A Local SEO Guide for Small Business Owners

What is Local SEO for Small Businesses?

Local SEO is a form of digital marketing that can help your small business improve its visibility in local search results. Search engines, such as Google, want to display the best possible results and information for users – especially on a local level. Traditional, technical, and other forms of SEO are important, but local SEO is crucial for many small businesses. If you are looking for ways to make an impact in the areas surrounding, local SEO is your best bet! Common local SEO tasks include:

• Optimizing your Google Business Profile and listing (previously known as Google My Business)
• Performing local keyword research
• Optimizing your website for relevant local search terms
• Creating local citations and business directories

These tasks will help your small business attract new customers, understand your target market, and improve your overall brand awareness. Local SEO for small businesses focuses on developing your online presence in local areas surrounding your company to attract local customers. The best part is, local SEO is fairly simple to understand and can be affordable for small businesses everywhere.

How is Local SEO Different from National SEO?

Local SEO and national SEO both have similar goals of ranking higher in SERPs (search engine ranking pages). However, they both have different intentions for targeting different audiences. With local SEO, it tends to focus on the areas closest to a business. On the other hand, national SEO services expand beyond one location. It focuses on capturing the national market and keyword rankings. Knowing your business needs and scale can help you determine what type of SEO would be the most effective for your business.

Is Local SEO Important?

For businesses that have a local audience, who can either visit a physical location or a website, local search is crucial (especially for smaller businesses). Depending on what industry your small business is in, local SEO can be more beneficial for those who have more competitors.

Why does local SEO matter? The numbers speak for themselves.

• 46% of Google searches are for a local purpose in mind.
• 88% of consumers visited or called a physical store within 24 hours of performing a local search on a mobile device.
• 72% of shoppers visited a store within five miles (8.05 km) after doing a local search.

With more individuals finding their information on mobile devices over desktops, even through voice search, factors such as these are changing the way people search for products and services. And while users are changing, search engines are right there changing and updating the way things work as well.

With 97% of users searching online to find a local business, implementing local SEO practices should be a primary focus for your digital marketing strategy. It's important for your small business to stay with the current trends while also preparing ahead of them. Implementing a local SEO strategy opens avenues for your small business to be found by more customers and in more digital areas. On Google, there are two locations where you can be featured in addition to Image Search:

• 1. Local Organic SERP (Search Engine Ranking Pages): This is similar to ranking in spots that are not designated for ads or featured snippets. Featured Snippets are often presented as additional elements such as answer boxes at the top of SERPs or People Also Ask questions. All of these types of elements have their own role to play in having a successful SEO campaign.
• 2. Local Map Pack: The local map pack displays at the top of the SERP with a few different businesses that are highlighted for your search. If you want to see more businesses, you can click on 'view all' to see more if available. On Google, it shows Google Business profiles.

Why Do Small Businesses Need Local SEO?

1. 1. Improves Rankings Within the Local Community

   The way consumers are searching for products and services is constantly changing. Many people begin their search online before anything else. In turn, terms such as “dentist near me” or other types of similar local searches are becoming more prominent. Small businesses, such as dentists, contractors, and lawyers, can benefit significantly from optimizing their business and website for keywords relevant for local SEO. If done correctly, your small business can appear at the top of the SERP (search engine result page) and attract more customers.

   Local communities depend on small businesses to provide them with the personalized services and products they need. The good news — ranking on search engines for local SEO can be much easier than other types of digital marketing strategies. For example, focusing on local SEO can limit the amount of online competition. Focusing on specific keywords for specific areas is a great way to dominate locally as you expand. As you optimize your business for local neighborhoods, towns, cities, or counties, it helps you reach your target audience more effectively. Building a local SEO strategy can help your business grow through improved visibility and more sales. Appearing within the local search results is important now more than ever.

2. 2. Gets Your Business In Front of the Right People

   Reaching your target audience as a small business is difficult, especially with limited resources and budget. Local SEO is an amazing way to showcase your business to the consumers who search for the product or service you offer for an affordable price. It allows you to target specific and relevant keywords to rank higher within the SERPs tied to your product or service. If this doesn't convince you, studies show that 97% of search engine users search online when finding a local business.

