Introduction
In this guide, we’ll explore the basics of local search engine optimization (SEO), including what it is, why it’s important and how you can optimize your business’ listings to get found by more people searching online.
When potential customers search for a local business on Google, the search engine shows them a list of results that are most relevant to their search term, location and preferences. When you’re trying to rank highly in these results, it’s important to understand how the algorithm works. The more these pieces of information match what a user is looking for, the higher the results will rank.
Search engines use all the information they know about a user to give them the best possible results. The more these pieces of information match what a user is looking for, the higher the results will rank.
If you’re a business owner, it’s important to understand what search engines use to rank your website. A lot of people are confused about this, so here’s our simple guide:
Search engines like Google have access to a lot of information about users and their searches. When you search for something on Google, the company has access to all kinds of information about you like where you live (based on your IP address), who your friends are (if they’re also signed up for Google), what websites you visit, how often you visit them and more. When a user types in keywords related to something they want or need (like “best local organic produce” or “dentist office in Fort Collins”), this information gets sent directly back through the internet connection between their computer and the servers at companies like Yahoo!, Bing! Microsoft and Google headquarters so that we know exactly what they’re looking for before showing them anything else.”
You can’t pay to be ranked at the top of these local listings.
One of the misconceptions about SEO is that you can pay to be ranked at the top of these local listings. You can’t!
If you want to appear at the top of Google Maps for example, there is no such thing as a “Paid Boost” or anything like that. You can however pay for advertising in Google Maps (and other search engines) but this won’t get you any special treatment when it comes to how your business appears on those maps. If you want to rank higher in local search results, then it’s all about doing great organic optimization that will make Google think your business deserves to be listed higher than its competitors’.
Google determines how highly your business appears based on its relevance and prominence.
Relevance refers to how well your business matches what someone is searching for in their query. If someone searches for “pizza”, a restaurant that delivers pizza should rank higher than one that doesn’t.
Prominence refers to how well known your business is relative to other businesses in your area. For example, if you have a small grocery store called Bob’s Local Market and your competitor has been open for 10 years with more locations and reviews than you, Google will rank their listing higher than yours when people search for groceries unless there are reasons why people would want to use Bob’s instead (like lower prices).
how well your business matches what someone is searching for
Relevance refers to how well your business matches what someone is searching for in their query. For example, if I search for “SEO company,” it would be relevant for me if my local SEO friend is the first result on Google. However, if there’s a national SEO company that’s also ranked first, then it’s not really relevant.
The other factor that affects relevance is location. If a user searches from Canada, then they want a Canadian business—not one from another country or state (unless it happens to be Canadian).
Prominence refers to how well known your business or brand is relative to other businesses in your area. You can increase prominence by marketing yourself effectively and building authority over time through quality content creation and social media engagement with influencers within the industry you serve
Local SEO means making it easy for Google
Local SEO is about making it easy for users and search engines to find out everything they need to know about your business by looking at just one listing.
Your goal is not only to rank high in local search engines, but also be seen as the most relevant choice when a searcher clicks on that result. As you’ll see below, there are a few key elements of local SEO that will help you achieve this goal.
Claiming this listing on multiple online platforms ensures that customers see accurate information about your business every time they look at one of these listings.
This means that you will have a better chance of converting those clicks into paying customers because the data is consistent and accurate across all platforms.
Claiming your Google My Business profile and claiming your Yelp profile are two important steps in creating the foundation for an SEO strategy to help you achieve local search rankings.
Local SEO is about making it easy for users and search engines to find out everything they need to know about your business by looking at just one listing.
For example, if you have a local business and you’re trying to attract customers who are searching for “real estate agents near me” or “best restaurants near me” on Google Maps, then there are two things that can happen:
- If you don’t rank in those results because your listing isn’t optimized properly (or because another real estate agent managed to rank higher than you), then potential clients will never find out about your services and they’ll go elsewhere. In fact, they may not even be aware there are other options available at all!
- Or worse yet—if someone does see your listing in these results but doesn’t click through because it looks unprofessional or incomplete—then again, no one knows how great of an agent/restaurant you really are!
Conclusion
If you want your business to succeed in the digital age, it’s important that you understand how search engines work. Local SEO can help you get more customers through online channels and grow your business faster than ever before. With local SEO strategies in place, businesses have been able to increase their revenue by as much as 24 percent!
