How to Optimize Your Local SEO?
April 18, 2023
lsandil
Optimizing Your Local SEO: A Must for Physical Locations
On Google, queries with a local character represent no less than 25%. But the most interesting thing for businesses is the conversion rate that this local SEO generates: 88% of localized queries on mobile convert into a call or a visit within 24 hours.
So, optimizing your local SEO is essential to attracting new visitors to your physical location. But to do so, you must understand the criteria that search engines consider, and implement effective actions.
Local SEO Criteria to Satisfy Search Engines
If you want to rank well on the localized queries you are interested in, local SEO follows the same rules as natural referencing. This means that search engines use specific criteria to determine whether or not your business is relevant to the user.
Domain Name
First, domain names: the TLD, or Top-level Domain, is the final component of a domain name. The most commonly used are “.com”, “.fr”, “.net” or “.org”.
This is something that you must remember in your referencing objective. For example, if you have a restaurant in Paris, you might want to choose “.fr ” or even “.paris “.
Hreflang Tags
These HTML tags indicate to search engines the region and language of each page of a website. This information is crucial for local SEO, as it helps to position your site on a particular market.
For a specific example, you have no reason to position your page in English, intended for the British market, on the French search pages.
Obtaining Links from Local Sites
As with any SEO strategy, getting backlinks is a great way to gain authority and visibility. In this regard, if you get links from local sites, you are sending a clear message to search engines.
These websites can be local directories and newspapers, or local businesses that you partner with.
Google My Business Listing: a “must-have” for local SEO
Google My Business is an online directory developed by Google, which offers the possibility for businesses to create their own Google listing. This directory is used to fill the well-known Google Maps that we all know.
On this business listing, the user can fill in all the necessary information: business name, opening hours, website, contact information, etc. The latest Google updates also make it possible to create posts with photos, descriptions and CTAs (Call-to-Action) to the business’s website.
Optimizing Your Business Name
The first thing to do is to add the name of your business to identify yourself. You can optimize it with a keyword related to your business, such as “Vegetarian Restaurant”.
However, Google indicates that the name must correspond to the real name of the company as it is indicated on the storefront and the website. So, feel free to add a relevant keyword, but keep in mind that you should not abuse this practice by over-optimizing it with a city or neighborhood name.
Optimizing Business Information
All the current information of the company must be filled in: the physical address, the opening hours, the website URL, the phone number, and other data considered useful for the Internet user. The objective is to provide as much information as possible: a page with limited information does not give confidence to the user.
When describing your activity, make sure to work on the semantic field around your key expression. Use synonyms and variants, always without over-optimization to avoid Google penalties.
Choosing the Right Category
Last but not least: the category of your business. You have many choices offered by Google, and your decision will be crucial for the visibility of your business listing.
Take the time to choose it well, and do some research beforehand in order to determine the category perfectly adapted to your business. After that, you can add secondary categories if it is relevant to you.
Testing SEO Based on Localization
You can play with search engine settings to try out your performance based on location.
To do this, go to the search engine settings and change the location. Then perform searches that are related to your business to see how you rank.
Some links to help you in this task:
Maps: Key Drivers for Local SEO
Location-based search tools, via Maps, provide a clear and quick answer to Internet users’ queries. The majority of location queries are made on these tools, the most important being Google Maps. By creating your Google My Business listing with your physical address, you are automatically listed on Google Maps.
Apple also has its Maps service with Maps Connect, where you can create your own business page. The user experience is not as sophisticated as with Google Maps, but this service is not to be overlooked with millions of iPhone users.
As for Bing Maps, you can import your Google business listing into Bing, or create it directly. Microsoft Bing is the second most used search engine in the world and can therefore represent an additional opportunity for your local business.
In the end, everyone uses local SEO in everyday life, and you certainly do as well: find a super steakhouse, the nearest florist, a gym, and so many others. So let’s show your business to as many people as possible, by applying all the rules of local SEO.