Search Engine Optimisation, as you may be aware, is an important part of any digital marketing strategy. Ranking at the top of search engine results pages will help bring more customers to your business, and targeting specific keywords while doing so will help make sure that the right potential customers notice you and increase conversions. Over 75% of consumers in major markets such as the United Kingdom, United States, France & Germany use Google when they are looking for products or services. However, for more competitive areas, successfully ranking at the top of SERP’s for broad keywords can sometimes be difficult, with thousands of other similar businesses all trying to rank for the same keywords. Equally, some businesses that offer more localised services may not see as many benefits when ranking for these broader keywords, with website traffic often coming from people looking for their services in areas that the business is unable to cover, leading to increased website traffic but not increased conversions. There is a solution for this though: Local SEO.
Local SEO is the process of optimising your online presence and increasing traffic for people in a specific area or location rather than the world at large. When searching for products and particularly services, lots of consumers are more likely to search for the businesses they want to see based on location. For example, rather than someone who needs a mechanic just going to Google and typing in “mechanic”, they are likely to search for “mechanics near me” or “mechanics in [insert location]”. By applying local SEO, your business is more likely to show up in results pages for people searching for your products or services in your area, making it much more likely for them to convert if they like what they see, as you are a convenient option for them.
One way to increase your local SEO performance is by using localised keywords for your area when optimising your website. This means while doing keyword research, looking for keywords specifically relating to your area rather than just broad keywords that describe your services (though you’ll need a combination of both to truly succeed). For example, if you are an SEO company in Worcester, you’ll need to optimise your website for keywords such as “Worcester SEO company”, or “top SEO agency Worcester” as well as more generic keywords about your SEO business. One benefit of this is that these keywords are often likely to generate less search results than the broader more generic keywords, as there are naturally going to be less businesses offering competing services in your area than in the world at large. This means you’re likely to rank higher for these keywords much more quickly, and get seen by more people!
Another thing you can do that will help your local SEO performance is by optimising yourself in Google’s “local pack”, which refers to your Google My Business profile and Google Maps. When people search for a service, product, or type of business in a particular area, Google will often show the top local business listings and a map at the top of the search results page. One of the best ways to rank highly in this “local pack” is to optimise your Google My Business Profile, a free listing provided by Google with information about your business. Ways to do this include using both broad and localised keywords when writing information about your business and its services when completing your profile, regularly adding images and videos regularly to promote engagement, and by making sure all fields (such as opening and closing hours, disability accessibility and more) are fully completed to a comprehensive level. You can also supercharge your local SEO by finding backlinks in local directories and listings, which not only will increase your SEO performance but foster customer trust in your brand by association!
Every Trick Marketing offers comprehensive SEO services to businesses of all sizes and types, including local SEO that is bound to get your business seen by the right people in the right place. We offer a range of packages including everything from rolling monthly comprehensive digital marketing packages, to affordable one-off SEO packages. We also offer a free SEO Audit to help you understand your current performance and what changes need to be made to improve your rankings. Contact us today and book a consultation to find out more!