   Local SEO provides your small business with ideas on how to improve keyword rankings and also build an audience of local, interested searchers. When individuals search online, they look for the simplest and easiest solution to their problem or question. Many consumers will rely on the first page of search results to find this information. If your business is not on the first page, your target audience will likely not find your business. When your small business chooses to utilize an effective local SEO strategy, it allows you to get found on Google. Additionally, it will allow you to get found by the right people – those searching for your product or service. Ensuring your small business ranks on the first page will allow visibility to new, current, and previous customers.

   Note: An effective SEO strategy will take time to see results, it will not happen immediately. While some keywords offer low-hanging fruit opportunities, ranking timeframes will vary depending on keyword and area competition. Other factors, including website health, available resources, and domain authority can also affect first page ranking timeframes. While SEO can take longer to see results in comparison to other marketing channels, like paid ads, it is a more sustainable solution overall. SEO is especially effective for businesses looking for long-term growth.

3. 3. Brings In New Customers and Leads

   “How do I bring in new customers?” At some point, this question is something every business will consider as it grows. Local SEO for small businesses is a valuable strategy to attract new customers and leads within your local area. It allows you to reach low hanging fruit, such as customers that already are looking for a business to fulfill their needs quickly. For service based businesses, like plumbers and landscapers, local search is the only option to physically address the issue. For businesses with a physical location, local SEO can attract individuals who want products and services quickly by using the local resources your business provides.

   While there are many ways to attract new customers locally, here are a few techniques your small business should understand and utilize along with SEO:

   • Feature your business: Showcase how your business is unique, better, and special.
   • Consistently update: Keep your Google My Business profile and other business directories updated to help customers find accurate information and convincing reviews.
   • Make it as easy as possible: Your customers should be able to easily find, contact, and communicate with your business.
   • Create a seamless user experience: Improve the user-friendliness of the website, paperwork, or any other aspects of the business customers engage with.

4. 4. Improves Brand Image and Trust

   When it comes down to beating out local competition, improving your brand image and trust can make all the difference. When a business has a strong online presence with positive reviews and attractive branding, the more likely customers will trust your business more. UX (user experience) is becoming a very important SEO factor when improving your website. A fast website, with easy to find information will help improve the user's overall experience.

   Encourage customers to leave feedback for your business. Positive reviews can help improve the trust of your business and can be a deciding factor when customers make a purchase decision. When you respond to reviews, it shows the customer that you care as a business and are willing to follow up and listen. For negative reviews, use it as an opportunity to improve your business while still showing you care and would like to make it up to the customer. Each of these practices play a role within local seo, to improve your brand image and trust.

What are the Ranking Factors for Local SEO?

• Local Organic SERP (Search Engine Result Page)

  With how complex SEO can be, it's inevitable for SEO to have a large amount of ranking factors. With the different types of SEO overlapping one another with these ranking factors it can be hard to know which ones are the most important for small businesses to focus on. For the local organic SERPs, here are three of the main factors that small businesses should be optimizing their sites for:

  • On-Page Signals and Optimization: This is one of the most important ranking factors. This is because with all of the on-page strategies that you can implement into your local SEO strategy, it's important to include relevant keywords in content. Search engines will look specifically for these keywords and the intent behind it. From there they can help get your website ranking in specific areas of your industry. Another important factor can be mobile-friendliness and user experience. Having a responsive website that's accessible, easy to navigate, and fast loading will make things easier for users and will reflect positively on your local SEO strategy.
  • Local Link Building: The second most important local SEO ranking factor for organic SERPs is the number of backlinks your small business has. Building links that have value, are relevant, and fit naturally in your website is crucial for any local SEO strategy. Thinking with more of a local focus in mind, having quality links over spammy links is more important to your SEO strategy. The more trustworthy and authoritative links you include, the more positive impact your website will have towards local ranking factors.
  • Behavior Signals: The third most important ranking factor for organic local SERPs is through behavior signals. Behavior signals refer to how users are interacting and engaging with certain elements on or off your website or through listings. Examples of them include:
  • Clicks
  • Click-through-rate
  • Mobile clicks-to-call
  • Check-ins
  

