Local SEO impacts over 80% of smartphone users worldwide. To find something, most people use online search engines nowadays. That’s why businesses ask local SEO service companies to tap into this pool of potential customers.
Shall we consider local SEO services as aggressive sales techniques? Not really. It is rather a win-win situation.
When brands buy local SEO services, they answer a demand from online users. In other words, they provide information to search engines in order to match people’s queries. Those queries are nothing more than their brand, products, and services.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is the process of optimizing online business information. It allows search engines to serve this data to people searching for it.
By making their local content more “understandable” to search engines, brick-and-mortar businesses can rank higher. It enhances online visibility and ultimately brings more local visitors to their physical shops.
Local SEO services particularly suit companies having multiple locations or branches. As we will explain below, people find those businesses through map listings (also called Google Local Pack).
“Near me” geolocated search queries best define local SEO. For example, brands selling men’s shirts in physical stores should optimize for keywords like “men’s shirts shop near me.”
Why is Local SEO Important?
Local SEO is key to beating your local competitors. How can it be more important than that?
Assuming you are not alone in your niche market, your business needs this edge over the other players. Local SEO makes a huge difference when it comes to reaching your desired audience.
Benefits of Local SEO Services
There are tons of excellent reasons to buy local SEO services. Here is a list of the most important ones:
- improve your local visibility in search engines & online directories
- boost relevant keywords & key phrases
- target local customers from your desired geographic area
- increase your brick-and-mortar footfall
- make your business more visual (images)
- pull up your online reputation & credibility
Local SEO consulting services ensure higher conversions versus other digital channels. Besides, they work well with mobile devices which are extremely suitable for local searches.
Who Does Need Local SEO?
Overall, if it makes sense to connect your business with a specific area within a few kilometers radius, then you should look at local SEO service opportunities.
It means that most companies could get along with local SEO, especially those having a physical location with a mail address. For example, it concerns shops, restaurants, franchises, drop shippers, and more.
Small businesses should all optimize their local listings. Bigger corporations with several branches must provide effort for each address.
In a nutshell, all businesses with delimited service areas need local SEO.
[H2] How Does Local SEO Work?
To do local SEO for your brand, you must use the free Google Business Profile tool. It is the staple software that allows you to optimize your local listings.
To better understand Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), compare it with a digital (and much more efficient?) version of Yellow Pages of businesses.
What are Local SEO Ranking Factors?
Before you buy local SEO service, you must be clear about the top-ranking factors. Those are the items you must keep in mind during the whole optimization process:
- keywords selection
- content quality & relevance
- Google Business Profile update
- local citations
- local ratings & reviews
- local link-building
A strategic choice of key phrases guarantees great online organic performance. Based on what people are looking for in your area, you want to show them that you offer what they want.
The key phrases you select are the foundations of your web page’s content. You must share information that is unique, useful, relevant, decently competitive, and with enough search volume.
You can update tons of company data in your local Google Business Profile. Those optimizations bring you closer to your target audience.
The more entities refer to your business around your location, the more authoritative your brand will become. Citations represent a solid ranking factor for local SEO.
From their Google accounts, your clients can submit reviews & star ratings to your business. Obviously, the more positive comments you receive, the higher you will rank.
Get links & referrals from reputable local businesses to build your trustworthiness. Backlinks are one of the top-ranking factors in SEO.
Local SEO Service Process
There are several steps to consider when going through the local SEO service checklist. Here is a comprehensive sum up, by order of execution:
- local competitors’ analysis
- keyword research
- Google Business Profile editing
- local citations & listings monitoring
- online reputation management
- content creation & localization
- outreach plan
- tracking
Local SEO consulting services always start with research within the competitive environment. We must know who the other businesses are, where they stand, and identify the gaps.
Then comes the time to focus on the key phrases that make sense to the business. It depends on the products or services, the competitors’ offers, and the potential customers’ demand, all at a local level.
In the Google Business Profile, the brand can update crucial information like company description, products & services, hours of operation, images, and verify its location on Google Maps. Above all, the most important asset that must remain the same on all other online channels is the N.A.P. It stands for Name, Address, and Phone. Pay extra attention to your N.A.P. & keep it unique.
The local SEO services company manages the local citations & listing directories. There are different ways to handle this task. Good local offline relationships often help.
Online reputation management is a complex & time-consuming task. In most cases, individuals or non-SEO companies alone cannot do it. Contact professionals to protect your integrity.
The content marketing scope takes place at every stage of the local SEO service process. Depending on the market updates, we must constantly reiterate. Note that we use the word “localization” and not “translation” here. It is essential to publish content that resonates with people living around the business location.
During the outreach execution phase, the local SEO services company builds up backlinks that will boost the business’ credibility within the target area.
To measure the local SEO service’s performance, we must follow up on the right trackers. We will detail this part in the next section.
How to Measure Local SEO Efficiency?
Evaluating the performance of a local SEO campaign requires being clear on the metrics. Based on the business objectives, we may look at different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
The most common ways to measure local SEO services’ efficiency are:
- keyword rankings
- online traffic
- brand name mentions
- phone calls
- shop footfall
Ultimately, you also want to check the delta in sales before & after the local SEO strategy implementation. After all, the final purpose of local SEO is to increase business revenue.
Prodima Local SEO Consulting Services
As a professional local SEO services company, Prodima guarantees its team of experts will deliver the best to reach your goals.
We perform our own local SEO, so we know what we are doing. Our local SEO consulting services combine affordability & expertise. Unlike the agencies from the corner of the street, we share transparent reporting with our partners. No Excel file with us! We use Google Data Studio which takes its source directly from your Google Analytics & Google Search Console.
Do you want to boost your local organic listings? Get a free quote from our local SEO experts!
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Local SEO FAQ
What Are Local SEO Services?
When you buy local SEO service, you hire an agency that optimizes your online visibility around your company area. It involves various tasks including editing your Google Business Profile.
What is the Difference Between SEO & Local SEO?
Search Engine Optimization includes all SEO practices. When it comes to local SEO, it implies a more localized approach & a smaller geographic area.
Can You Do Local SEO Without a Website?
Yes, absolutely! Having a website sure helps local SEO. However, it is not mandatory. The minimum requirement is a physical mail address. In this case, you can consider local SEO work.
How Much Do Local SEO Services Cost?
The local SEO consulting services fee depends on the number of locations to optimize, the niche market, the competition, the country, etc. It usually starts from 500 USD per month & can go as high as ten times this amount.
How Long Does It Take to See Local SEO Rankings Improvement?
Like SEO, local SEO is a long-term strategy. You cannot see significant results during the first weeks of the campaign. In most cases, you reach this point after at least 2 months.
Are Local SEO Results Guaranteed?
No, never! If the local SEO services company knows its job, you can be sure you will see visible improvements in your local rankings & traffic. However, no one can control major third-party issues like Google algorithm updates. No serious SEO agency would guarantee results.
How to Choose Your Local SEO Company?
Trusting Prodima is a safe bet!
Now, let’s be objective! To choose your local SEO company, simply check how they are performing their own local SEO. If they do it well for themselves, chances are high they could deliver the same to you.
Have a look at their Google Business Profile, reviews, and testimonials. On the other hand, beware if they guarantee the results like “you will beat all your competitors in only 2 weeks.” Besides, if they offer a 1-pack-to-fit-all service, it is a red flag: flee away & never come back!
