What is Local SEO?

Search Engine Optimasation for your business location to rank better.

Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving search engine visibility for local businesses, primarily those with brick-and-mortar locations. By following local SEO best practices, businesses can improve organic traffic from searches performed by customers in nearby areas.

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There is a big difference between the way standard organic SEO works and the way we should approach Local SEO.

Not only is searcher intent likely different, the algorithms Google uses to show the map pack differs from the main organic algorithms.

Creating and optimizing website pages for a local audience is an incredibly effective way to boost your brand’s visibility online. It can increase your organic traffic, have your brand rank on more SERPs (search engine result pages), generate leads, and improve your domain authority. However, getting started with local SEO can be a confusing process. Thankfully for all of us, there are practical strategies we can implement to put our brand in front of more people.

 

My 5 Top Ways To Improve Your Local SEO:

1. Create and or optimize a Google My Business Account
2. Add Your Business | Company to Citation Pages - Business directories, listing, etc.
3. Perform a local SEO and Website audit.
4. Optimize your website URL, title tags, headers, meta description, and content.
5. Add Location Pages and Content To Your Website

1.  Create and or optimize a Google My Business Account

Google My Business (or GMB) is a free tool that allows your business to be seen on Google Maps and Google Search.

It gives local customers general information about your business such as your:

• Company's name,
• Contact number,
• Physical address,
• Hours of operation,
• A link to your website
• Directions to your business
• Reviews

Link to official Google for Business Account where you can create your own Business listing

or let us create and or optimise your google my business account - click here 

If set and or optimized properly, your brand can be featured on the coveted sidebar in some Google SERPs.
With any new change to your Google Business Profile, early adoption will put you ahead of the pack.

 

2.  Add Your Company to Business Business Directories - Citation Maps & Listings

Listing business contact information in online and traditional phone directories helps customers easily find your business.

What are Citation Pages?

Citations are an online reference to a business that features the business name, address, and phone number (NAP). Typically, when an SEO refers to citations, they are talking about a group of individual business listings on various sites.

How to improve your local citations?

Add your business | company to:

• Local online directories,
• Business listings,
• Press releases,
• Local news features,
• Social media pages count as a citation pages.

We add your company to multiple South Africa business directories - click here 

ADVANTAGES TO HAVE YOUR COMPANY ON MULTIPLE BUSINESS DIRECTORIES | LISTINGS | CITATIONS - MAPS

• Organic traffic will be driven to your website.
• Enhance your visibility on major local search results.
• Local Listings can become visible on the 1st page of Local Google search results.
• Targets local customers ready to buy a certain product or service.
• Create everlasting Backlinks.

Consistency is key: verify that your citations are consistent and complete across these four data aggregators. [Check your listing on All business directories]

3.  Perform a local SEO and Website audit.

Once you have the fundamentals down, it may be tempting to put your foot on the brake.

To know where your company is going, it is better ti first check where your company ranks.. 

SEO is an ongoing and intuitive process. Instead of stopping there or simply making changes and seeing what sticks, it helps to perform a comprehensive audit to see where your website stands and what you need to work on to achieve your goals. 

Website and On-Page SEO Audit - Does your site accommodate all the on-page SEO elements that help to rank?

We can do a FREE Website and Seo Audit of your website and send you the result.

 

4.  Optimize your website URL, title tags, headers, meta description, and content.

Once you know where you are, with a website and local SEO audit you can start to Optimize your website URL, title tags, headers, meta description, and content and rank higher.

The best plan of action is to first optimise and fix title tags, headers, meta descriptions on your website. 

WE DO OFFER ONCE OF ON-PAGE SEO SERVICES - Click and choose your required SEO Services here

Ranking high on local SEO pages isn’t going to happen overnight. Creating a user experience that caters to a local audience and making your business known as a resource is easier said than done. But, it will pay off for your organization in the long-run.

Your title tag is the first thing that potential customers see when your site shows up on SERPs. It’s imperative that you let both search engines and people know that you offer your product or service in a specific geographic location.

A common strategy for making the most out of your local SEO title tags goes as follows: [product / service / business category] [city name] [state abbreviation]. By following that exact format or a similar one.

Every time you write a piece of content, you need to optimize the content for search engines by using high-volume keywords in the URL, title, header, meta description, and body. If you're having trouble coming up with geo-targeted content, consider highlighting customer success stories and case studies.

 

5.  Add Location Pages and Content To Your Website

If you have more than one brick-and-mortar location, create location pages.

Adding location pages also means adding your multiple physical stores, companies, etc to google maps. So each Company is listed on Google Map

Location pages provide readers with your name, address, phone number, store hours, unique store descriptions, parking/transit information, promotions, and testimonials from happy customers.

Below is a great screen print multiple of Starbucks Stores on one map

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Local SEO is an integral part of any SEO strategy for local businesses. Local SEO will help your audience find you when they search online if you have a storefront or service area. We hope you find this article helpful in your journey to gain brand recognition and authority on the net.

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