The Complete Guide to Local On-Page and Off-Page SEO Content
When you think about improving your local SEO, do you think about content?
I admit that this is not always the first thing that comes to mind.
But here’s the thing – content directly affects local SEO, and ignoring it is a big mistake.
Yes, we may have limited text fields and places to insert content.
Listen to me, though. There is more to it than you think.
Key Differences In Local & Organic SEO Content Strategies
You may know what content Google wants to see on your website and how to optimize it to rank higher on search engine results pages.
Here’s the thing, local SEO and broader organic SEO content strategies aren’t really that different.
No matter what, good informative content should always be a priority.
The main difference between local SEO and organic SEO content is the user’s intent.
With local SEO, a user’s goal is to find goods or services near them so that they include a location indicator in their search query.
For example, you can search for [Kansas City Hair Salon], [Kansas City Hair Salon], or [Hair Salon Near Me].
The location indicator tells Google to prioritize, showing user results in their area.
It’s been a long time since Google wanted to provide more localized SERP features (like map results) for searches it perceived as a local intent.
So when you write for local SEO, create content that highlights your location.
Getting Started
You should always take a minute and think about your final game before you start writing content for your site.
Ask yourself what goals you want to achieve.
And how can your content and messages achieve your goals?
For example, suppose you want to improve your local SEO so that more people visit your regular store to ultimately increase sales and revenue.
Good local SEO can help you achieve this, but creating a Google My Business List is not enough.
Prefer creating high-quality content that highlights both what you offer and your location.
Local Content Audit
If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to audit local content.
When performing a content audit, ask yourself what your ideal local customer is looking for.
Are they researching what is available in their target area?
Want to visit a location right now?
Are you looking for a provider who should come to them or deliver the product?
Knowing this information will help you determine if there are gaps in your content that you could fill in to rank better in local searches.
Another important part of an audit of local content is the investigation of competitors.
Check your competitors’ websites to gather information about their targeted keywords and content structure to get their local customers or customers to convert.
If you know who you are targeting and what they are looking for, you have a great opportunity to write.
Now, we’ll dive into specific content strategies you can use to improve your local SEO.
On-Page Local SEO Content
Here’s some good news. If you have a well-optimized website with quality content, you don’t need to make much to optimize it for local search.
Just a few tips here and there.
One of the most important things you can do to improve your local SEO is to add your address to the footer.
If you have less than ten locations, I recommend putting them all in your footer.
In addition, it’s important to create landing pages for each location you serve.
All of these pages should have original content specific to the region / location.
Don’t just copy and paste information from one page to another, even if you do the same thing in all your locations.
This would be duplicate content that could harm your SEO.
General reminders for creating a good page:
Blogging
Blogging is a powerful tool that provides customers with useful information and makes you an expert in your field.
Simply put, Google has this ability to increase your knowledge, authority and trust (EAT).
But outside of that, keeping a blog is a great way to highlight your location (s) and make your local SEO more effective.
First and foremost, it provides Google with fresh content that repeats your location.
It also helps you target those annoying local keywords like “wine bar near me,” which can be difficult to rank.
In addition, keeping a blog allows you to get links from other local businesses.
And it gives people the opportunity to comment or share your article, which are two things that improve local SEO.
But I would be careless if I didn’t remind you that one of the most important things you can do with a blog is share it – on social media and all the local lists that allow it.
Get comments, likes, and traffic to your articles.
Off-Page Local SEO Content
Google Business
Your Google business profile is the first and most obvious off-page location for local SEO content.
Adding content to your Google business profile is important for improving local SEO.
There are several ways to do this, but optimizing your profile with as much relevant information as possible should be a priority.
You can add a description of your business, hours of operation, product information, and services. For example, the restaurant’s food menu and photos.
When optimizing your Google business profile, make sure all the information you provide is correct.
If anything changes, such as your hours of operation, update your profile accordingly.
Another valuable thing you can do is post photos of your feed, current blog posts, relevant special offers, and updated policies and procedures.
This lets Google know that you’re an active listing to promote because you provide valuable information to users.
Ultimately, well-optimized Google business profiles will receive more clicks and requests for guidance.
Gathering feedback and quick response is an important part of developing a good local SEO strategy.
In terms of content, reviews of user-generated content are important.
Highlighting your business in a card package is a big deal.
This will allow users to see your listing before scrolling through the SERPs.
Here are some content-related strategies to help you get one you want in your card package:
Other Listing Services
In terms of SEO, Google is definitely a major player.
So it’s no surprise that the main thing about local SEO is Google’s business.
But we shouldn’t forget other local listing services like Bing Local, Yelp, Thumbtack, Yellowpages.com, Foursquare and more – depending on our industry and focus.
