In the modern digital marketplace, there are seemingly countless strategies that can be adopted to increase your online awareness and attract a wider audience. The question is, which strategies are best and can you benefit from using all of them?
For example, what is local SEO, and is it something that only applies to small businesses? Or can it be utilised by all?
In this article we’ll tell you everything you need to know…
What is meant by ‘local SEO’?
Local SEO is, in principle, the same as traditional SEO as it is focused on improving your website’s online visibility and attracting as many qualified, ‘ready to spend’ customers as possible.
The only difference is that rather than focus on more of a ‘global’ scale, local SEO is very much focused on your immediate service area.
So for example, traditional SEO is better suited to e-Commerce websites that can benefit from receiving traffic from a global audience (e.g., stores like Amazon).
Local SEO on the other hand is far more appropriate for small, local businesses that only cater to residents in their community (e.g., a local gym or café).
When you type any ‘local-centric’ keywords into Google (e.g., 24/7 shop near me; emergency plumber in my area; best local pest control service, etc.), a selection of the most relevant and recommended businesses will appear in the ‘Map Pack’ in the Google SERP (search engine results page).
These are mini business profiles that typically feature a map, opening hours, a brief description of the business and its offerings, some photographs of the premises, and indeed some customer reviews.
Does local SEO only apply to small businesses?
Contrary to what you might imagine, local SEO is not strictly reserved for small businesses alone. As long as a business has a physical location and/or services a specific geographical location, they can adopt local SEO as a digital marketing strategy in order to gain more visibility with their potential customers in that specific region – no matter their size.
So, even if a plumbing business or bathrooms showroom has premises all over the country (or in multiple countries across the world), each individual location can work on their own separate local SEO and appeal to their immediate target audience.
How does Google decide who to feature in the Map Pack?
Now that we have a better understanding of what local SEO is and who can benefit from it, how does Google decide on which businesses to feature in the Map Pack?
There are a large number of ranking factors that you must be aware of, however, the general ‘gist’ of it is: Google wants to grant the most relevant and reputable businesses with greater visibility.
Simply put, when they recommend a business they want as many of their users to experience a positive outcome. In order to do this, you must:
- Have a well optimised GMB profile.
- Optimise your website / landing page accordingly.
- Conduct extensive keyword research.
- Understand the user search intent behind your focus keywords.
- A strong social presence in your community.
- Produce plenty of high-value content that is geographically relevant.
- And so much more!
The solution: Hire a professional SEO agency to accommodate your needs
Unless you have a dedicated in-house marketing department or you are happy to take on all of these responsibilities by yourself, the best approach to experience optimal success with your local SEO campaign is to outsource your needs to the experts.
Just be sure to do your due diligence before you sign up with any old agency. This SEO agency in Dubai in particular has a large number of case studies from recognised brands so you can see their previous success stories.
