What is Local SEO?
Put as simply as possible Local SEO is when you optimise your website to increase your traffic, leads and awareness locally. Say for example a potential customer is searching for a service or product near them, will your business show up at that exact time when the local customer is searching? This is where Local SEO comes in, making sure your business is the first thing they see when a customer searches up one of your services or products locally.
In this guide we will detail some of the ways you can optimise your current websites SEO to ensure that you are being seen by local customers for a product or service that you provide. If you are looking to outsource your SEO and are looking for more support on optimising your website, please get in touch with us through the contact form on our contact page or drop us an email at hello@fatbuzz.com or give us a call on 0141 427 0727.
Why is Local SEO important?
As mentioned above Local SEO is important as most people use search engines to find a business that provides the service/product that they are looking for in a local area. Below we have highlighted some interesting statistics that show how having a local presence is important on search engines as it improves brand awareness, sales, and traffic.
When it comes to Local SEO you will find that Google is at the centre of most SEO discussions as it has the highest market share amongst search engines. As reported by Oberlo, Google has a Global Search Engine Market Share in 2022 of roughly 92%. Also reported by Onthemap, 69% of overall traffic is made up of local and organic searches, with 42% of local searches involving a click onto Google Maps. These statistics show how important it is to have a business with a local presence on search engines.
Top Local SEO ranking factors
There is more than one option of Local SEO with one side focusing on regular search results, boosting your site as far up the rankings as possible for a local customer using search. The other side focuses on what is called the ‘map pack’, focussing more on how your business is appears on search engines maps section.
Create a Google Business Profile
Google Business Profiles are local listings that contain information about your business and is required if you are wanting to appear on Google Maps. Creating one of these profiles is free and is one of the most important steps in appearing on search engine maps. It is also noted by Google that customers are 70% more likely to visit a company that has a complete Business Profile and are 50% more likely to make a purchase from a company with a complete profile. If you are looking for some best practices on creating a business profile you can find them here.
On-page SEO
On-page SEO is the process of optimising the content on your webpages for specific keywords to help rank higher in search engines. Basic On-page SEO includes writing relevant meta titles and descriptions, tailoring pages for search, linking relevant pages internally etc. This ranking factor is most important when you are looking to rank higher in organic results. If you are looking for a professional SEO company to help carry out the required SEO work involved in On-page SEO, then please get in touch with us through the contact form on our contact page or drop us an email at hello@fatbuzz.com or give us a call on 0141 427 0727.
Reviews
Business reviews are a key swaying point when it comes to persuading potential customers to come to your business. Having good Google reviews on your business profile will help to increase your ranking in Google Maps making it an important ranking factor. Google and other search engines are there to help the customer and will always promote a business with 5 stars over one that has less.
The best way to ensure that you receive reviews is to remind customers to leave a review once you have completed the service or provided them with the product they wanted. It is also important that you reply to reviews as it shows that you are responsive business which builds trust with potential customers looking at your reviews. Finally don’t offer or accept money in exchange for reviews as in doing so is against Googles terms of service.
How fatBuzz can help
At fatBuzz we offer SEO services to help your business reach the greatest number of customers. By implementing a successful SEO strategy, you will see an increase in traffic, leads and brand awareness. By ensuring your site is seen more often by people organically, both on search results and search maps, then you will see an increase in both website impressions and visits.
If you wish to find out how fatBuzz can help your business with Local SEO, then you can read our blog SEO & PPC: What fatBuzz Can Offer You. If you are interested in working with fatBuzz to improve your search engine rankings, then please get in touch with us through the contact form on our contact page or drop us an email at maria@fatbuzz.com or give us a call on 0141 427 0727.