Location, location, location. That phrase was coined a long time ago in reference to the three most important factors in real estate and started appearing in ads as early as 1926. Little did they know, whoever came up with this expression, how popular it would become and how aptly it describes three of the most important factors in business a century later.
Of course, they weren’t imagining the internet, search engines, or a virtual marketplace, but all the same, the physical location of your business and where you land on a search engine results page (SERP) are two factors that have a massive impact on a business’s sales.
Understanding Local SEO
In 2016, Google saw a 136% year-over-year increase in the number of searches that included the phrase “near me,” and it continues to be one of the most popular searches to date. Think about how often you use it yourself to find everything from takeout to gas stations to specialty items.
So whether you’re in food and beverage, retail, or provide a service, mastering local search engine optimization (local SEO) can significantly boost your visibility in those “near me” searches, driving more foot traffic to your physical location, and, ultimately, increasing your sales.
In other words, assuming your website is set up for maximum local conversions with CRO for local search, having your local SEO game locked down helps you convert local, high-value customers.
As you might have guessed, local SEO is more than just listing your business on Google. It’s a comprehensive optimization of your website, content, and online listings to rank higher in local SERPs.
Don’t worry; as this post will show, optimizing your website for local searches doesn’t require a complete website overhaul. Even a quick consultation on local SEO services can set you on the right path if you need help with any of the SEO-for-local-search tasks detailed below.
The following steps can help you reach the right customers at the right time; at the moment they’re actively searching for your services or products in a convenient and quickly accessible location.
Local SEO Audit Checklist: How do I do a Local SEO Audit?
Just as you need to do an SEO website audit before you can start working to improve your global search engine rankings, a local SEO audit is the first step for any business aiming to enhance its visibility in local search results.
An audit helps you identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of your current strategy, allowing you to make targeted improvements. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to conduct a local SEO audit:
1. Evaluate the Current Online Presence for Your Location(s)
Start by assessing your business’s current online footprint in your jurisdiction. You can do this right now with a simple Google search of your products or services, followed by “near me.” If you need to, you can change the search settings to search a specific location.
There are also tools like Ahrefs and similarweb that offer a free trial and give you deeper insights on search competition in your local area, free tools like BrightLocal, and newer AI Tools in SEO to check your rankings in local searches.
You’ll also want to take a look at your local social media engagement and any existing online reviews or mentions.
2. Check Your Existing Google My Business Listing
A Google My Business (GMB) profile is a cornerstone of local SEO. Check if your business is already listed and that the information is accurate and complete. This includes your business name, address, phone number (aka NAP), and operational hours. In the next section, we’ll go over optimizing your GMB profile to improve your local search visibility.
3. Review Local Business Listings and Citations
Citations—mentions of your business name and address on other websites—play a vital role in local SEO. Verify that your business is listed correctly across all relevant directories, including Yelp, Yellow Pages, and industry-specific sites. Consistency in your NAP and business information across these platforms also plays a role in boosting your local search rankings.
4. Analyze Website Structure and On-Page SEO
The structure of your website also impacts your local SEO effectiveness. Ideally, your site should have a clear, intuitive structure that is easy to navigate, with pages that load quickly. Sites like PageSpeed Insights analyze load times and assess a webpage’s performance, accessibility, SEO best practices, and other metrics to help you shore up any issues that are slowing down your site’s pages.
You’ll also need to look at the pages on your site that are specifically designed for geo-based searches. Technical and on-page SEO elements, like meta descriptions, page titles, and headers, should be optimized using local keywords.
These are the high-level sections of a local SEO audit. Let’s take a deeper look at how to do each one.
On-Page SEO for Local Search and Website Content for Local SEO
On-page SEO for local searches begins with keyword research to help you identify the right phrases for your business to target based on your location and keyword competition.
Whether it’s with keyword research tools like Google Keyword Planner, Moz, or Ahrefs, or partnering with a local SEO service for professional keyword research services, you need a portfolio of keywords to target based on your business profile that include long-tail phrases used in voice searches in your industry and in the local dialect. You also need data-driven strategies to rank for them.
