What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is a branch of search engine optimization (SEO) that focuses on optimizing your website to be found in local search results on Google, Bing, Yelp, Trip Advisor, Waze, Apple Maps, etc. for relevant queries related to your specific area, city, county or state.
Why Do You Need to Think About Local SEO?
Search engines consider the geographical location of the users to provide results that are more useful to them.
For instance, if you searched for “chiropractor five points asheville” Google provides the most useful results:
But if you search for “chiropractor near me,” it will have different results altogether depending on your current location:
Search engines, such as Google and Bing, use location-based data (IP addresses and geolocation) to give the most relevant results to their users. By optimizing your website for small towns, local and regional areas, you can increase your online visibility in these local search results.
You may be asking why I need to worry about this. I have been in business or at this location for 10, 20, or 50 years?
Unfortunately, it doesn't matter how long you have been in business. What matters most is can be found online for what you offer and seen as the expert you are. Remember that the search engines are picky about which websites deserve to be on the coveted top spots on the search results pages (SERPs).
Google will reward those who best fulfill the searchers' intent, also called user intent. If you can concentrate on user intent for each given search query, you can boost your chances of ranking at the top and receiving higher CTRs (click-through rates) and traffic.
Local SEO Statistics
If you still need a bit more proof that local SEO is crucial to small businesses, take a look at these stats:
46% of all searches in Google have “local intent”
76% of consumers that search for something local on their phone visits a store that day
29% of all Google SERPs contain a local pack in the results
Consumers search for a variety of local information on their mobile devices. 54% will look for business hours, 53% for directions, and 50% for the address.
71% of people who have been surveyed have said they search for the location of a business to confirm its existence before going there for a first-time visit. (Source: Search Engine Roundtable)
28% of local mobile searches result in a same day in-store purchase.Who Needs Local SEO Services?
You need to utilize and understand local search engine optimization (Local SEO) if your small business is in one of the following categories:
- Contractor or Residential Developer
- Plumber
- Landscaping
- HVAC
- Electrician
- Residential and Commercial Cleaning/Janitorial
- Softwash/Pressure Washing/Power Washing
- Painter
- Roofer
- Handyman
- Autobody shop
- Automotive repair shop
- Pest Control
- And many more!
The bottom line is that if you go to someone’s home to do work or own a local small business with a specific physical address, and you rely on local clientele as opposed to national, you need to focus on your local SEO.
Now that you understand the simple concept of Local SEO, here’s how to optimize yours for the best results.
Technical Local SEO Checklist: How to ensure your website is built for searchers and search engines
Technical Local SEO covers the underlying software, the technical or the backend parts of your website. Each of these elements influences how people use and search engines rank your website. The main goal is to have an issue-free website indexed correctly in the major search engines and easy to use.
Quick statistics about Technical SEO:
- As page load times goes from:
- 1s to 3s the probability of bounce increases 32%
- 1s to 5s the probability of bounce increases 90%
- 1s to 6s the probability of bounce increases 106%
- 1s to 10s the probability of bounce increases 123%
(Source: Search Engine Land)
- Mobile accounts for approximately half of web traffic worldwide. In the fourth quarter of 2021, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 54.4 percent of global website traffic, consistently hovering around the 50 percent mark since the beginning of 2017 before consistently surpassing it in 2020. (Source: Statista)
Here is the Local Technical SEO Checklist:
- Is your website hosted within the United States?
- What is your website’s page load speed? Is it above average using the Google Page Speed tool?
- Does your website look good and functions properly on mobile phones, tablets, and computers?
- Is your website navigation simple to use, and does it make it easy to find information?
- Does your website have 404 error pages or other redirection issues?
- Do you have a Google Search Console account or access to it, and is it properly configured?
- Is there a Bing Webmaster Tools account that is set up and properly configured for use?
- Are all your website (in the least the most relevant) pages are appearing in the Google and Bing indexes?
