Do you own a small business and would like to be found on Google? If so, then local search engine optimization (SEO) is for you. Whether it’s your dentist office in Milwaukee or the family-owned Italian restaurant in Chicago , local SEO can help ensure that potential customers can find you when they’re looking for your kind of business nearby.
In this guide, we will begin by defining what makes a business local and then explore the SEO strategies that can be utilized to improve visibility for local businesses. At the end of the article, specific examples on how customers have improved their visibility by applying these strategies will be discussed.
Local SEO for Businesses Definition: Local search engine optimization is a collection of strategies used to help a website rank higher in a smaller set of organic SERPs (search engine results pages). These strategies are not only used to help websites rank “higher” but also to increase exposure online at both mobile and desktop devices. The Google My Business page , which is included as one of the many components of local SEO, allows potential customers to find you easily online. They may visit your website, call you, or come visit your business in person.
Not every customer is searching for the “top rated” local dentist or restaurant in their area. Sometimes they are just looking for a place to eat that’s close by, but all of these searches are what helps make up local search queries. For this reason, it’s important to focus on various keyword types for specific geographic regions where potential customers live.
Keyword Types
The type of keywords strategy utilized depends on whether you own a service or product-based business and how competitive your market is at the moment. However, there are four different types of keyword strategies worth mentioning:
Brand
If you want to rank on first page Google results and drive a lot of traffic from keywords related to your business name, then you’re going to want to focus on placing your business name in as many places as possible. This means that businesses should focus efforts on creating a strong brand and utilizing both local and national search marketing campaigns.
Service
If you provide a specific service, such as catering or window cleaning, then it’s important for potential customers who are looking for these services to find you easily online – especially if you have multiple locations. In this case, business owners need to rank higher on Google SERPs for terms relevant to their service offering. For example, the company A1CateringChicago would be focusing almost all of their SEO efforts on ranking #1 on Google for “catering in Chicago.” Since individuals use Google to find all kinds of things related to their everyday lives, it is important for business owners to consider the type of keywords they’re targeting and whether individuals use these terms when researching local business online.
Product
If you own a product-based business such as a retail store, then you would need to rank higher on Google for specific products or brands that your company sells. For example, if Bikram Yoga Grand Rapids wanted to target this keyword strategy, they would want to focus efforts on ranking #1 for “Bikram Yoga Mat” but also try and rank high for other key phrases relevant to their industry. It’s worth mentioning that some keywords may be extremely competitive depending on what type of industry you’re in, so it’s always best to research the competition before diving into an SEO campaign.
Service or Product
This is a combination method that combines service and product keyword targets. For example, if you own a retail store but also offer catering services, then it would make sense for your business to target keywords related to both “retail store” and “catering in Chicago.” If done correctly, this strategy can help your brand rank high for multiple terms while still focusing efforts on increased exposure via local SEO strategies.
Google My Business
Google My Business is one of many components that make up local search engine optimization. To ensure that potential customers are able to find your company online when they’re looking for your type of product or service, it’s important for you to focus efforts on keywords that are relevant to your location and industry. Once you’ve created a strong brand, rank higher on Google SERPs by targeting specific products and services based within your geographic area.
