Local search marketing helps your business show up when nearby customers search online for the products or services you offer. It works for single-location businesses, enterprise brands, and chains, and it aims to keep your business top-of-mind during local searches. Online and offline marketing should be treated as connected parts of the customer journey, not separate channels, so the two need to be integrated to get the most out of your strategy. Around 50% of local search users will visit a store within a day after using a search engine, which is why local search is an essential component of a successful marketing plan.
What is local search marketing?
Local search marketing is the practice of optimizing your online presence so your business appears for searches with local intent.
How do you set up local search marketing?
Before you can start, claim and verify a Google My Business account. This profile acts like a digital billboard for your business online. It includes your name, address, website URL, and phone number, and it also helps you collect more customer reviews, build a social media presence, and reach new market niches. Keep the profile accurate and update it regularly to maximize results.
Use the right local keywords
The key to successful local SEO is choosing the right keywords. Use long-tail keyword variations, which have a better chance of getting clicked. Optimize your page titles, URLs, headers, internal links, and content around those terms. Avoid keyword stuffing and focus on long-tail variations so other businesses are more likely to link to you.
Add a local phone number with call tracking
Include a call tracking service with a local area code on your site. It lets visitors call a local phone number and lets you track the origin of each call, which is especially useful if your business has several locations. A local number on your Google Business Profile also makes the business look more professional, and some sources argue it can even help you rank higher in search engines.
Earn credible content and authoritative off-page signals
Google’s local search algorithm rewards businesses with credible content and authoritative off-page SEO signals. Credible content establishes your brand as an authority in your industry and increases your business’s authority among searchers, which in turn boosts the number of leads you receive.
Build quality inbound links
The next step is a link building strategy. Quality links attract targeted traffic and help your site rank in local search engines. Google uses links to rank websites, so a page without links pointing to it is less likely to appear in local results. Strong reviews also factor in.
Keep directory listings consistent
Make sure your information is accurate on popular directories such as Yelp, Yellowpages, and Superpages. When you implement a local search marketing strategy, list your business on all of these sites. Inconsistent information can lead consumers away from your business. Local search marketing companies recommend checking these basic listings regularly. For existing businesses, claim or verify pages and complete every profile field.
Use Google Analytics to find trending local terms
Google Analytics shows which keywords are trending in the area you’re targeting, since Google analyzes search volumes at both national and local levels. Use the Matching Terms report to identify related services and build landing pages that match those services. Done correctly, this helps your site show up on top of search results.
Should multi-location businesses create separate pages?
Adding a local keyword to your business name can help, but ranking nationwide for a term like “general liability insurance agents” is very different from ranking for specific locations. Use local keywords to get noticed by nearby customers. If you have multiple locations, set up separate pages for each one. Creating separate pages for each location improves local rankings and boosts your search engine optimization efforts.
Local search marketing can be effective for all types of businesses. With the right strategy in place, you can see immediate results from local searches, which is why it is the most important part of digital marketing.
FAQ
What is local search marketing?
Local search marketing is the practice of optimizing your online presence so your business appears in search results with local intent. It works for single-location businesses, enterprise brands, and chains, and around 50% of local search users will visit a store within a day after using a search engine.
How do you start local search marketing?
Claim and verify a Google My Business profile with your name, address, website URL, and phone number, then keep it accurate and updated. Build landing pages around long-tail local keyword variations, keep directory listings consistent on sites like Yelp, Yellowpages, and Superpages, and earn quality inbound links and reviews.
Do multi-location businesses need separate pages?
Yes. Setting up separate pages for each location, each optimized with local keywords, improves local rankings and boosts search engine optimization efforts compared to a single page trying to cover every market.
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