Right local SEO strategies empower businesses to reach local customers quickly. Around 80% of Americans search for local keywords weekly, and around half of the Google search results show local intent. Businesses can struggle to attract more customers without local SEO in 2024.
Local SEO is not just about increasing visibility; it’s also about being potential customers’ first choice when searching for services and products in their local area. Imagine you run a pet-sitting business, and when people search “Best pet sitting near me,” your business appears first in the SERPs.
The business appearing at #1 in search results is 10X more likely to receive clicks rather than the pages ranking at 4, 5, 6, and other positions. This indicates the importance of local SEO for businesses. So, do you want to boost your business in 2024 and beyond? Use the best local SEO strategies.
In this blog, we will present helpful local SEO strategies that actually work.
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO is search engine optimization that targets local consumers. This optimization helps make your business more visible in local search results for keywords like “near me,” “open now,” “closest,” and many others according to your business type. So, local SEO ensures your business pops up when customers search for services and products online. In the USA alone, 5.9 million keywords are related to “near me.”
Local SEO: Why Is It Essential for Your Businesses?
Leveraging local SEO strategies will be a game changer for your small business. Big businesses can also use these strategies because they often focus on attracting a broad audience. So, it will be effective for both. How? Let’s find out below.
- Increased Visibility:
New and small businesses often need more online visibility to boost business growth. Local SEO helps to increase visibility. It helps your business pop up when people nearby search for what you offer.
- Attract More Relevant Traffic:
With the help of local SEO, you can attract people specifically for businesses in your area. For example, people search for “Dentist near me” or “best coffee shops in Seattle.” They are more likely to find your business if you leverage local SEO.
- Strong Presence in the Local Market:
Implementing local SEO strategies can help you easily compete with regional competitors. It helps locals discover your business quickly when they need services and products from the local market and establishes your strong presence in the local market.
- Improved Trust:
A well-optimized local Google business profile and positive local reviews build trust in your business. Your strong online presence indicates you are genuine, and potential customers start choosing your company over others. So, use local keywords effectively, as nearly 46% of all Google searches are made with local intent (SEO Tribunal).
Top 10 Local SEO Strategies: Skyrocket Your Business in 2024
Being a small business, you can generate good revenue by increasing your visibility in the SERPs. For this, Local SEO is an affordable method. Scroll down to learn the most effective and widely used local SEO strategies.
- Improve Your Google Business Profile:
Increasing online visibility starts with a Google Business Profile (GBP), which allows you to connect with more potential customers in your local area. Customers are 70% more likely to visit and purchase from businesses with a complete GBP (Google).
So, ensure your GBP is fully updated with accurate information, high-quality photos of your services, and proper descriptions. This will help you stand out in local searches and maps and help your potential customers find you quickly.
- Optimize for Voice Search:
Speak your customers’ language by optimizing their online search mediums. Over 50% of adults worldwide use voice search daily. Nowadays, most devices are integrated with AI voice search, making it crucial for local businesses to optimize their online presence for voice search.
Think about how users search when typing vs. speaking. For example, when people type, they use concise words such as “Best pizza near me,” if they talk, they use lengthier words such as “Where’s the best pizza near me?” Find the difference and optimize your strategies accordingly.
- Use Google Local Map Pack:
It is a local map pack, a set of local business results. It shows up on Google Maps and local searches. You must ensure correct and detailed information about your business. With the help of Google Local Maps, your business can appear in the top three local search results. It’s crucial because Google Local Pack’s algorithms differ from organic SERPs.
Google Maps is the most popular mapping app in the USA. Optimizing your business for Google Maps increases the likelihood of attracting more local potential customers. The image below shows how popular the Google Map App is.
- Ensure Seamless Experience on Different Devices:
Make sure your website is mobile-friendly so that when people search using their smartphones, they still get seamless results and easily find you. Since 69% of all digital media time is spent on a mobile device, ignoring search optimization for mobile can be dangerous.
Optimize for local mobile search in 2024, considering a fast-loading page, responsive design, and easy navigation. Since many local searches are happening through mobile devices, your business can’t afford to miss out on this opportunity.
- Conduct Local Keyword Research:
What keywords do local people search for when they want to buy something? Examples: “Best shoe shop near me,” “Affordable plumbers in Seattle,” “Near me grocery stores open now.”, and many others. Identify which keywords people use to search and optimize your local SEO accordingly.
Use these keywords in your web content, title, local listings, and meta descriptions. It will make your business more visible in the SERPs. According to the Consumer Behavior Index Research (CBIR) report, 32% of consumers search for local businesses daily.