Here are a few of the ways to optimize your website for local search using the keywords identified in the research phase:
Creating Local Landing Pages for Different Locations
If your business services multiple locations, consider creating dedicated, specific landing pages for each. These pages should contain content unique to each area related to local issues, news, events, promotional offers, etc.
Prioritizing Your Products or Services and Establishing Local Expertise
Focus on the products or services that are most popular or essential in your local area. Explain why these offerings are relevant and how they meet the needs of your community and environment. Also, position yourself as a local expert by sharing your knowledge and experience in the industry through detailed blog posts, guides, and educational content.
Optimizing Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, and Headers with Local Keywords
Incorporate specific local keywords into your title tags, meta descriptions, and headers to help search engines understand the geographic focus of your business. Put them as close to the beginning as possible.
Ensuring Mobile-Friendliness and Fast Loading Times
With more than half of all searches being conducted on mobile devices, ensuring your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly is essential. Optimize images, leverage browser caching, and minimize code to improve page speed.
Implementing Schema Markup
Schema markup, or structured data, is a type of code you can add to your web pages that makes it easier for search engines to analyze and interpret the information on your web pages. Use schema markup to provide explicit clues about the format and subject of a page and its locally relevant content (e.g. indicating to crawlers that these are reviews, local business information, videos, infographics, etc.), which can help improve your local SEO.
Google My Business Optimization
Optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile is also an essential pillar of local SEO success, as this is still where almost all searches, over 90%, are done. Not only can a well-maintained GMB profile increase your business’s visibility and attract more local customers, but searchers can also call you or order products and services directly from the SERP. Here’s how you can optimize your GMB listing effectively:
Claiming and Verifying Your Google My Business Profile
First, claim your GMB profile through Google’s verification process. This typically involves Google sending a postcard with a verification code to your business address, although there may be video, phone call, or email options also available, depending on when you read this. Once verified, you gain full control over your business listing, enabling you to respond to reviews, update NAP and hours of operation, and add new posts.
Adding High-Quality Images and Videos
Visuals play a critical role in attracting and engaging potential customers. Add high-quality photos of your products, services, and the inside and outside of your business. Regularly updating these images can help your profile stand out and give potential customers a glimpse into your business, taking them on a guided tour of your location and possibly making them more likely to choose your business over a competitor who doesn’t do the same.
Local SEO Audits: Managing Online GMB Reviews and Reputation
Think of the number of times you’ve used Google to find a local business (or any business) and how you used those reviews to help you choose between two or more options. Learn more on the importance of user reviews and their impact on SEO.
Here’s how you can effectively manage your online reviews to boost your local SEO.
Asking for Reviews
Asking for reviews should be a proactive part of your customer interaction process. Google provides guidelines on how to encourage reviews from your customers in a way that complies with its policies. Based on our experience, these are some of the best ways to effectively ask for reviews:
- Create a direct link for reviews. Generate a personalized link through your Google My Business profile, which you can share with customers.
- Integrate the review request into communications. Include the review link in your email signatures, newsletters, and thank you messages following a purchase or service.
- Make it easy. Ensure the review process is straightforward. Provide instructions and possibly a QR code that leads directly to the review form.
- Timing is crucial. Ask for reviews shortly after a purchase or interaction when a positive experience is still fresh in the customer’s mind.
Transitioning from collecting reviews to managing them, it’s equally important to handle both positive and negative feedback gracefully. This is where customers often decide whether or not they want to enter a business relationship with you, even if it’s just for one transaction.
Responding to Reviews (Both Positive and Negative)
Responding to reviews shows how much your business values customer feedback. Here are some tips on how to handle both positive and negative reviews:
Positive Reviews
For positive reviews, thank the customer for their feedback and express appreciation for their business. A simple, genuine response can encourage further engagement and loyalty.