• Local Map Pack

  A local map pack has several different ranking factors. However, the top three you should be aware and mindful of are:

  • Google Business Profile: Having a Google Business Profile nowadays is more critical than ever. If you don't have one now, your first step is to make one for your small business. In local map packs, it's known to be the #1 ranking factor! When people search for your small business information, it's important to have the information on your profile present and up-to-date.
  • Online Reviews: For local map packs, reviews are a very important local ranking factor. Getting as many authentic, 4 and 5 star reviews helps build your credibility within your local area. The more your small business continues to succeed through online reviews, the more you'll succeed online locally. Positive reviews are what your small business seeks for, however, negative reviews are bound to appear every once in a while. It can actually help build trust with search engines and individuals, especially if you respond and try to find a resolution with the customer.
  • On-Page Signals and Optimization: The same information above applies here as well.
  

7 Local SEO Strategies Every Small Business Website Should Optimize For

1. 1. Local Keyword Research

   Conducting keyword research means identifying keyword opportunities to incorporate into your website content to help increase online rankings and get in front of local audiences searching for those terms. Local keyword research focuses on “near me” searches and terms that have local elements in them, such as cities, states, regions, etc. For example, “dentists in Atlanta, Georgia”.

   82% of people use their phones to conduct “near me” searches. With this in mind, it's very important to add local keywords into your SEO strategy for your small business to be found.

   There are tips your small business can implement in conducting keyword research for your small business. The first tip is to utilize tools dedicated to helping you find the best keywords for your small business strategy. While keywords may seem easy to find and add, they can be more strategic than that. Here are a few free keyword research tools to help your small business get started:

   • Google Search Console (GSC): This free tool is one of the best and should be taken advantage of by every business (big or small). It collects important information to help your small business find valuable insights in your digital marketing strategy. GSC shows impressions, clicks, and positioning data for various date ranges. It shows what individuals are searching for and where your site is positioned in all of it.
   • Google Suggest: While this specifically isn't a tool, it can help your small business find insight into potential keywords. Google suggests simply starting a search query in a search engine and seeing what options start to show up underneath the search bar as you're typing. This helps get an idea of what other users are searching for similar to your own.
   • Related Searches: Similar to Google suggest, the related searches help give insight into similar topics. They can help give more location ideas for local SEO strategies or it could help give keyword phrases in the form of questions. Once you find a few potential keywords, you could enter them into keyword tools to see if they provide any search volume. If they do, they could be beneficial in adding it to your content.
   • Listen to What People are Saying: As silly as it sounds, listen to those around you and what they are saying. There can sometimes be value in listening to people and what they're specifically saying. You could find ideas for potential keywords and uncover keywords you never heard before. Especially with voice search, having keywords with more natural language can be very beneficial to your keyword strategy.

   While these free options work well, for those looking for more advanced options here are some paid keyword research tools that could help:

   • Semrush: This tool helps you identify what keywords your competitors may be ranking for. What you would do is insert the URL into the search bar on the page, and it will give you a list of keywords that the URL is ranking for as well as potential keyword ideas related to it.
   • Ahrefs: This tool helps you look at keywords in a more in-depth way. This in-depth way includes looking at data about competing keywords, how many searchers click on a result, and how many backlinks are included. This type of information can be very useful and beneficial for your SEO strategy to last over time.
   • Moz: While Moz has many free resources to learn from, their paid keyword research tool is unique in giving you more of a variety of keywords related to a specific subject. For example, if you had a keyword such as “exercise” it might give you additional options such as “exercise routines” and, “cross fit exercise”.

   The second tip in conducting keyword research would be incorporated with the first tip. Using the tools mentioned above, it's important to go over the keywords your competitors use and see which ones are manageable to go after. If there's a keyword that is too hard to go after, work on the easier ones first to build a strong foundation. Once you start building more of a stronger online presence, then you can target the harder keywords.

2. 2. On-Page SEO

   On-page SEO works on elements that are on and within your website. One of the biggest and important on-page SEO factors has to do with your content. Having it be optimized and effective is critical in any SEO strategy (whether it be local or national). The different types of content you can work on optimizing can be:

   • Pages related to contact information, directions to your business, etc.
   • Blog articles
   • Header tags
   • Image alt text
   • Meta titles and descriptions

   It's important to remember that just like SEO, this should be an on-going process to check and update. While you won't have to change these elements constantly, it's important to see where and when they should be repurposed to be the most effective for your website over time.

