Local SEO for Beginners 

When it comes to being found on Google searches, it can be challenging for small or local businesses to compete with huge names. It may seem challenging to rise to the top of search engine results pages (SERPs) in order to increase traffic and click-throughs because larger firms (with higher resources) target the keywords you want to rank for. However, there is a solution!

Your company can benefit from local search engine optimization (SEO) by appearing more prominently in Google search results. For instance, local SEO could be a strategy for a restaurant, hair salon, or hotel to get found online to improve reservations and sales.

After all, consumers today use the internet for research, to read reviews, and to make purchases. In a research by Accenture, it was discovered that 56% of consumers made local purchases or browsed at nearby stores during the Covid-19 pandemic. According to 79 percent and 84 percent of customers, this is expected to last for a while.

This means that companies, especially small ones, must have an online presence to increase visibility and give information that encourages customers to take a certain action, like making a reservation or asking additional information.

In this article, we'll examine local SEO's significance and specifics, how to develop a local SEO plan, and advice on how to increase your company's online visibility. Naturally, we'll also look at several instances of companies that have benefited greatly from local SEO.

Covering the fundamentals of local SEO

Let's examine local SEO and the distinctions between it and national or international SEO before getting into how to maximize it.

What is local SEO?

The goal of SEO is to make your website better so that it rises in search results and is found by your target market. Utilizing local terms or keywords will help you appear in front of customers who are looking for a service or product in your neighbourhood or locality.

comparing local SEO to SEO

The great thing about SEO is that you can make it work for your company. For instance, national SEO (sometimes referred to as traditional SEO) focuses on optimising your site to rank for keyword words at a national or nationwide level. Therefore, if you are in the United States, the keywords you use will have a U.S. concentration.

The focus of international SEO, however, is on language and geographic targeting. The results are therefore the conventional SEO results displayed to users of Google, but they are located in a nation or region that is distinct from the location of the company or website.

The focus and localization of local SEO, in contrast, are extremely strong. There are two ways to display local SEO results:

Maps - This category contains Google Maps and Google Business Profile (GBP), which appear on the SERP as the Local Pack or Map Pack, sometimes known as the Snack Pack.

Results from conventional SEO that emphasise local keywords

Why local SEO is crucial

According to a recent Milestone study, 69 percent of website traffic is local and organic, giving your business a wonderful opportunity to stand out provided you know what to do. Additionally, according to Google, the number of mobile queries with the phrases "where to buy" and "near me" surged by over 200 percent in the previous two years!

How might local SEO benefit businesses? Your company can use local SEO to move higher in Google's search results and draw in customers who are seeking for what you offer. You can also utilize Google My Business (formerly called Google Business Profile), a directory that gives you a means to display business information on local searches and Google Maps.