Negative Reviews
When responding to negative reviews, always be professional and calm, regardless of the nature of the review. Apologize for any issues the reviewer legitimately faced, offer to resolve the situation offline and invite them to discuss the matter further through a direct contact method. This not only potentially salvages a customer relationship but also shows others that you’re committed to customer satisfaction.
One thing you don’t want to do is issue a generic, boilerplate response to negative reviews, as this is a red flag that you don’t care and won’t follow up or try to work out a solution to a problem.
Social Media Optimization and Your Local SEO Audit
Leveraging social platforms is a powerful tool in your local SEO arsenal. Here’s how to integrate social media into your local SEO strategy:
Promoting Local Content on Social Media Platforms
You can leverage your local website content and promote it or repurpose it to share on your socials. This could be highlights of community activities, promotions specific to local customers, or an infographic from one of your blog posts that shares info vital to your target local audience. Use geotags to help your posts be discovered by local users and include relevant local keywords to improve visibility.
Engaging with the Local Community Online
Interaction on social media isn’t just about posting—it’s also about engaging. Respond to comments, participate in local online groups, and engage with other local businesses and influencers. This builds your local network and boosts your social signals, which are important for SEO.
Remember, don’t try to hide who you are. Have someone experienced in online commenting actively engage other users on Reddit, X, etc., using your official social accounts.
Using social media, you can significantly boost your local SEO efforts, creating more avenues for potential customers to find and interact with your business. It’s also an integral part of creating backlinks, another essential SEO practice.
Monitoring and Measuring Success with Local SEO Audit Tools
To effectively gauge the impact of your local SEO efforts and continually refine your strategy, it’s essential to gather, monitor, and measure data. Here’s a look at some tools and key metrics to consider:
Tools for Tracking Local SEO Performance
- Google Analytics. Use Google Analytics to track website traffic (including by location), user behaviour, and engagement metrics. It’s particularly useful for understanding how users find your website and what actions they take while there.
- Google Search Console. This tool helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results. You can see which queries bring users to your site, monitor how often your pages appear in local search results, and analyze clicks, impressions, and position data.
- BrightLocal. BrightLocal offers a suite of local SEO tools that help you manage your listings, monitor local search rankings, and audit your online reputation.
Key Local SEO Metrics to Monitor
- Local Search Rankings. Keep an eye on how your business ranks for various local search queries. This is a direct indicator of your SEO performance.
- Organic Traffic. Monitor the amount of local traffic coming to your site from organic (non-paid) searches.
- Conversion Rates. Track how many local visitors take a desired action (like filling out a form, signing up for a newsletter, or making a purchase). This helps evaluate the ROI of your local SEO efforts.
- Customer Reviews and Ratings. Regularly check your reviews and ratings on Google My Business and other relevant platforms. High-quality, positive reviews can boost your local SEO.
Regular Updates and Refinements
Local SEO is not a one-time task but an ongoing process. Regularly update your content, refine your local SEO strategies, and adjust based on performance metrics and changing algorithms. Keep learning about new local SEO trends and tools, and implement these insights into your strategy to stay ahead in local search rankings.
Final Thoughts on Local SEO Audits
The internet can seem like an expansive and overwhelming place, which is why customers want to shrink it down, make it manageable, support a local business, and feel confident in their purchase decision. Customers often prefer a local business because, in short, they know that no matter what happens, they have recourse, a person in their local community they can work things out with if there is any issue.
A local SEO audit is a pivotal step toward understanding how your business can reach these customers and thrive in the digital marketplace.
Why Local Expertise Matters
When it comes to optimizing your online presence, working with someone who not only understands SEO but is also intimately familiar with your city offers a distinct advantage. Local experts bring invaluable insights into the specific needs, behaviours, and personalities of your community.If you’re in Southern Ontario, reach out to your friendly local SEO company in Toronto if you need professional help with your local SEO audit. Let’s build a stronger, more visible presence where it matters most.
