Cheryl Luzet, now helps us bring the discussion to optimising pages on local SME websites.
Chapter 7 - On-page SEO optimisation for local businesses
What is Local Search Engine Optimisation?
When we talk about local SEO, we’re effectively working to get websites to rank in particular locations. These could be bricks and mortar businesses, or companies which visit customers in their own homes. We’re talking about businesses that do not operate nationally (except National brands with local branches) but cover a specific local area. This could be doctors, pizza shops or plumbers.
By targeting local search terms, you make your website much more relevant to the target audience, and it can be much easier to rank for a local phrase, than to target nationally, as the competition is more localised and weaker.
Local SEO has been gaining momentum over the past few years, with more and more searchers targeting more specific, local phrases and ‘near me’ searches.
46% of searches are local according to Hubspot.
Local Searches have a Higher Purchase intent
People who search locally are often further down the sales funnel than those who don’t include a location in their search term. These are people who know what they want and need to find somewhere to buy it.
Google knows this – compare search terms such as ‘yoga’ and ‘yoga + location’. The first one brings up searches and videos about how to do yoga, the second actually brings up classes in that location.
Google is also smart enough to understand implicit user intent and will show you local results for queries such as ‘dry cleaner’ and ‘restaurant’ without you specifying ‘near me’ or adding a locale to your query.
The Local Search Algorithm
On-page local SEO has changed a lot over the past few years. It used to be much more similar to the national algorithm, but now it is a completely separate beast. Local SEO is less about the phrases that you optimise your content for, and more about the signals that your website gives out. The days of hundreds of location landing pages optimised for different locations are over!
The content still needs to be relevant to the locations being searched, but other elements are also important to confirm to Google that your website generates the right local signals:
- Google My Business
- Online PR
- Mentions online and citations in quality local directories
- Local links/events
- Local content
Not to be forgotten is the proximity of the searcher to the business being searched for; this is key for ‘near me’ searches.
Google is trying to identify the sphere of influence of the business, which is why the signals are so important as they can’t be faked quite so easily. Consistency is also key; don’t forget to check name, address and telephone number details on Google My Business and ensure that they match exactly what is found in other places online, such as your website and other directories.
Now for the local SEO tips!
Tip #1: Test and tweak
Like with all aspects of SEO, you need to make sure that you test and tweak to see what works and what doesn’t, so that you can measure success and make changes to further boost ranking. What works in one industry won’t necessarily work in another, and what works in one area, might not work in another.
“What works for a plumber, may not work for a doctor.”
Local on-page SEO is very much an iterative process.
Tip #2: Keyword research for local SEO
Keyword research is vital for local SEO, so that you can identify what people are searching for in your area and how they are describing what you have to offer.
Do people search?
Bicycles Birmingham
Birmingham bicycle shop…?
Cheryl Luzet
CEO at Digital Marketing Agency Wagada
Cheryl Luzet set up digital marketing agency Wagada in 2011 with the plan of ‘doing a bit of freelance work’ while her children were small. 9 years later she employs 13 people and they work out of a former mill in St Albans. The business won a Search Award in 2018 and numerous other awards, including workplace wellbeing in 2019. Having hated everywhere she has ever worked previously, Cheryl was determined to create a positive working environment at Wagada. Happy staff = happy clients.
Watch our Tea Time SEO session here:
Table of Contents
Google makes thousands of minor algorithm updates a year (3,620 in 2019 alone) and we’re here to help you keep up with the changes affecting your website. Together with our SEO expert authors, we plan to maintain these guides as a current resource of useful, pragmatic advice for SEOs that can have a positive influence on your site’s organic sessions over time. Read the intro
There have been huge volumes written about the importance in SEO today of understanding keyword intent or as we prefer to phrase it ‘User Intent’. It is now seen as an essential part of the SEO keyword and audience research process. Read Chapter 1 to learn more
We’ve already seen that Google is hell-bent on providing the very best answer or answers to a user’s query. Read more on how to do this in Chapter 2.
Google wants to deliver the best experience for its users and that means serving them the most relevant, authoritative answers from trusted sources to the questions they need answering. Understand how to build a better user experience in Chapter 3.
Need some help structuring your website? We’ve put together a list that conventional wisdom amongst SEOs says is generally accepted best practice in Chapter 4.
Quality backlinks from relevant sources are the lifeblood of your SEO campaign. Read through our step by step process of how to do so in Chapter 5.
In this chapter, Himani Kankaria and Rebekah Dunne dive deeper into their top tips for on-page optimisation for eCommerce sites. If you are an SEO in eCommerce looking to grow organic traffic that will convert, then head over to Chapter 6.
Cheryl Luzet, now helps us bring the discussion to optimising pages on local SME websites. Learn plenty more from here in Chapter 7.
While Authoritas is a comprehensive platform for SEO and content marketing professionals we recognise that as SEOs use many tools to help in our day-to-day roles and we’ve included some of the favourite tools in Chapter 8.
Read a short overview of this guide and access our On-Page SEO checklist in Chapter 9.
Can we help?
If you are looking for an easy way to automate much of the advice given in this guide, then please book a call with one of our platform experts to explore whether we have what you need.
This allows you to focus your content around the phrases that are getting the most searches.
As well as the main sales phrases, you need to identify the long-tail phrases which talk about your product and service and mention the local area. These local phrases can be used in blogs and longer content and they are great for bringing traffic and boosting relevancy. Brilliant for brand building, these phrases make your website much more findable online for those in the local area.
Tip #3: Relevance is key
Where on-page local search engine optimisation is concerned, relevance is crucial. Title tags and meta descriptions should contain the location keyword. In your longer content, try to mention local landmarks, as these give out signals to Google that reinforce your relevance to that location.
When adding the location to your content and tags, be careful not to over-optimise. Location keywords should be used far more lightly than other keyword phrases as they very easily start to look over-used. Naturally written content is definitely the aim of the game, from both the perspective of Google and the customer.
Tip #4: Make it useful, make it worthwhile!
In order for Google to value a piece of content, particularly something with local intent, it needs to clearly demonstrate its usefulness.
Is it comprehensive and does it cover the whole topic?
Does it answer the questions that people are asking?
Google knows what these questions are and expects you to answer these in the body of the content, so the searcher doesn’t have to go elsewhere to find them.
The content should be fully comprehensive and deliver value to the searcher. Local pages should help those with a local intent, so information such as address, opening times, facilities, telephone number, car parking and nearby landmarks can all help the customer and importantly meet Google’s desire to deliver value to the searcher.
Tip #5: Local Landing Pages to boost location relevancy
Optimise content for local phrases. If you have separate stores, make sure that you have a page on your website optimised for each location. Don’t be tempted to create a whole load of location pages for areas that you have no connection with though, this is where the signals are so important.
The content of local landing pages needs to offer value and be useful, unique and high quality. If it contains local references, case studies, landmarks or testimonials from local businesses, it can boost the relevance and connection of your business to that location.
Finally, don’t forget to test and tweak! Local SEO is not one-size fits all, and the right tactics need to be employed for your location and industry.