Local SEO: Any 21st-century company must develop a digital image to meet the growing demands of the market. Moreover, the simple creation of a website is not enough to stand out from the competition. Strengthening your online presence is above all about optimizing your natural referencing. The latter must be perfectly targeted to generate organic traffic.According to studies, more than 85% of Internet users are looking for local services on search engines. In fact, 25% of Google searches are local queries. In other words, implementing a local SEO strategy becomes essential to improve the visibility of a website.
Why is local SEO important?
Local SEO takes on considerable importance if your target audience is in a specific geographic area.
The request of Internet users
When an Internet user is looking for a service on a search engine, he favors local searches. It will put forward a query like “dentist + location”, “where to find a plumber in + location”, “where is the nearest hotel”, etc. In this sense, Google robots first display the local services corresponding to the locality in question. To have a better chance of appearing in the SERPs (Search Engine Result Page), it becomes important to improve your local SEO. You can seek the help of an SEO agency to put in place a suitable strategy.
Information about your business
Working on local SEO also means providing relevant and complete information to Internet users. Indeed, the interest of google searches is to be able to get information before moving. In addition to the catchment area, you must provide other essential information depending on your sector of activity: exact address, opening hours, social networks, telephone number, etc. This data must be regularly updated.
A few points to work on for better local SEOOptimizing your Google My Business listing
It is a kind of digital business card for your site. Indeed, it summarizes all the essential information that a prospect must know about your company. In addition to informing your customers, your Google my business page is a relevant interaction tool. Plus, it’s linked to Google Maps, which will make it easier for people to find you.To have more visibility on Google my business, consider highlighting the best customer reviews. Moreover, it is particularly important to encourage your customers to leave a comment. This will show them that their feelings are important to you. Even remember to calmly respond to negative reviews and reassure Internet users. If possible, you can even add a virtual tour to your google business listing so that the prospect can better project themselves.
Presence in local directories
In recent years, online directories have been a real success for Internet users. These typically check the Yellow Pages, Tripadvisor, or even Yelp for a local Google query. Being present in online directories will allow you to increase your visibility. However, be sure to cite uniform information across all directories. Of course, each text will have to be slightly reworked to avoid plagiarism.
Geolocation of your on-page SEO
To optimize your local SEO strategy, it is important to use the right keywords on your web pages. They can be inserted in the body of the text or in the titles h1, h2, etc. Some words deemed too generic, such as “hairdresser” or “restaurant” will struggle to rank well on search engines. Completing this keyword with a city will allow you to optimize your local SEO. This kind of task can be entrusted to an SEO agency on the estimate.
Optimized titles and meta description
Although often neglected, the meta description and the title tag nevertheless play an indirect role in local SEO. Indeed, these two elements are the first information that is displayed on the Google SERPs. Most Internet users rely on it to choose a site to visit. It is therefore important to insert the main locality there to put all the chances on your side.
Development of a mobile-friendly site
More than 60% of Google queries are made from a smartphone. Adapting your site to mobile navigation would really be an asset for your local SEO strategy.