On-page Local SEO Checklist: What your website needs to delight searchers and search engines
On-page Local SEO is the practice of optimizing elements on a website to earn more relevant traffic and rank higher on Google and the other search engines. In other words, it addresses the actual content found on every page of your website.
These elements influence how people take action, and your site shows up in the SERPs. The main goal is to have an informational website that makes it easy for search engines and people to understand what you do best.
Quick statistics about On-page Local SEO:
- 90% of experts believe accurate citations (name, address, phone) are important to local search ranking (Source: BrightLocal)
- 68% of consumers would stop using a local business if they found incorrect information in online directories. (Source: BrightLocal - Local Citations Trust Report 2018)
- 93% of consumers say they are frustrated by incorrect information in online directories. (Source: BrightLocal - Local Citations Trust Report 2018)
- 80% of consumers lose trust in local businesses if they see incorrect or inconsistent contact details or business names online. (Source: BrightLocal - Local Citations Trust Report 2018)
- 30% of consumers would go to a competitor if they couldn’t locate a business because of incorrect information found online. (Source: BrightLocal - Local Citations Trust Report 2018)
- Upon finding an inaccurate listing, consumers are more likely to blame the local business than the directory. (Source: BrightLocal - Local Citations Trust Report 2018)
Here is the Local On-page SEO Checklist:
- Is there a unique page title for each website page?
- Is each website page title optimized for search phrases that match the page's content?
- Is there a compelling meta description for each website page?
- Does each website page have an H1 tag containing the targeted search phrase?
- Does each website page use H2 tags containing related search phrases?
- Does each website page use H3 tags containing related search phrases?
- Does each website page use image alt and title tags describing the image?
- Do you have a location page for location(s) that contains the name, address, phone number, hours, and a map?
- Can the business name, address, and phone number be found on every page?
- Is the business name, address, and phone number implemented with structured markup or SCHEMA?
- Does each page have a specific call to action for the visitor to take?
Off-page Local SEO Checklist: How the websites in even the most competitive niches outrank the rest
Off-page Local SEO refers to anything that happens outside of your website to suggest to Google, Bing, Duck Duck Go, and the other search engines that your content is valuable and authoritative enough to rank. Off-page SEO elements include social signals, company citations, and backlinks, many of which are out of your control.
In Moz’s 2018 Local Search Ranking Factors report they stated that:
- Link Signals (Inbound anchor text, linking domain authority, linking domain quantity, etc.) 27.94%
- On-Page Signals (Presence of NAP, keywords in titles, domain authority, etc.) 26.03%
- Behavioral Signals (Click-through rate, mobile clicks to call, check-ins, etc.) 11.5%
- Google My Business Signals (Proximity, categories, keyword in business title, etc.) 8.85%
- Citation Signals (IYP/aggregator NAP consistency, citation volume, etc.) 8.41%
- Personalization 7.32%
- Review Signals (Review quantity, review velocity, review diversity, etc.) 6.47%
- Social Signals (Google engagement, Facebook engagement, Twitter engagement, etc.) 3.47%
Google considers these factors when determining how authoritative and trustworthy your website and, ultimately, your content is. In general, the more difficult an off-page SEO element is to get, the more effective it is in the eyes of Google.
Here is the Local Off-page SEO Checklist:
- Are the total number of backlinks to the website on par with competitors (or better)?
- Are you using unusual anchor text patterns or excessive use of optimized anchor texts in backlinks?
- Do you have any manual penalties related to links pointing to your website in Google Search Console?
- Do you have a plan in place for promoting your website online to increase links and business mentions?
Google Business Profile Checklist: The fantastic secret to increased local search engine visibility and rankings
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business or GMB) is a subdivision of Off-page Local SEO that significantly impacts your rankings for localized searches and visibility within Google Maps. Each of these factors affects the relative weighting of your Google Business Profile versus your competitors in your area. The main goal is to have claimed, accurate profiles for all of your business locations, providers, or professionals.
Here is the Google Business Profile Checklist:
- Is there Google Business Profile for each business, office location, and/or provider?
