Have you ever used Google to search for a business’s opening times or find x y z ‘near me’? Well, on average, 82% of smartphone owners carry out ‘near me’ searches. The online shopping market is forever growing, and with continuing competition, how much difference will local and location-specific SEO make? 

The short answer is, a lot. Massive emphasis is put on local and location-specific SEO to improve your business, and rightly so. Online searches have soared over the last few years, so it’s imperative you’re fully optimised across the board. 

Using location services and language-specific content can boost your competitive edge in your industry market. Why not take full advantage of your presence in the local community and encourage high rankings for your niche?  Or, if you’re a bigger organisation with global locations, ensure your languages and geographical targeting are optimised.

Also consider how you can use personalisation and local SEO to capture more sales from tech-savvy potential customers.

What is Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)?

Google Business Profile is a free tool that allows you to maximise the potential of Google and manage your online presence, whether you’re a hairdresser, a fashion retailer, or a B2B organisation. By setting up your account with the correct information that correlates across your online content, Google Business Profile provides you with a listing that appears when a customer’s search aligns with the goods or services you offer.

It generates relevant details including address, opening hours, industry category and reviews. That means potential customers can view companies that are similar to what they’ve searched for. For example, let’s say a person searches ‘BBQ restaurant near me’. Google uses the query to find relevant businesses – having an account with up-to-date information puts you where you need to be in their listings.

Use personalisation to optimise your content

Now you have a fully functional Google Business Profile account, it’s time to optimise your content. Encouraging customer reviews can further authenticate the validity of your company, as can plenty of high-quality images. The more accurate content you produce, the more likely Google will include you in the sidebar space for local searches.

Additionally, consider location-specific content to further optimise your website. For example, if your business has multiple sites, include content that’s specific to each area.  That way, you widen your search scope. However, simply duplicating pages and only changing the location name isn’t enough and is viewed as spam.

It’s also important to think about how your content looks and reads, so make sure it’s free of spelling mistakes, URL errors and irrelevant information. 

Optimise for mobile

According to Search Engine Land, ‘near me’ searches have grown worldwide by over 400% year-on-year. The increasingly mobile-first world we’re living in has influenced that trend, so it’s important your website is set up and optimised for smartphone use.

How to use local SEO for interaction 

To further optimise your local SEO, why not participate within your community or industry? When searching for a business, people look at recent activity and reviews, so having content that aligns with local news or events should boost your business in the online rankings. Indeed, a study by SurveyMonkey found that 92% of people who use Yelp are looking for a local business they can return to.

You can also make connections by engaging with local businesses and potential customers. That may involve interacting with industry influencers and networking with established brands, leading to additional inbound links and social media collaborations. In turn, your visibility and search engine ranking improve.

Local SEO for small and large businesses

Even though we use the term local SEO, it doesn’t just apply to small businesses. For a big international company with a website in many languages, it’s important to get hreflang management right.

This allows the same web page to be recognised in different languages and tells Google about the variations, ensuring customers around the world see the most relevant version.

Make local and location-specific SEO a priority

As well as setting up a profile, personalising your site, interacting with locals and being mobile-first, continued optimisation is just as important. If you remember the three L’s (local, location, language), you’re on your way to creating an optimised business. And if you need help, get in touch – we’d love to guide you on your SEO journey.