An Introductory Guide To Local SEO

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It’s no secret that SEO is crucial for businesses.

So many people start their purchasing process online today, and so few people click past the first page of Google, that if you don’t have a high search engine result page (SERP) ranking, then you are missing out on a lot of customers.

But if you’re a local business that doesn’t have much to offer outside of your town or city, like a restaurant or hotel, then you should really be focusing on local SEO.

What Is Local SEO And Why It’s Important

Local SEO is very similar to normal SEO, except that it focuses on ranking high for local searches, as opposed to ranking national or internationally.

For example, if you are a restaurant in London, you would want to show up for searches like “restaurants in London,” or “places to eat in London.”

Sure, it would be great to pop up number one for “restaurants,” globally, but that would take a lot of time and resources for very little gain.

Because if someone in the US searches restaurants, they won’t be able to go to your restaurant even if it is the first one they see. Unless they own a private jet of course.

Therefore, you will yield a much better return on your efforts if you focus on local SEO.

Local SEO 3-pack

An additional benefit of ranking high on google for local SEO is the “Local SEO 3-pack.”

This is when Google shows the top 3 places of a local search on a map with a picture, information and rating.

Just think of all the times you’ve Googled businesses like restaurants or gyms “near me,” and how often you’ve immediately looked at places on that list.

So getting your local business on the local SEO 3-pack is a big deal.

Local SEO Strategies

Traditional SEO strategies like using the right keywords and backlinks will help improve your local SERP ranking.

But there are also some strategies that will help you specifically with local SEO.

These include:

  • Making profiles on local listing sites like Google My Business
  • Getting featured in local articles like “Top Ten Bakeries In London”
  • Earning reviews local review sites
  • Targeting specific and relevant local keywords on your website
  • Location-specific website copy and content
  • Getting backlinks from local websites and articles with domain authority
  • Adding contact info to your website and local directories
  • Getting shoutouts on social media from prominent local users

 

Outsourced Local SEO Help

Your local SEO is clearly super important for your business.

But ranking high on Google is not easy, especially if your business is located in big cities like London in the UK or New York City in the US.

You can try implementing the above strategies yourself, but hiring outside help from a local SEO agency can potentially get you better results quicker.

They will have a ton more experience and training when it comes to SEO that they can use to benefit your business and website.

One company in London that can help you with your local SEO needs is Pearl Lemon.

They’re an award-winning SEO company with a team of experts in local SEO, who can help you with:

  • Local link building
  • Local citations
  • Website optimization
  • Claiming your “Google My Business”
  • Local lead generation
  • And more

 

So if you really want to make a difference in your local SEO, you may want to turn to a professional local SEO company like Pearl Lemon.