   

3. 3. Google Business Profile

   Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is a free business directory and probably the most important one for your small business to have. With Google having the biggest market share, compared to other search engines, it's crucial for your small business to create and manage one.They give your website the opportunity to rank elsewhere besides the normal organic SERPS and in the Local Map Pack.

   For local pack rankings, Google determines this based on three factors: Relevance, Distance, and Prominence.

   • Relevance: Relevance is based on how well your GBP listing matches with what the searcher is looking for. Remember to make your listing as detailed and thorough as possible for the right people to find you.
   • Distance: Distance relates to how near or far the listing address is located to the where the searcher is searching from. And even if a location is not included in a search query, Google will determine this based on the location their bots (or spiders) can pick up on them.
   • Prominence: Prominence refers to how well a business is recognized and known. A lot of this comes from online reviews, backlinks, articles and content, and directories. These elements help build your prominence over time online.

   A Google Business Profile highlights a lot of your small business' important information. Information such as NAP (name, address, phone number), hours of operation, website URL, and ultimately what your business offers or services. Without a GBP, most users might not be interested in your business.

4. 4. Being Included in Directories and Citations

   Along with the main directories that are important to any business of any size, it's important to add your small business to local directories and citations. Having your business information be consistent on all of the directories, listings, and citations you decide to be a part of, will be critical in building your local SEO strategy. It helps eliminate any confusions about your business and help build authority and trust online over time.

   Sometimes it can be hard finding the best directories that are applicable to your small business. One tip to help solve this issue is by searching for “near me” keywords that relate to your local area. From there you should be able to find local listings and directories in your area to add your business to. When you find new directories to be added in, make sure all of your information is consistent, especially your NAP (name, address, phone number). The more consistent your business information is, the better your local presence will be.

5. 5. Local Link Building

   Along with the main directories that are important to any business of any size, it's important to add your small business to local directories and citations. Having your business information be consistent on all of the directories, listings, and citations you decide to be a part of, will be critical in building your local SEO strategy. It helps eliminate any confusions about your business and help build authority and trust online over time.

   Link building can be a lengthy and time consuming process. However, utilizing different strategies to help promote and build your website through link building will help promote you in your local area. You can build links that make sense, with local ties in your area to help improve your online local presence. What works for one business might not work for your own, so it's important to aim for trustworthy and quality sites and backlinks from local businesses in your area.

6. 6. Online Reviews

   Online reviews are one of the biggest factors that can help build or diminish your small business' local online presence. As such, it's important to build, maintain, and achieve as high of rankings as possible. Learning the right online review etiquette is important especially in your local areas. Customers around your area are most likely the ones leaving reviews so their opinion matters the most! You want your reviews to be authentic, asked for (not paid), and hopefully have more positive than negative reviews.

   Although when you do receive a negative review, it's important to respond back to them to help show other potential customers that your small business cares and is interested in improving where you might be lacking. Be sure to check on, review, and respond to your online reviews that could help potential customers decide whether or not they should choose your business over your competitors.

7. 7. Use Structured Data

   Structured data, or schema markup, is not a direct ranking factor for websites. While it might not be a ranking factor, it does help search engines understand your small business' purpose and where it fits in SERPs (search engine result pages). For small businesses, there's already LocalBusiness schema markup that can be added to your website. It's so widespread that there are structured data generators that can help you generate the code without having to know web development yourself. All you need to do is inputthe fields it requires and place it in your website's header file. JSON-LD is the best practice nowadays, not microdata. Here are a few schema markup generators that you can use to get started:

   • Merkle Technical SEO
   • Microdata Generator (the name is misleading but it generates JSON-LD schema)
   • Incrementors

Actionable Local SEO Tips to Give Your Small Business a Head Start

Learning multiple strategies and different tactics can be overwhelming to any small business looking to succeed in local SEO. Sometimes receiving help from a dedicated local SEO company might not be what your small business can afford at the moment. If that is the case, there are things you can do now to hopefully improve your small businesses' local search performance. Here are some actionable local SEO tips you can starting doing now to give you a head start:

1. 1. Build Your Website to be Responsive and Mobile-Friendly

   Did you know that search engines will tend to crawl and check your website first on mobile before viewing the desktop version? With this in mind, it's important to have a mobile-friendly website that works for search engines and customers. If you're looking at checking specific pages on your website, use Google Search Console's Mobile-Friendly Test to see how you can fix certain problems and parameters.

