During the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdowns and social distancing measures forced people to stay home. As the world goes back to normal, there is still limited mobility. A digital marketing speaker Hong Kong has noted that it paved the way for more local searches. As such, a social media agency Hong Kong highlights the importance of knowing how to customize a local SEO strategy. A video marketing agency Hong Kong suggested the same scenario to boost conversion and sales from target audiences nearby.
WHAT IS LOCAL SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. It means optimizing web pages to rank on top of online searches. Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a website to increase brand awareness, leads, and traffic from local searches. The most common tasks associated with local SEO are:
- Building NAP citations (Business Name, Address, and Phone Number on local directories)
- Optimizing a Google My Business profile
- Using local keywords
Local SEO works like regular Google searches. When a user searches for something online, Google will scan its indexes to provide the best results. What makes local SEO unique are the ranking factors and signals. These include:
- The appearance of NAP Citations
- The Google map rating or score
- The location of the searcher
- The number of check-ins in the business location
- The presence of Google My Business listing
- Relevant keywords used in the Google My Business profile
- Sentiments of online reviews
Today, local SEO is vital to every brand or business. It is because more than 46% of Google searches have local intent, and around 76% of modern consumers search for a local store on their phone and visit the store on the same day. So, it is clear that if a brand or business can get in front of local searches, there’s a better chance for customers to walk into their physical stores.
HOW TO CUSTOMIZE A LOCAL SEO STRATEGY
Here are some tips if you are looking for ways to fine-tune the local SEO strategy of your brand or business.
Determine Your Business Model
Determining your business model is the first step to customizing a local SEO strategy. It can be under:
- a brick & mortar store in a single location
- a brick & mortar store in multiple locations
- a home-based business
- a multi-office campus or multi-practitioner business
- a service area business in a single location
- a service area business in varied locations
It is vital to label your company under the correct classification.
Match Your Business Model to Google’s Guidelines
You will need to match your business model to Google’s guidelines.
- It is best to put just one Google My Business listing with a visible physical address for a brick & mortar store in a single location.
- Get one Google My Business listing per location for a brick & mortar store in multiple locations. Provide a visible physical address and a unique phone number for each listing.
- For a home-based business, a single Google My Business listing will do. Home-based business owners can hide their physical address if they do not wish to have it visible to the public.
- You can have a Google My Business listing per forward-facing office or practitioner for multi-office campus or multi-practitioner business. Be sure to have a unique phone number for each listing.
- Get one Google My Business listing with a visible physical address for a service area business in a single location. Check the appropriate box if you do home or other location services.
- Get one Google My Business listing per location for a service area business in multiple locations. Provide a visible physical address and a unique phone number for each listing. Check the appropriate box if you do home or other location services.
Systematize Your Website Content Strategy
The best way to customize a local SEO strategy is to put the following web pages on a local business website:
- An About Page
- Contact Page
- Home Page
- Product Pages with high-quality descriptions, images, and videos
- Service Pages with high-quality descriptions, images, and videos.
- Testimonials
Be sure to tag each product or service page per city or location.
Reference: https://blog.red-website-design.co.uk/2022/07/01/customise-local-seo-business-type/