Posting content and other updates will give your website a quote and increase local credibility.
If you visit these sites, don’t forget to pay attention to them from time to time and make sure you respond to all the reviews you earn – even if you use aggregation services to transfer data to third-party directories.
Your web reputation is important to Google and should not be forgotten.
Social Media
As you probably already know, social media helps SEO.
So having a Facebook and Instagram business listing is important.
This will increase your audience so that your article gets more views.
And more views means more opportunities to create backlinks.
Ultimately, a strong presence on social media and posting useful content to your social media channel will affect your EAT and make you more trustworthy in the eyes of Google.
Final Thoughts
Good content is an important part of a good SEO strategy.
In terms of local SEO, good content with location indicators drives Google to rank higher in local search results and the map package.
Creating quality content for your site isn’t always enough. You should also share this with your Google business profile, other local listing sites, and social media feeds to increase traffic and showcase your knowledge and credibility.
For more information on content marketing, see SEJ’s full content marketing guide.
For more information on local SEO, get a free copy of SEJ’s local SEO e-book.
Featured image: GaudiLab / Shutterstock
Local SEO is a search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that helps your business be more visible in Google’s local search results. All businesses that have a physical location or serve a geographic area benefit from local SEO.
How do I create a local SEO strategy?
Creating a local SEO strategy
- Take an overview of your services and products. …
- Check your existing website. …
- Research competitor keywords. …
- Identifying geospecific keywords. …
- Implement on-page SEO. …
- Create localized landing pages. …
- Optimize your Google My Business listing. …
- Provide business information to the list of directories.
What is a local SEO strategy? Local SEO (search engine optimization) is a process that improves search engine visibility for local businesses, mainly those with a traditional location. By following local SEO best practices, companies can improve the organic traffic of searches made by nearby customers.
What is organic and local SEO?
Based on these definitions, we can identify the fundamental difference between local and organic SEO: local SEO is optimization for locations, and organic SEO is content optimization. Both are related to optimizing your website and having a web presence for search engines.
What is an organic SEO strategy? Organic SEO is a web marketing strategy that consists of smaller sub-strategies, such as keyword research and link building, that help your website be at the top of organic, free search engine results pages.
What’s the difference between SEO and local SEO?
Here’s the difference. If traditional SEO focuses on improving the visibility of your site nationally or globally, local SEO will allow you to capture local search territory to reach searchers in your area. SEO and local SEO use many of the same strategies.
Is local SEO easier?
Local SEO is almost always cheaper than national SEO because there is less competition for local keywords and you are targeting a smaller audience if you used a national keyword. Local SEO is much easier to invent, implement and manage than national SEO.
What are the two types of SEO?
The three types of SEO are: On Page SEO – All Your Websites – Blogs, Product Copy, Web Copy. Off-page SEO – anything that happens outside of your website that helps your SEO strategy – backlinks. Technical SEO – everything technical that is taken to improve search rankings – indexing a site to help a crawler crawl.
What is the difference between organic search and SEO?
While organic search focuses on free rankings in search results, paid search focuses on paid rankings. With organic search, companies use SEO to optimize their site’s visibility or ranking in search results. By comparison, paid search allows users to pay for a prominent place in search results.
What is the difference between organic SEO and local SEO?
Local SEO has a geographical component that organic SEO may not have. It is the construction of relevant signals around a specific location; brickwork. Organic SEO is a marketing practice that revolves more or less around your website.
Does organic search Affect SEO?
SEO and PPC work together for search marketing. There have been several studies that have shown that SEO affects the number of clicks on PPC ads. Google has found that if a site has strong organic search results, it will increase the clickthrough rate of its PPC ads in the same SERP.
What does organic search mean in SEO?
Organic search engine optimization (organic SEO) refers to the methods used to achieve a high position (or position) on a search engine results page among a given search engine’s unpaid algorithmic results.
What is local search results?
When someone searches for a business or place near their location, they’ll find local results from places like Maps and Search on Google. For example, you’re likely to find local results when you search for “Italian restaurant” on your mobile device.
How does Google Local Search work? Google ads can show your business locations and direct users to call or visit your locations. When people search for businesses near you on Google.com or Google Maps (for example, “coffee near me,” they may see local search ads that reflect your business locations).
Which is a local search?
Local search is the use of specialized Internet search engines that allow users to submit geographically limited searches based on a structured database of local business listings. … A search that includes a location converter, such as “Bellevue, WA” or “14th arrondissement,” is a direct local search.
What is local search in marketing?
What is local search marketing? Local search marketing is all you do on the web to promote a physical business that creates face-to-face contact with your customers. This applies to single-branded small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public company brands and chains.
What is an example of local search?
A local search is any search that aims to find something in a specific geographic area. