Local SEO should always be part of a company's digital marketing strategy when relevant to its business.
With the increasing use of mobile phones in our lives, it is becoming more and more common to use a mobile phone to search for all kinds of local products and services.
Companies, especially newer ones, can use Local SEO to gain local market share and eventually compete with competitors outside their area.
What is local SEO?
What is local SEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) refers to the optimisation we can do, usually on web pages, so that they are more easily found and positioned at the top of search engines.
Local SEO is one of the strategies to promote your business online locally, i.e. in a small town or region. This strategy does not mean that you do not need to apply common SEO strategies.
What strategies are there?
What strategies are there?
Google My Business
Google My Business is undoubtedly one of the most powerful tools at the moment, and it is where all businesses that want to gain customers locally should be registered.
In addition to Google My Business, there are other platforms that can also be used, such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, Facebook, etc.
Local Reviews
If you sell products or provide services on the site, getting good reviews from local customers can be a huge advantage over the competition.
One of the first things all consumers look for when searching for a product or service is reviews, which are also a major factor when deciding whether to buy or not.
Responsive website
Nowadays we increasingly use mobile phones to browse the internet, and this trend can be seen in the traffic of the vast majority of websites.
It is essential that the website is responsive or has a mobile version, to ensure that visitors have the best possible experience when browsing, and that all important information is available clearly.
Local SEO on web pages
The most basic way to implement local SEO on the site is by adding a contact page with the address and a Google map with the business location.
It is also important to reference, in the titles and texts of the site, the locality or city where the business is located, which will help search engines associate the business's website with a location.
Local content marketing
As content marketing is the creation and distribution of relevant content for a target audience, local content marketing is the creation and distribution of local content.
Local content marketing, although not widely used, can be a good strategy to compete against other rivals who already have a marketing strategy for the general market.
How effective is it?
How effective is it?
Typically, any type of business can benefit from Local SEO, and if the basic steps of local SEO are well implemented, it is only a matter of time before results appear.
There is usually a maturation period that must be waited for before we can start seeing results, which can range from a few weeks to a few months.
Competition is also a factor, especially if this competition has its own local SEO strategy. For this reason, a consistent strategy and implementation is important to reach the top.
