what-is-local-seo-and-why-is-it-important

What is Local SEO and why it is important?

What is the difference between regular organic and local SEO? What do you need to know about it for your marketing strategy?

local-seo

Local search is an essential component of any SEO strategy that targets customers in a specific region, city, or neighbourhood.

Simply put, local SEO is where you focus to improve your rankings and visibility in local search results. such as Google’s Map Pack/Local Pack.

Organic SEO is the process of improving webpage rankings in organic search. How your website ranks in those organic results can have a positive impact on your Local Pack rankings as well.

Organic listings are another great way for your local business to appear in front of motivated searchers when Google determines that the query has local intent.

So, while local and organic SEO are linked in these ways, each requires a distinct strategy with distinct optimization tactics.

Let’s start at the beginning: what is local SEO and why is it important?

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO is the practice of optimizing search engine results for local searches.

On Google, this means assisting your company’s listing in the Local Pack/Map Pack to rank higher and appear more frequently in response to a higher volume of relevant queries.

Consider the last time you were out in the world looking for something. It could have been men’s shoes, daycare providers, or coworking spaces.

Google’s mission is to provide the best answer for any query to searchers.

When its algorithms detect that your intent is local—that you are looking for something in your immediate vicinity—Map Pack results will appear prominently on the first page of search results.

They may be complemented by organic results about businesses and services in your local area, too.

Watch – What is Local SEO? | Local SEO 2022 | Digital Marketing

Google Algorithms

If you search for something like [Mexican restaurants open now], local results may appear as the default view above all organic content. Google has detected that you have an immediate, local need.

The information available in local search results – business name, address, phone number, website, photos and videos, customer reviews and star ratings, and more – is more likely to answer that need than a plain blue link.

Adhering to Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and creating a great user experience on your website are best practices for SEO in general.

This is essential if you want your website to rank in organic search results where Google has determined there is local intent to the query.

But, you can appear in the Map Pack without even having a website. As MapPack results are largely informed by your Google Business Profile (GBP) listing. They might include information Google has compiled from other places around the web and even user suggestions, too.

Google has a separate set of guidelines for local SEO, too, the most important of these being its ‘Guidelines for representing your business on Google.’

These guidelines are essential for maximizing your visibility in the Map Pack and avoiding getting your listing suspended.

As you work through our Local SEO Guide, keep the differences between local organic and the Map Pack in mind.

At times, we’ll talk about Google search algorithms, technical SEO for your website, on-page optimization of your web pages, etc. These topics refer to your opportunities to appear in local organic results and to support Map Pack rankings with your website’s presence.

As you’re reading about local reviews and star ratings, Google Posts, and other elements of your GBP, you’re learning about local SEO as it pertains to local results you see in Google Maps.

Watch – Local SEO Signals and how to win on those | Local SEO tips and tricks [2023 Updated]

Why Local Search Is Important

Here are a few stats that prove how important local search continues to be for businesses:

  • According to Google, 76% of people who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a business within 24 hours, and 28% of those searches result in a purchase.
  • 30% of all searches it processes are related to location, also according to Google.
  • 61% of consumers said in a recent local search survey that they search locally every day.
  • A recent local SEO survey found that 82% of consumers read online reviews for businesses during a local search and spend close to 14 minutes doing so before making a decision.
  • 86% of people rely on Google Maps to find the location of a business.
  • Yelp appears in the top five search results for SMB searches 92% of the time.
  • Worldwide, 74% of in-store shoppers who performed their search before physically arriving at the store said they searched for things like the closest store near them, locations, in stock near them, and other types of hyperlocal information.
  • More than half of Internet users worldwide use a mobile device for their local searches.
  • 83% of searchers use Google Search to learn more about nearby businesses; 55% use Google Maps, 44% Apple Maps, 39% turn to Yahoo, and 31% choose bing.

How Google Determines Local Ranking

Google keeps its organic search ranking algorithms a closely guarded secret but is much more open about what it takes to rank in local results.

The three main categories of local ranking factors, according to Google, are:

  • Relevance.
  • Distance.
  • and Prominence.

“Relevance refers to how well a local Business Profile matches what someone is searching for.

Add complete and detailed business information to help Google better understand your business and match your profile to relevant searches,” Google states in its help resource on how to improve your local ranking.

Google defines distance as “how far each potential search result is from the location term used in a search. If a user doesn’t specify a location in their search, we’ll calculate distance based on what we do know about their location.”

And prominence in this context refers to how well-known Google considers that business to be. This is perhaps the most complex of the local ranking factor categories, as search algorithms try to factor offline prominence into the equation, as well.

According to Whitespark’s ‘2021 Local Search Ranking Factors survey, these are what local SEO experts believe are the top Local Pack ranking factors:

  • GBP primary category.
  • Keywords in the listing title.
  • The proximity of the business address to the searcher’s location.
  • Physical address in the city of search.
  • Additional GMB categories.
  • High numerical star ratings.
  • Completeness of GBP listing.
  • Quality and authority of inbound links to the associated domain.
  • Keywords in native Google reviews.
business-relevance-for-local-listing

Improving Your Local Search Presence

As you can see, local search is an essential channel for businesses of all kinds that serve local customers – franchises, retail chains, so-called Mom & Pop shops, financial services brands, service providers, enterprise brands, and SMBs alike.

In ‘What is SEO Strategy,’ you’ll find everything you need to know to develop and implement a successful local SEO strategy.

You will learn:

  • The top local ranking signals you need to know and why they matter.
  • How to create a winning local SEO strategy.
  • Tips and a process for analyzing the competition in local search results.
  • Why accurate NAP information and user experience are so important in local SEO.
  • How and where to find the best local link-building opportunities.
  • Why reviews and star rating matter – and how to make the best possible use of them.
  • How to completely optimize your GBP listing.
  • All of the different attributes you need to know to help your GBP listing stand out and convert customers.
  • Local SEO and listing management tools to save you time and improve your performance.
  • And a lot more.

You’ll hear from our local search experts as they share their best tips and advice to help shape a strategy built for your business.

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