What is Local SEO?

Local search marketing is anything you do on the web to promote

a physical business that makes face-to-face contact with its
customers.
 Looks like no one
goes past the second
page of search
results… 😢

Source: https://seo-hacker.com/lesson-28-important-page-serps/
Source: https://moz.com/learn/seo/what-is-local-search-marketing-seo
Guideline compliance
The way you conceptualise and market your type of local business will be based on
the Guidelines for Representing Your Business On Google.

• Your Google My Business listing is the most important listing you build for your company;
failure to comply with Google’s guidelines can result in ranking failures and even listing
takedowns.

• To play it smart, you must be able to see your business the way Google does and follow
the appropriate guidelines.

Search: Guidelines for Representing Your Business On Google

Google My Business – The big Kahuna!
• Claim your listing if you haven’t!
go to google.com/business
• Ensure all your contact information, business
descriptions and address/map location is always up
to date.
• Add your primary category and sub-categories.
• Setup a “Shortname”.
• Add your logo and business photos -location, shop
fitout, services & team.
• Add videos and virtual tours.
Google My Business – Once you are live
• Gain insights into how people are finding you
including what type of keywords they have used.

• See the number of people finding you on google

search results vs google maps.

• See common actions that took place – users have:

visited to your website, requested directions or
called you.

• Reply to reviews as soon as possible.

• Utilise the Posts tool to promote offers, updates,

events and products.
Site authority
Your website can accrue some authority simply by virtue of its age, but you can actively
pursue authority by earning links and mentions of your business from quality, relevant
sources.

• Beware of links from low-quality sources or schemes that attempt to inflate link count with
no concern for relevance.

• Industry surveys indicate that the quality and authority of the links you earn have a major
impact on your local search rankings.

• You can check your domain authority by going https://analytics.moz.com/pro/link-

explorer/
Site quality
If your website loads quickly, has a sensible structure, renders properly on all
devices, features high-quality content, is free of malware or other malicious
elements, and is easy for people to use, you’re meeting basic quality goals.
No amount of marketing can make up for poor UX (user experience) on your
website.
Site quality
Basic quality checklist.

1. Ensure your website is mobile optimised and as fast as possible.

Search: Google Mobile-Friendly Test
Search: Google Page Speed Insights

2. Ensure your website runs an SSL certificate. Eg. https://www.business.com

3. Have a sitemap.xml file.

4. Include a Privacy Policy.

5. Setup Google Search Console to get alerts on when your website is having issues.

6. Setup Google Analytics to track your user traffic and actions.

Site optimisation
The search engine optimisation (SEO) of your website aims to increase your
organic (non-paid) search engine visibility via both technical and creative
means.

You must also understand that local SEO consists of everything traditional
SEO does, plus geography. In other words, local business websites don’t just
focus on keywords about products, services, and topics; they also highly
feature terms relevant to the cities in which the business serves.
Keyword discovery
Keyword research is the process of finding and analysing actual search terms that people enter into
search engines.

The insight you can get into these actual search terms can help inform content strategy, as well as your
larger marketing strategy.

Keyword example: “townsville denist”

Your Google My Business page is also a great way to find out what types of keywords have been used to
find your website. Look into the “Insights” section.
Using your keywords
• Your keyword list should form the basis for the pages in your website.

• Ensure you have consistency in using the keywords for meta titles and descriptions, page
headlines and page copy.

• Have at least a single page dedicated to each main service.

• Use blogs to build additional content over time.

Example of a Meta Title and Meta

Description used in Google search
results
Tips for optimising your homepage
• Use a H1 tag (Heading 1) for your most important keyword.

• Have a good amount of copy on your homepage.

• Have your NAP (name, address, phone) in your header or footer.

• Use links to send the user to main sections of your site.

• Consider adding some testimonials.

• Link to your recent blog articles

• Have a clear call to action.

