Introduction
Local SEO has come out as an important aspect for businesses that operate out of physical locations. A study by GoGulf found that nearly 46% of Google searches are location specific. Yet, it is surprising that only 44% of local businesses have claimed their Google My Business listing, a tactic which is now established as the cornerstone for local SEO.
Still unconvinced? Check out the insights on Local SEO or this infographic from GoGulf on why you should seriously consider local SEO for your physical business, irrespective of scale. A holistic local SEO strategy, when in synergy with your overall marketing strategy, can substantially increase store walkins, whether you have a single outlet or thousands of branches spread over multiple countries.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO means ‘optimising’ a business's online presence to attract more traffic from relevant local searches. These searches can be on search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo), Maps(Google, Apple, Bing), local Sites, or even Voice Searches (Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri).
Important Note : Google, close to 80% market share for search, and is a good place to start. Check out Google's country wise market share in search.
While many would be familiar with organic search results, Google's local pack (also known as Also known as the “snack pack” or the “Google 3-pack“) might be a mystery to some.
What is Google 3-pack / Local Pack/ Snack Pack?
While many would be familiar with organic search results, Google's local pack (also known as Also known as the “snack pack” or the “Google 3-pack“) might be a mystery to some.
“The snack pack is the box that appears at or near the top of a local Google search. It contains the top three local business relevant to the query along with the most important information for those businesses."(Source)
According to this study by Moz, Google 3-pack has a 33% Click Share, whereas Organic Results have a 40% Click Share. Therefore, it makes sense to invest resources to rank in both of them.
The Basics - Mobile Friendly
A study by BrightLocal found that 61% of mobile searchers are more likely to contact a local business if they have a mobile-friendly site. Another Acquisio study determined that 75% of all mobile searches that exhibit local intent actually producing in-store visits within 24 hours.
I use Google's Mobile-Friendly Test tool to analyse this.
Like all things SEO, the user experience on the website on the desktop and mobile should be nice. After all, there is no point in ranking and attracting users to my website, unless they find what they want.
The GAB Pack - Google My Business | Apple Maps | Bing Places
Claiming the online listings on these top 3 channels is crucial and paramount to optimising local SEO. Moz found that GMB is a top factor for local pack and organic search rankings.
Google My Business
It's easy to set up and manage business presence across the Google Ecosystem such as Search, Knowledge Graph and Maps Listing. Here's a Self Help article by Google to get started.
Typically, its a quick 7-step process :
- Enter Your Business Name
- Enter Your Address
- Enter Your Exact Location
- Choose a Category
- Enter Your Phone Number and Website (Optional)
- Verify Your Listing
- Add more Information
I also recommend checking out this resource for a detailed guide to Google My Business Optimisation
Bing Places
Bing Places is equivalent of Google My Business.
Bing has a 2.71% market share globally, with 6.84% in desktop search. Setup is quick and easy, and since all the business information is already available in your GMB profile, the incremental effort is minimal as importing data from GMB is possible.
Apple Maps
Apple’s iPhone has a 46.2% market share in Luxembourg—that’s almost half of all smartphone users. Across Europe, this figure is 35.6% . While many users prefer Google Maps over Apple maps, millions of iOS users still use Apple Maps. This is because it's the default map application.
The second import aspect is that Apple Maps is integrated into Siri and Spotlight searches. Siri opens Apple Maps to show directions or location searches. Same goes for Spotlight searches. Recent stats show Siri is actively used on more than half a billion devices.
Bottomline: Claim and optimise Apple Maps listing to help Local SEO. To get started, check the Apple Maps Link. Along with the official Apple Guide, I found this walkthrough by Bipper Media very helpful.
Voice Search Optimisation
Voice search is growing extensively over the last couple of years with the advent of NLP and machine learning. Therefore, it's vital for businesses to do VSO in order to answer customer queries, which are more contextual, long tail and therefore specific.
Check out my blog on how to implement Voice Search Optimisation to know more.
Create Local Content
Engaging with audiences on local topics is a great idea. I worked on a project where our social media calendar integrated into regional festival and events, which also became our highest engagement content.
