Table of Contents: How To Improve Local SEO In 2023? Tips, Tricks, and Strategies
Introduction
What is Local SEO?
How does Local SEO work?
How to improve local SEO?
Conclusion
Introduction
Do you know when you search for something with “near me” in the search bar on a search engine like Google? The results that are shown are the result of local SEO. Let’s suppose you have searched for “best hospitals near me” and you have hot locations for nearby hospitals. The search results that appear are the result of local SEO done by the different organizations you are searching for.
These search results appear on the basis of local SEO done by nearby places, etc., because the owners of those places have done local SEO by bidding on the keyword that you have searched for. Having a good understanding of how to improve local SEO.
Let’s dig deep into the different aspects of local SEO to get a good understanding of it.
What is local SEO?
In local SEO, a website is optimized so that it can target a specific area where you are operating. You can have a business like a shop, supermarket, digital marketing agency, etc. Local SEO service is part of SEO services. Local SEO helps local businesses to gather more organic reach, making them more visible in local search results, which directly or indirectly helps businesses to grow organically.
Search engines like Google rely on information like “content posted,” “local searches,” etc. that uses your location, or whenever you open Google Maps or order something online and give access to your location to Google. Before going into: How to improve local SEO? Let’s understand exactly how local SEO works.
How does local SEO work?
Google owns more than 90% of its user base, which is the majority of all users. Max users use Google as their primary search engine. That’s why Google captures your information, like search history, online shopping behavior, location, and much more, with its algorithms. This information is further used to show you the relevant results of your searches.
Now, Google already has your information. Let’s suppose you are searching for a nightclub by searching “Night clubs near me” or without “near me” or “nearby,” etc. Then, Google will automatically give you the relevant results. It will show you the results for the local area near you. Google shows the top 3 locations relevant to your search, also known as the “3 packs.”
How to improve local SEO?
Local SEO is something that people are becoming more aware of and improving by employing many of the strategies we will cover today. Some of them are written below.
Make a Google My Business profile
When you search for some products or services on Google, like “coffee shops,” there are many results and locations that are shown on the SERPs. Basically, these results are the actual registered businesses on Google, also known as the “Google My Business profile.”
If you are a business that is geographically present with an address or an online service provider, Google My Business profiles can help your business get recognised in local areas. All the necessary information, like the name of your business, contact details, address (if any), opening hours, services, a website link, etc., should be there on your profile. Optimizing your Google My Business profile in the right way can help your business get recognized in local search results. Creating a Google My Business profile is an excellent example of how to improve local SEO.
Choose a keyword for your business
When working on a keyword, it is necessary to determine the local search queries. Before choosing a keyword, it is important to know what the local audience is searching for.
For example, Your business falls under the restaurant industry, and there are many items on your menu. People in your local area are searching for “chai.” So, you have to optimize your business for the keyword “chai,” not “tea” or anything else. We cannot use synonyms for the keywords, etc.
So, keyword research is a crucial part that should be done by using reliable tools like Ahrefs, etc. How can I boost my local SEO? This can be your answer to this question.
Enlist your business in local directories
We are living in a digital world where you can find anything on the internet, maps, etc. But, did you know from where this information gets to companies like Google Maps, Apple, and many more? This data is taken by these companies from many data aggregators.
There are many of these aggregators that provide information to these tech giants:
- Infogroup
- Neustar Localeze
- Foursquare
When it comes to answering questions like “how to improve local SEO,” then you should register with these data aggregators so that your company can be listed on top companies like Apple and Google, among others. The information provided by businesses is sometimes correct and sometimes not, which makes search engines like Google confused about which information is correct and which is incorrect. Google does not list these types of businesses.
Get high-quality backlinks
A website is the online presence of a business that is used to provide information about the business. But there are a lot of websites on the Internet. So how are you going to get ranked higher on this flood of websites? Here is where backlinks play a vital role.
In the real world, we all know that when someone is new to an industry and knows nothing about it, they are at a distinct disadvantage. No one wants their job done by that person, as he or she is new to that field. At this time, if a person with high authority gives him a reference, then everyone would love to get their work done by him. This reference built his goodwill in the eyes of customers.
This principle also applies to websites. If a website with high authority gives you an external link, then your website’s goodwill will improve, and Google will rank you higher as a website with high authority recommended to you. These high-authority links from other websites are called “backlinks.” How to improve local SEO? Get good-quality backlinks.
Factors that determine if a link is of good quality or not include:
- Domain Authority
- Broken Links
- Page Authority
- Link placement and anchor text
- Do-Follow or No-Follow links
- Website Relevance
Take care of: N.A.P.
N.A.P. stands for “name, address, and phone number.” When a viewer enters your website, he or she interacts with it and wants to connect with you. If your N.A.P. is updated on your website, it would be a sign that you are maintaining your website on a regular basis and are a responsible business.
Adding or updating NAP directly or indirectly helps your website and your business by creating goodwill in the eyes of your customers. which may lead to conversion and sales.
Optimize the appearance and technical aspects of your website
When it comes to How to improve local SEO? Creating an optimized website so that the appearance and technical aspects stand out to your viewers or users
A website that looks good is more likely to get more views and interaction from the viewers. On the other hand, a website that does not look good is unable to get much attention.
There are some technical aspects of a website, like loading speed, header and footer, a call-to-action button, image optimization, and the quality of the pages, and navigation on the website should be easy.
Create content optimized for a local audience
We’ve all read or heard the popular phrase “content is king” these days. That is actually right. But having only high-quality content is not easy. It is important to know for whom the content is being written or created. Today, many people ask these questions about how to improve local SEO. Understanding your target audience is one of the factors that can help you with this question.
When doing local SEO, it is a must that you know your local audience. If you know your audience well, you can target them accordingly and achieve the best results.
There are many tools, like Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, and many more, that can help you know your targeted or local audience well and act accordingly.
Make your website mobile-friendly
In today’s digital world, everyone is on the internet. The majority of visitors on the internet come from mobile devices rather than desktops or laptops. Let’s understand how making your website mobile-friendly can help with the question: “How to improve local SEO?”
Mobile devices now account for the majority of internet search results. Let’s find out how a website can help your business grow faster and in a more reliable way.
In general, when it comes to today’s user search behavior, nearly every internet user searches for a thing or service before buying it. So, in your local areas, you can be the face that can provide the necessary products, services, or whatever your business is about. If done correctly, local SEO can help you 10X your sales in your local areas.
Conclusion
We have discussed nearly all the factors that can help improve your local SEO. After knowing about all these aspects, it could be concluded that local SEO is a must if you want to get recognition and sales from your local area. Local SEO can help you stand out in the crowd and get maximum search results and conversions as well.
May this article be the best answer to your question, “How to improve local SEO?” If you have a business and your target audience is in your local area, but you are not doing local Search Engine optimization (SEO), then you should hire a team of professionals that can help you with the local SEO of your website.
At Embtel Solutions, we have a very professional team of website developers and SEO experts. That can help you rank No. 1 when it comes to SERPs.