- Has each Google Business Profile for the business been claimed and properly categorized?
- Does each Google Business Profile for the business have accurate and up-to-date information?
- Does each Google Business Profile have at least 30 positive reviews (4 to 5 stars)?
- Are you responding to reviews that are left on each Google Business Profile?
Local Directory Listings Checklist: What people see first before they even visit your website or location
Local Directory Listings are a type of Off-page Local SEO that frequently show for brand searches and have a minor impact on search rankings. However, each of these components can influence your initial impressions and your company's online reputation once combined.
Here is the Local Directory Listings Checklist:
- Have you found the popular online listings and profiles and updated your business information?
- Have you claimed all primary listings and profiles for each business location and/or provider?
- Have you ensured all primary listings and profiles for each business location and/or provider have accurate information?
- Do you have a plan to monitor all primary listings and profiles for each business location and/or provider?
How to Get Started With Your Local SEO Checklist
You're undoubtedly excited to start reviewing your online presence now that you have a Local SEO Checklist. After all, the checklist's purpose is to increase your local SEO. However, if you're not a seasoned internet marketer or SEO expert, you might be hesitant to take the next steps to implement the Local SEO Checklist.
Outlined below are a series of seven steps. These steps should be taken in order to properly assess your online presence utilizing the Local SEO Checklist items listed above.
1. Setup Your Google Search Console
With Google Search Console, you can determine technical issues, check for manual penalties, and get keyword search data. Creating and configuring your Google Search Console account provides you with valuable data and tools. These data insights and search tools simplify identifying issues with your website and locating SEO opportunities.
2. Setup Your Bing Webmaster Tools
With Bing Webmaster tools, you can view indexing information, resolve technical issues, and obtain keyword data for your website. Bing Webmaster Tools provides statistics and tools similar to Google Search Console but tailored for the Bing search engine. This additional data and insights will provide you with further validation of any challenges or opportunities.
3. Setup Your Google Analytics
Discover how visitors use your website, collect usage data, and identify the best-performing pages. With a Google Analytics account, you'll be able to see exactly what happens when someone visits your website. The information you discover will help you determine whether you need to increase website performance or make on-page changes, such as stickier content.
4. Find and Setup Your Local SEO Software
Scan your website and online presence to find issues, opportunities, and how you stack up against your competition. You can scan your website and online presence to get hundreds of relevant data points and comparisons using a local SEO software tool. The best part of using local SEO software is that it helps make the manual review much more efficient and effective.
5. Head Over to Google Page Speed Tools
See how well your website performs when loaded on a desktop or mobile phone. Page load times have gotten a lot more attention in recent years and is a big part of your technical SEO. Remember, a search engine wants to show the best search results. Therefore your website needs to be good-looking and fast-loading to rank highly.
6. Time to Review Your Website
With all of the information from the first five steps at your disposal, you can now begin reviewing all of your website pages. Manually go over each page of your website to ensure it has complete, engaging content and suitable on-page technical structure. The most critical factor to consider is what a person seeing the page might think. Of course, you'll want to check the page's HTML to confirm that page titles, meta descriptions, headers, and other components are there and correctly utilized. Expect to spend a significant amount of time here.
7. Scan Your Online Profiles
If your local SEO software did not include a scan of your online listings, now is the time to do that. This should also include your Google Business Profile. There are several different solutions for scanning your online listings, even some that are free! That said, you choose one that will give you a broad scan of the most popular profiles for your business type and industry. Finding any issues with your data and correcting them is essential for customer experience and your local SEO.
Don’t Have the Time or Confidence to Do Local SEO Yourself?
At this point, you should be well on your way to completing the tasks on your Local SEO Checklist. If you find yourself struggling to complete the steps or simply don't have the time to do it yourself, consider hiring us to perform a local SEO audit. We have been in business since 2005, and we have performed hundreds of local SEO audits that have resulted in increased traffic, leads, appointments, and profit for our clients. Just fill out the short form below, and we will get started.