Some ideas to create hyper local content include:
- Write about local events, festivals and other topics of interest
- Create Local Specific Landing Pages, Blogs, Social Media Posts, Hashtags
- Post Videos on Local Charities which relate to causes your brand aligns with.
- Partner/ Sponsor Local Events
- Engage local Micro Influencers
- Guest Blogs
Check out SEJ's recommendations to create Local Content.
The objective is to position the brand/ domain as an authority figure for the location and topics the brand targets. For example, for a Pizzeria in Milan, I can talk about the pizza culture in Milan, how it differs from other places, the "La Citta Della" Festival and so on. Getting featured in local blogs is the next step. Needless to say, the website structure for the location pages should be On-Page SEO optimised.
Delighted Customer reviews
Off-page SEO considerations like relevance, trustworthiness, and authority carry more than 50% of the ranking factor weight. Building Local SEO with customer reviews can help businesses tick all three of those requirements. optimised.
In fact, collecting Product Reviews can help qualify for review snippets in organic search. Reviews attract more attention to product pages, and even improve click-through rates by up to 35% in organic search.
- Ask for reviews right after the sale (internal check)
- Send request for Public Review after internal screening (Step 1)
- Be proactive in responding to reviews. Excellent way to gain insights and build loyalty.
Dive into Local Keywords
Goes without saying, keywords remain important. Think what what local Keywords will be relevant for your target customers. Google Keyword Planner is a nice place to start.
- Research on Service in Locations (SILs)
e.g. Cafes near me; restaurants in Paris Central. Include Potential Keywords in list along with variations using this free tool. - Use nearby landmarks, conversational fillers e.g. cafe near Eiffel Tower.
- Accurate GMB entries. Google serves information through SERP using GMB
- Look at Google Autocomplete to see what long tail keywords are generated with primary keyword.
- See what keywords competition is using, even big players in larger geographies.
Location Pages
Location pages are a must if your business has more than one location in an area. These pages need to provide the following, at a minimum:
- Opening and Closing hours
- Name, address and contact details
- Individual descriptions
- Products Available
- Testimonials
- Promotions
- Parking availability
- Other Customer Facilities - Washroom, Drinking Water
- Google Maps attached to each location page
- Brand Assets
- Social Media Links and Content Feed
Here's a snapshot from my recent project
Take care when you have multiple locations, because the content should be specific for each page.
Online Business Listings
Online business directories are websites such YellowPages, Justdial, even something like Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace depending on scale. These vary vastly among geographies and products, so it's important to do a market research on the most effective ones. Here's a great resource to find the country-wise list.
Google Search is a very effective way of shortlisting sites to increase online citations. Just do a search with location+"business directory" and Google churns out the results faster than any tool, sorted in order of domain authority. Add the location for a more targeted list.
Not only will having business name, address, and other relevant information into these directories help visibility, but it’ll also boost local SEO.
Backlinks
Backlinks remain the most important factor for rankings. Building links is similar to acquiring social proof, and an important trust factor. When Google analyses a website, having authoritative links pointing back to content proves that the content adds value, is relevant and informative. In fact, without links, ranking for competitive keywords in your topic cluster is nearly impossible.
How many links? Well, its not just the quantity but the quality of the backlinks too. As per a study by uSerp, the first ranking page on Google has an average of 3.8x more backlinks than positions 2-10. But, its also important that the referral sites have a strong domain authority.
To know what kind of mix you will need, head out to the backlink research tool from SEMRUSH or Ahrefs with the long tail keyword, and note the Domain authority of the referral links.
Conclusion
The SEO world is a very dynamic one and we have to constantly upgrade ourselves to rank better. New SERP features or changes in the search engine algorithms can have substantial impact on how businesses perform. Thus, it's crucial to stay on the top and leverage local SEO. The above actionable will help build a solid foundation on top of which upgrades can be implemented.
I recommend the following checklist to get started.
- Shortlist Local Social Media Groups on FB, Reddit such as Luxembourg Expats or Love Paris
- Post local lovable and sharable content on these pages
- Local Calendars, Best of Lists
- Guest Blogs
- Tap into micro Influencers
- Find local content available and improve its quality and experience
- Parking availability
- Other Customer Facilities - Washroom, Drinking Water
- Google Maps attached to each location page
- Social Media Links and Content Feed
