Local SEO is an essential tool for businesses looking to increase their visibility and reach local customers. It allows you to put important information about your company online, such as your address and phone number, and use SEO techniques to promote the products or services you offer. Local SEO is a cost-effective way to increase your presence in local searches, as most local business listings are free on platforms like Google, Facebook, and Yelp. Investing in local SEO can be a great opportunity for businesses to appear in front of motivated users when Google determines that the query has a local intention.
According to the Moz Ranking Factors study, links are the second most important ranking factor for local companies looking for local package rankings (just behind Google My Business). Local SEO focuses on attracting customers in smaller areas, such as those in a particular town or city. When customers search online, local businesses can appear in the local package, Google My Business, and organic results. Inbound links are incredibly powerful opportunities to boost your local SEO: every inbound link tells Google that you're a legitimate company, and inbound links can also increase your domain authority.
By following local SEO best practices, companies can improve organic traffic from customer searches in nearby areas. Local and organic SEO are interconnected, but each requires a unique strategy with different optimization tactics. Even if you're not investing in local SEO, you can be sure that other local companies in your niche are. Including geography in the title of the page and in the meta description can contribute greatly to local SEO.
The implementation of Google's mobile-focused index had serious implications for local SEO and dramatically changed the optimization landscape. Writing about general topics will attract a large audience, but it is sometimes more important to focus on local or industry news to attract a local audience. If you spend time creating locally focused perishable resources, you're also more likely to receive links to your site from other local businesses. With local SEO, companies can use this to position their products and services among local prospects and customers looking for them.
The local search results show a selection (snack pack or local package) of the three most relevant results. Citations are important because they help local businesses appear in online searches and, when managed properly, foster trust in these online ads.
