How to Create a Local SEO Strategy That Works

When it comes to ranking locally, you need a strategy that’s tailored, targeted and built to scale. If you want to increase your visibility in local search results, your approach must focus on the right mix of factors. 

We’ll walk you through some of the critical parts of a successful local SEO strategy. Offering some insights and tactics our Local SEO Agency uses to move the needle and help you outrank your competition.

How Does Google Rank Businesses Locally?

Google relies on a combination of factors to determine how local businesses rank in the search results. Understanding these key elements—relevance, distance and prominence—can help you optimise your local SEO strategy and improve the likelihood of ranking higher in Google’s Local Pack.  

Google’s Local Pack is a section of the search results displaying a list of businesses relevant to a user’s query, along with their locations on a map. It appears when someone searches for a local service or business. 

Relevance

Relevance refers to how well your business matches a user’s search query. Google’s goal is to show users the most relevant results, so it’s crucial to optimise your Google My Business profile and website with accurate, location-specific details. The more information you provide about your services, the better Google can match your business to relevant searches.

Distance

Distance has a key role in local rankings. When a user searches for a service or business near them, Google calculates the distance between the searcher and nearby businesses. If your company is closer to the searcher, it’s more likely to appear higher in the results. Google also factors in relative distance, which means a business could be farther away, but more relevance may mean it still ranks higher.

Prominence

Prominence measures how well-known your business is in the local area. Google evaluates factors like the number of reviews, the quality of your online reputation, your business’s authority and how much it’s talked about online. 

Businesses with higher prominence tend to rank higher in local search results. Hosting or participating in local events and actively working to increase your number of Google reviews are two examples of things you can do to then improve your local search rankings in terms of prominence. 

Start with a Local SEO Audit

A comprehensive local SEO audit is the foundation of an effective strategy. By auditing your Google My Business profile, citations, website and competitors, you can get valuable insights into your current standing and identify areas for improvement. 

This ensures your strategy is focused, data-driven and in alignment with your goals. You’ll look at things like local SEO keyword research and other factors as well.

Google My Business Audit

Your Google My Business (GMB) profile is one of the main elements of local SEO. A GMB audit checks to ensure your profile is complete, accurate and optimised. This includes verifying your business details, ensuring the correct NAP, updating business hours and adding high-quality images.

Citation Audit

Citations that mention your business’s name, address, and phone number help Google validate your business. A citation audit ensures your NAP is consistent across all directories and platforms like Yelp, Facebook and local business listings. Inconsistent or incorrect citations can hurt local rankings. 

Website Audit

A website audit is a way to check if your site is optimised for local search by ensuring it includes relevant keywords, is mobile-friendly, has fast load speed and is structured properly. This helps Google understand your relevance to specific local searches and enhances the user experience.

Competitor Analysis

Conducting a competitor analysis helps you understand what’s working for businesses in your industry and location. By looking at their keyword strategies, backlink profiles and online reviews, you can identify gaps in your own approach and uncover opportunities to improve your local SEO performance.

Local SEO Strategy

A local SEO strategy improves your ranking in local search results and involves optimising key elements like your GBP, website, citations and local backlinks. You also want to do local keyword research as part of your efforts to appear in organic search results. 

The overall goal of a local SEO strategy is to do what you can to ensure Google sees your business as relevant, authoritative and trustworthy in your target location.

How To Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Your GBP is a powerful local SEO tool—one of the most powerful available. To optimise it, ensure all of your business details are complete and accurate. Customer reviews and regularly updating your profile to keep it fresh are helpful, too. The general idea is that the more Google knows about your business, the better it can match you to relevant local searches.

NAP Consistency

Discrepancies in your NAP can confuse Google and negatively impact your rankings. Ensure your NAP is identical across your site, GBP and other local directories.

Create Individual Pages for Locations

For businesses that have multiple locations, create separate pages for each one so you can target location-specific keywords and provide a better user experience. Each page should include unique content, relevant local keywords and details specific to that location to improve local search relevance.

Build Relevant Local Citations

Citations are mentions of your business on external websites, and they help improve your business’s local authority. Make sure your business is listed in reputable local business directories and industry-specific sites with accurate NAP information. Quality citations can signal to Google that your business is legitimate and worthy of ranking in local search engines.

Local Link Building

Local link building involves acquiring backlinks from relevant, authoritative local sources, such as local news sites, blogs and business associations. Quality local links boost your domain authority, helping you rank higher in search engines by signalling to Google that your business is a trusted presence in the area.

Local Schema Markup

Implementing local schema markup on your website helps search engines understand your business details more clearly. Structured data includes information like your business type, location and operating hours, which can improve how your business is displayed in local search results, including rich snippets and the Local Pack.

Want Us to Rank You In Local Search?

If you’re ready to dominate local search results and drive more traffic to your business, our team of experts can help. 

We create tailored local SEO strategies to grow your ranking, and outpace your competition. Get in touch today to start optimising your business for local search success.