Tips for optimising the rest of your site
• Have a good linking structure and hierarchy of content.

• Optimise URL, title tags, headers, meta description, and content.

• Have your NAP (name, address, phone) in your header or footer.

• Have your NAP information marked up in schema.org – this should be added to all pages across your site. Use the
Google Structured Data Maker Helper tool and then have your web developer add it to your site.

• Add location pages if your business operates in multiple locations.

• Create local content and don’t use duplicate content!

• Use links throughout your blog to create a mesh of information between your articles and your service pages.

• Again, have clear call to actions.

NAP and Citations
“NAP” is the common acronym for “name, address, phone number.” These three pieces of data
make up the core of your business information in the world of local search.

• A NAP can be found on your website or on another website like a business directory, these are commonly
referred to as “Citations”.

• NAP inconsistencies can misdirect customers, costing you revenue.

• Further, when search engines like Google encounter NAP variants, they can become less trusting of the
data they have about the company, which can result in lower local search rankings.

• To avoid NAP inconsistency, you’ll want to audit all places your business is listed or mentioned and
correct any variants in the data.
NAP Breadth
• A core task of local SEO involves helping your NAP spread across the Internet.

• Much of this work hinges on building structured citations (local business listings) on important platforms like Google My
Business, Facebook, Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp, Yellow Pages etc.

• You can also build important citations on popular niche directories that relate specifically to your geography or industry.

• The breadth of your NAP can grow as your business earns unstructured citations/mentions on social platforms, blogs,
news sites, and other resources.

• The number of both structured and unstructured citations you earn is believed to have a positive impact on local search
rankings, as search engines find your business widely referenced around the web.

• You can do all of this work manually, or use convenient tools that automate structured citation building in business
directories and active location data management for you.
Customer Reviews
• Reviews may be the most influential Internet factor for any local business.

• It’s estimated that 92% of consumers read online reviews and 68% state that positive reviews
influence their feelings of trust in a business.

• Have a strategy for encouraging customers to leave reviews on a variety of platforms.

• The number of reviews you earn can directly impact local search rankings, while the positive and
negative sentiments in those reviews can directly impact conversions and earnings.

• Reply to reviews in a timely manner, Google actually times how long it takes you!

• Inside your Google My Business dashboard you can find a link

that you can use to direct a customer to leave you a Google review.
Publishing
The moment any local business steps onto the web, it becomes a publisher.

Your communications with consumers may include the basic text content of your website, a blog, video
or image content, owner responses to reviews, and social media participation.

Everything you publish should engage customers and expose them to your brand.

Search engines not only measure content quality, but also the way in which users interact with content,
meaning the content you produce should result in high levels of user engagement.

Plus, your high-quality content may be shared by your industry and consumer base, further promoting
your business. You must devote time and creativity into developing and executing a publishing
strategy, for as long as your company is in business.
Publishing on YouTube
• Youtube is a great way to build engaging content that will flow through to your overall local SEO
strategy and help push your website higher.
• Use the right keywords in your video title, you can employ similar strategies to finding the right
keywords as we’ve already covered.
• Use your main keyword in your file name. This will help YouTube instantly identify what your video is
about.
• Add a detailed description, again utilizing your targeted keywords. Keep the most important
information at the start as YouTube only displays the first 100 characters in its previews.
• Add a link to your website, or even a blog page if the two correlates.
• Upload a custom thumbnail for your video.
• Use high quality video, if your video stinks it will never get the right attention from Google no matter
how much time you put into the optimization.
• Provoke users to leave comments and ask questions, the more engagement your video receives the
higher the importance Youtube will give your video.
Competitive edge
• Gaining a competitive edge in a crowded market requires a unique effort for each
business, based on discovering opportunities your rivals haven’t yet explored.

• Competitive difference-makers will be unique to each company and represent the

advanced tactics businesses need to undertake when the fundamentals fail to give
them an edge. This is where marketing ingenuity comes into full play.