My Personal Thoughts on Local SEO and SEO as a general
Nowadays, users don’t search anymore by only using a business's name or services or products but they usually supplement their search with a specific location. For example, a user looking for a hair salon would no longer just type “salon” but would accompany their search with a location like “salons in New York” or “salons near New York”. By doing this type of search, they narrow down the results to the websites that have location nearby their place – this not only makes it easy for them to communicate via telephone but also visit the actual shop, if needed. Therefore, it is now vital for every business or website owner to ensure that their website doesn't only rank well for their chosen keywords but also locally.
Local Search Optimization (LSO)
This is implemented by having the business’ information posted, linked and cited in different webpage's. Now it would be a big plus if the citation were from websites that are from the same locality but nonetheless just as long as the business’ information indicated is accurate, especially its location and the places where it serves, any website will still contribute to a site’s LSO.
Post Accurate information
Having the business mentioned in other webpage's, even without links, contributes to its LSO. However it is important that the information posted is correct and matches the one’s posted in the business’ website and its other citations. An example of a citation is claiming business profiles in different online directory sites, all the information stated must match to each other so search engines will credit it to that business’ LSO.
Register to Top Search Engine Sites
Google, Bing and Yahoo! all offer business profiles that a business can claim for their website. These websites are the top search portals every user goes to when searching for products, services, and businesses so it is crucial to establish a profile with them.
Get Reviews
Asking clients or customers to post a review of the business will also contribute to a website’s LSO. Having reviews, whether positive or negative will indicate that the business is credible and is legitimate. Be reminded that most search engine portals aim to provide relevant, accurate and current information to its users and having reviews make your business profile stand out from the rest.
Claim Business Profiles to Different Directory Listings
Citations are one of the key factors for a business’ LSO to improve. This is why it is important that the business also claim their business profile to other online directories like Yelp, SuperPages, YellowPages and a lot more.
Importance Of Local SEO
If you run a business then your goal is to attract customers. You can open up a store and have all kinds of products but unless you inform customers about your location and products no one will know about it. That is where local SEO comes in. By setting up business profiles, phone listings, social media announcements and making it super simple for people to find your location you will draw customers in.
Local SEO Vs. Traditional SEO
Local SEO is different from traditional SEO in that you are not going for just a keyword but a location based keyword. So instead of targeting roof replacement you are targeting New York roof replacement. You also go after links and business profiles that put your business name and information in front of potential customers instead of just regular links. Everything is based around your business name, phone number and address also referred to as NAP. Local SEO takes traditional SEO methods and narrows them down to a specific focus and local is usually less competitive than traditional SEO. Use seo tools to find the best keywords for your local SEO campaign.
Time Frame For Local SEO
Like traditional SEO local SEO will take time to kick in. If you go after quality keywords that do not have a ton of competition you can expect to see results within 3-6 months. I have seen results much quicker and do see this with local SEO since you are targeting local terms that there is usually not as much competition for. I have had some clients who had sites start showing in local results on page 1 of Google within 4-6 weeks but this is not regular and you should not expect that. You should expect to have to put in the work for 3-6 months or expect to pay someone to do the work for 3-6 months. If results begin showing sooner then that is a great bonus and you can always add in other keywords to target. Remember this is based on my 8 years of seo experience and results may vary and take longer or shorter. There is no set time frame for seo so just be prepared to put in the time and work.