Being on the first page of search results for local queries is extremely important nowadays, and marketing agencies help achieve that. Local SEO aids companies in rising above competition locally, thus increasing the flow of traffic into business premises and enhancing online visibility.
As such, the proper knowledge and practices of local SEO can prove to be beneficial to marketing agencies as well as their clients.
Local SEO is the process of using various strategies that aim at making a business website relevant, helping it to appear in the local searches when clients are looking for a certain product or service nearby.
This is especially important for retail outlets, restaurants and service providers, most of which depend on geographical location for their operations.
That being said, here are the guidelines that would assist marketing agencies in achieving their goals of utilizing local SEO.
Adapting Your Procedure to Localized Markets
a. Understand the Local Landscape
The first point of call in local SEO for any marketing agency is to research the local market. This includes demographic information, most searched terms in that locality, and requirement specifics of the targeted consumer base in the specified region.
There are several resources that marketing agencies should consider using to collect data regarding the local SERP features, including Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and more.
b. Local Keywords Are Key
It is important that a marketing agency helps clients incorporate local keywords into the content of their website. These are phrases that the potential consumer is likely to type in when looking for services or products within a geographical region.
For instance, for a bakery in New York, keywords may include “New York chocolate chip cookies,” or “New York bakery.” Incorporate those keywords in the title tag, the meta description, headings, and throughout the website content.
How a Marketing Agency Can Build Local Connections
a. Cultivate Local Backlinks
Local links from good sources enhance the business’s credibility within local searches. Ask the clients to establish relationships with populations, to be active in local events, and be covered in local websites, blogs, and articles.
Every local backlink is the way for the search engines to understand that people trust the site, thus, increasing the local search positioning.
b. Leverage Social Media for Local Engagement
Social media platforms are very useful since they allow the targeting of a local audience. Marketing agencies should assist the clients with posting with geo-tags, as well as engage in local topics, as well as advertise local events or promotions on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Social signals have no effect on SEO, but can bring local visitors, helping in increasing brand awareness, which in turn contributes to any SEO work that has been done.
Regular Monitoring and Adaptation
It is not a one-time chore where you can just start ranking your website and forget about it. It is more of a constant process that must be periodically adjusted.
Check the SEO tools to determine how your local keywords and content are performing on your website. Is the target group being targeted?
What is the impact of local backlinks on your client’s SEO profile? From these findings, there should be some modifications to maintain the continuing enhancement of the local SEO results.
With these tips on local SEO, marketing agencies can help their clients to rank higher in local searches, which is beneficial for those who want to expand their client base locally.