- Create Localized Content for Marketing:
In your content, discuss local events, news, and topics that resonate with your services and products. This will engage more people locally and make them search for your business online. Use blog posts, articles, or social media platforms to address local interest and highlight your business’s online presence. You can also use terms popular in your locality that most people use in your content.
- Engage on Social Media Platforms:
Social media has become a critical part of everyday life. Most people hang out there. You have to find the platforms where your target audience hangs out so you can share creative posts with them. Social media is an effective way to engage with the local community and audience.
It helps you become familiar with their pain points and address them quickly through improved services. It will also help you build relationships with potential customers in advance. Create a dedicated page for your business on social media, such as Instagram, to show what you offer. Moreover, create innovative reels targeting local culture and needs.
- Nail Hyperlocal Targeting:
Hyperlocal targeting is about focusing on very specific geographic areas within your city or town. You must target neighborhoods, streets, and other local landmarks to better connect with customers. Likewise, focus on local events, utilize geo-targeted keywords, create local-specific landing pages, and partnerships with local communities for effective connections. Moreover, keep experimenting, as nothing is fixed in SEO.
- Optimize Apple Business Connect Listing:
Apple Business Connect Listing is the company’s version of Google Business Profile. You can claim and optimize business listings on Apple Maps. So, just like Google, you can ensure your business is listed correctly here. It is for Apple device users.
Many iOS users feel comfortable searching for services and products through Apple Maps. If you optimize for this type of listing, Apple Maps users can easily find your business.
- Test for Open Hours:
You should check and update your business’s open hours. It may seem like a small task, but it is inevitable for successful local SEO. Update your business’s open hours as it proactively updates potential customers about the most suitable timing.
It avoids confusion or frustration among your customers, which can occur due to a lack of information about business hours. So, consider this point if you don’t want to lose your customers to competitors.
How To Do Keyword Research for Local SEO?
Keyword research is crucial in the local SEO, so we considered covering it separately. Here are the ways to do keyword research for local SEO.
- Find Your Industry Keywords:
Find terms, phrases, and popular words in your industry. They should describe your services and products so you can make them your primary keyword. Suppose you run a bakery, so use words like “Custom cakes,” “Artisan bread, and “Pastries.”
- Focus on Search Intent:
Why are your potential customers searching for something? Do they want to learn, explore a website, make a transaction, or buy something? Understand the search intent behind their search and create content according to that. You can attract the right audience by focusing on search intent.
- Include Your Location Terms:
Include local identifiers like city, neighborhood, and others in your keywords. For example: “Plumbing services in New Orleans,” “Hair salons in downtown Seattle,” and many more. It will help your business show up in local searches with a place name.
- Analyze Competitors:
What are your competitors doing to rank high in the SERPs? Try to find out their local SEO strategies with different keywords and analyze which terms and approaches put them at the top in Google searches.
What Is the Role of Local Generative AI in Local SEO?
You have read above about local SEO keywords and creating content using them. With the help of generative AI, you can create this type of content in a few minutes. Provided, you have to write accurate prompts so that the AI tool can understand what you want it to do.
For example:
“Write a blog post about my new Seattle bakery, focusing on keywords like ‘best artisanal bread in Seattle,’ ‘custom cakes,’ and ‘local bakery near me.’ Highlight our unique offerings and use a friendly, conversational tone to attract local customers.”
Similarly, you can utilize different AI tools to create more engaging and compelling content according to local search queries, search intent, and hyper-local targeting with just one accurate prompt.
The image presents the local search performance of different Generative AI platforms. Gemini offers the best results for local search, followed by SGE, Copilot, Perplexity, Meta, and ChatGPT at the end. This means that if you want to search “best hair salon near my home,” Gemini is more likely to offer the most accurate result.
Get Rid of Local SEO Blues with Egnoto:
To make your business successful, you have to focus on various things, and Local SEO is one of them. Implement the strategies discussed in this blog and see positive results. You will improve your business visibility and establish your business as the go-to choice for local customers.
So, start by refining your Google Business Profile like a professional. Find what customers say when they search through voice search, ensure a seamless experience regardless of device types, and conduct thorough keyword research for local SEO with the right tools.
If you still can’t improve your visibility, feel free to contact us anytime. We are a team of experienced SEO professionals with an innovative mindset. They have helped many local businesses in the USA and other countries rank at the top of SERPs. With a dedicated team of digital marketers, you can end your struggle by establishing strong visibility in your locality.
