user. 
2. How far is your business from the location of the keyword searched. 
3. How well known or established is the business within that specific geographical area. 

How Local SEO Works? 

Local SEO works like any other search. However, it has a different set of ranking factors for a local search.  

A local search is any search with a geographical intent. For example, if you are looking for the best pan Asian restaurants or burger points in your area, what would you search for? Let’s say you live in Seattle, then your local search would be like this; 

“Best burger points in Seattle” 

When you search for this, one out of the two results will show up on the search engine result page. Either it will show you the highly coveted 3 pack map section, or the organic search results that take you to the websites or the landing pages of local burger points.  

The local pack is also known as Google 3 pack because it displays 3 Google Business Profiles of local businesses, relevant to the search term. Organic search appears in the form of blue hyperlinks that take you to the business website or the landing page.  

However, the organic search results will mostly be of the high authority resources that are considered to be the go-to choice for the relevant search term. 

If the term “Google Business Profiles” is alien for you, no worries here’s what they are. 

Google Business Profile 

Google Business Profiles, formerly known as Google My Business, are free Google listings. These listings allow businesses to manage their online presence across Google. This includes Google’s search results and Google Maps. These profiles are important if you want your business to be effectively visible to potential customers. 

Key Features 

The key features of these profiles are; 

1. They help increase your business’s online visibility in local searches and on Google Maps. This makes it easier for potential customers to find your business. 
2. GBP allows you to provide crucial business information such as name, address, phone number, business operating hours, website link, and services offered. It also lets you list the products your business sells. 
3. It helps customers interact with your business online. Most importantly, it allows you to effectively manage your business’s online reputation. You can do that by responding to reviews, answering questions, posting any updates or promotions, and by sharing photos and videos showcasing your services or products. 
4. It also provides valuable insights about how customers are interacting with your profile. This includes how they found your profile and what actions did they took. Actions like visiting your website or calling your business. 
5. Having a GBP portrays your business as trustworthy in the eyes of your audience. This is because you have to verify your business in order to create your Google Business Profile. 

Having a verified GBP is important because; 

• It helps increase your business’s online visibility. 
• Promotes your business as a trustworthy and credible entity. 
• Makes it easier for the customers to connect with you and get any essential information they need. 

Now, coming back to the topic, let’s look at how you can dominate local search results. 

How To Dominate Local Search Results 

Local business owners, it’s time to get serious. Take out your pens and take notes of how you can start your Local SEO journey to dominate the local search results. 

1- Verify And Optimize Your Google Business Profile 

The very first step in the journey of dominating local search is creating and verifying your GB profile. It will be your digital storefront, and quite possibly the first interactions your customers have with your business. So, do not take this lightly. 

Here’s how you can get started with your Google Business Profile. 

1. Sign in to your business’s Google account. Create one, if you don’t already have one. Make sure to use your business’s domain to create a google account. If you already have an account, you can simply search Google Business Profile on google and sign in using the account. 
2. Once you are at the GBP page, click on the “Manage Now” button. It’ll take you to the profile setup page. 
3. On the setup page you’ll see a search bar. Enter your full business name. This part is crucial. It is because this is your chance to truly benefit from Local SEO. When you enter your business name or add it to your profile, you can add a keyword along with it.

   For example, let’s say you are a realtor. So, when entering your business name, you can add realtor or best realtor at the end of it. It’ll look something like;

   [Your Name] Best Realtor

   You can even add a specific location at the end to make it specific to a geographical region. For example,

   [Your Name] Best Realtor In Seattle. 

4. Choose an appropriate category for your business once you’re done with the business name. The category should appropriately reflect what your business offers. It’ll help Google understand what services you provide.

   Taking the previous example, for a realtor you can choose “Real Estate” as a category. If you can find “Realtor” as a category, then choose that. The more specific you are, the better. 

5. If you have a physical location where your customers can visit, then add that as well. 
6. After the business address, add your service areas. Areas where you provide your services. 
7. Provide accurate contact information and update your business hours. The NAP (name, address, phone number) information, that you add on your GB profile must be consistent with the NAP info on your website and social media pages. 
8. Once you have updated all the information, the next step is to verify your profile. You can either choose to verify via mail, phone, or instant video verification. However, for some categories, like locksmiths, the verification process may vary. Visit the Google Business Profile page for more information. 
9. Lastly, optimize your profile. You can optimize your profile by adding profile description, service description, and product descriptions. Do not forget to add local keywords in the descriptions. Also, add pictures of your business, preferably Geo-Tagged images.  

By the time you verify and optimize your Google Business Profile according to the instructions above, half or maybe even more than half of your Local SEO journey would have been covered. But to complete the journey, you must also cater to the following. 

2- Conduct Local Keyword Research 

When you are finished setting up and optimizing your profile, you must also conduct keyword research for the content that you’ll be uploading through that profile. You can use tools such as SEMrush or Google Keyword Planner for this. 

3- Create Local Content 

This means that you should actively follow the trending topics in the areas you provide your services. Once you identify and trending topic, create content centered around that. This will get you in front of more eyes.  

You can also create helpful content for the visitors and the locals alike. Content such as local guides or happenings and updates. 

4- Do Local Citations 

List your business in as many local online directories as you can. However, you must make sure that the NAP information is consistent across all citations. This will help enhance your local search engine rankings. 

5- Ask For Reviews 

Google Business Profile allows you to generate a unique link that you can then share with your customers and encourage them to leave reviews. This will help build business credibility.  

6- Optimize Your Website For Mobile 

Most of the traffic that’ll discover your business will be through mobile phones. That’s why making sure that your website is mobile friendly is important. It also helps improve your ranking for local search results. 

7- Use Social Media 

You must maintain an active presence across all your social media pages. You can do that by sharing content and creating a sense of community around your business. 

8- Earn Backlinks 

You should focus on acquiring high-quality backlinks for your website. These backlinks can be from reputed local websites and organizations. 

By following the above-mentioned process, you’ll easily be able to create and optimize your business profile and dominate the local search results. 

Seattle Advertising Can Help! 

We understand that this entire Local SEO process can seem like a tough ask, and it is especially true with the added responsibility of running your own business. In that case, you can get help from Local SEO service providers like Seattle Advertising. 

If you feel like Local SEO is the right choice for your business, then feel free to reach out. Our Local SEO experts will make sure to set you on the path of dominating the local search results.