   

2. 2. Map Out Keywords & Optimize Metadata

   With all of your local SEO efforts, it's important to optimize meta titles and descriptions that match your target local keywords. Meta titles and descriptions are also referred to as metadata. Meta titles and descriptions are what you see upon searching a keyword in a search engine and the listing features a title linking to the specific webpage and a short description underneath.

   Before you start this process, map out which keywords are assigned per page. Do not cause unnecessary competition between web pages on your site by using keywords everywhere. It causes “keyword cannibalization” and search engines will have a difficult time understanding what page should rank for the search term.

   When editing the meta title and description for local SEO, incorporate the local keyword or “near me” terms and aim to place those at the beginning of the meta title rather than the end (sometimes metadata may be cut off if it runs too long). The meta title holds a lot of weight in keyword placement value, so ensure that one is in there.

   Last but not least, follow the character limit best practices:

   • Meta title: 50-60 characters
   • Meta description: 150-160 characters

3. 3. Create Pages That Enhance Local Search Terms

   Along with finding the right keywords to go along with your strategy, be sure to create pages that will help strengthen your local keywords. These pages could be:

   • About Us page
   • Contact Us page
   • Location-targeting pages
   • FAQs
   • Service or product pages

   Incorporate information that is specific to your physical location (or multiple locations) and include geographical elements and directions to help search engines better understand what local terms to rank your webpage for.

   It's also important to be mindful of utilizing natural language within your content and pages to help with factors, such as being authentic and voice search. 20% of all Google searches are conducted on mobile devices through voice search now. Be sure your pages and content are able to support and keep these elements in mind.

4. 4. Create and Optimize a Google Business Profile

   Like we've mentioned above, if you haven't already created one you need to create a profile now. Prioritize creating a Google Business Profile first because it does directly impact your local search rankings on Google. Optimize it with the target keyword and specify fields, such as the location or radius of who you can provide your services to, a detailed description of what your business can deliver on, the business categories that apply, images of yourself, your team, and of your business (interior and exterior), hours of operation, holiday hours, and so much more.

   And remember to check back or update your GBP listing to ensure that the information is accurate and up-to-date at all times.

   

5. 5. Ask for Online Reviews

   Start making it a priority and habit in asking for online reviews from your customers. Building your online reputation and local presence helps build your local SEO strategy immensely. Quantity and quality are important factors for online reviews, however, your small business needs to be mindful of each and every review for them to help make an impact on your business. The key is having authentic reviews that help highlight your services or products. Here are some additional reviews to remember:

   • You cannot pay for reviews, but you can ask people to leave you one.
   • While Google Business Profile is especially important for local search, there are other directories that can sometimes be more beneficial to your specific small business. Ask people to leave you reviews on those as well!
   • Respond and engage with incoming reviews. If there are negative ones that come through, take the opportunity to rectify the situation as best as possible rather than ignoring them. And don't forget to thank the people for taking the time to leave you a positive response!

6. 6. Capture Backlinks from Local Resources

   Along with finding your own, reach out to local businesses and news sites for backlinks. Backlinks can be an authority signal for search engines and are highly valued. They can be very time consuming for your small business to research and do. However, when you do it right it can be extremely beneficial to your local SEO strategy.

   Local businesses in your area may be more willing to link back to your website rather than going after large publications, like Forbes or Inc. Start local and then expand to other relevant websites or resources online.

7. 7. Become Active on Social Media

   Utilize your social media efforts by directing traffic to your website. This can be directed at certain web pages, service pages, or landing pages you want to focus on. Social media platforms have so many capabilities and features to identify target market opportunities as well. Combine the two strategies together to work in sync and not independently of one another.