Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a website so it ranks for searches tied to a specific location, including the keywords, search terms, and audience that come with it. It uses the same organic, unpaid search results as general SEO, but the goal is to attract visitors who are physically near your business and likely looking for what you sell.
Organic search results are what visitors typically see when they search for a business, product, or service you offer. With local SEO, the focus narrows to searchers in your area, which makes the targeting more specific and the traffic more relevant.
How is local SEO different from general SEO?
General SEO aims to rank a site for broad keywords with a national or global audience. Local SEO narrows that focus to a geographic area. A company that serves only your local area can draw visitors from search results in much the same way a national company does, because both compete in the same organic listings. The difference is in the keywords, content, and signals you optimize for.
Local SEO also requires content that speaks directly to customers in your area and addresses their specific needs. That content should be keyword-rich but easy to understand in a local context, so the site speaks to neighbors rather than a generic global audience.
How is local SEO achieved?
Two practical paths show up most often.
- Work with a local SEO firm. Many firms already have an established reputation within a local community and are familiar with local SEO techniques because they also work with larger companies that have national interests.
- Use Google’s local search features. Google has made these features intuitive, making it possible for people to search for local businesses online. By optimizing your website for the specific criteria people are searching with, you increase your chances of reaching the top of the rankings.
What factors affect local rankings?
Google works off a complex system that rates each website on its own. A site’s ranking is determined by a variety of different factors, including how many incoming links the site has, how many internal pages it has, and how popular its social media profiles are. Optimizing for these particular factors helps a site attract a local audience.
Another key factor is ranking well for the specific keyword phrases your local audience is searching for. Many local SEO firms make a practice of optimization for specific keywords in order to attract a targeted audience. If the goal is a broader audience, it helps to search for keywords within your niche and optimize accordingly. As a general rule of thumb, optimize for the first hundred keywords that are relevant to your business, and weed out websites that don’t have a chance of appealing to your target audience.
Why does local SEO matter for small businesses?
Google has made it easy to market a business through search engines, so a company can promote itself without spending a fortune on traditional marketing methods. Local SEO allows a business to reach potential customers who are already looking for what it offers. If you haven’t begun to optimize your website for local search, the time to start is now.
FAQ
What is local SEO in simple terms?
Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a website for specific locations and keywords so it shows up in organic search results for people searching near your business. It works like general SEO but targets a local audience instead of a national one.
How is local SEO different from regular SEO?
General SEO targets broad keywords for a wide audience. Local SEO narrows that focus to a specific geographic area and uses content and keywords aimed at customers in that area.
What improves local search rankings?
Google ranks sites based on factors such as incoming links, the number of internal pages, and the popularity of social media profiles. Optimizing for those factors, using Google’s local search features, and targeting the keyword phrases your local audience searches for all help a site rank higher.