When people search online for products and services, they always look for those available around them. According to Google, 46% of searches are local, 89% of online users do local searches through their smartphones for local businesses, and 58% do local searches almost daily. These numbers are enough to emphasise the importance of optimising your business for local SEO. To understand more, find out what local SEO is, its importance and how it works.

What Is Local SEO?

Local Search Engine Optimisation is a website optimisation strategy that increases leads, traffic and brand awareness for local searches. When it comes to local SEO, the common tasks to partake in include optimising the Google My Business profile, finding local keywords and building NAP citations. There are several local SEO services in Australia; however, you must pick one that best suits your business.

How Does Local SEO Work?

Local SEO works almost the same as the 'normal' Google search. That is where one does a search, and Google scans their index to provide them with the best results for their query. However, regarding local SEO, Google ranks the local search results with different ranking factors. It has a unique set of ranking signals like:

        The location of the person searching

        The Google maps star rating of the business

        The number of shares on social media

        NAP citations

        The keywords used in the Google My Business profile

        Sentiments of the online reviews and many others

Using the local SEO services in Australia, you can focus on these factors to help you rank in the Map Pack, also known as the Local Pack of Google. The Local Pack comprises three results for every specific query with a map of their locations extracted from Google Maps. Your business has to appear in this ranking to drive more local organic traffic for a successful local SEO.

A Step-by-Step Guide To Local SEO For Businesses

Creating A Google Business Profile

The first thing is to develop a Google Business Profile and a Google account for your business. You don't have to worry about keywords and optimisation at this stage. All you need to do is fill in as much information as necessary on your profile.

Address Verification

It is a new requirement for eCommerce businesses that require them to undergo verification. If you need to become more familiar with the process, you can get a digital marketing agency to help you; however, DIY is also possible. Address verification may sound all cumbersome and stressful, but it isn't, and you have to do it so that the third parties will find it hard trying to pretend to be someone they aren't.

Update And Keep Your Information Up To Date

The basics of your business profile are the business name, address and working hours. You can always add more information provided it's relevant to your services. Investing time into this process is the number one step to a successful local SEO. Therefore, it's best to do it perfectly. Providing more information will give you a better ranking in search engines.

 

Help Your Profile Grow

Creating a Google Business profile isn't a one-step operation; it's something that you have to keep updating. You will receive constant reviews, and whether a digital marketing agency is doing the job for you or not, you must read and respond to them. You can keep uploading some pictures every once in a while to keep your profile active. If you are active, you get a better ranking; thus, more people will see your business.

A lot of work goes into a successful local SEO campaign. Remember, SEO is never a one-time fix; it's something you have to keep updating and inspecting to see if your business is growing or not. You need to maximise your time and effort to reach more potential local customers within your locality.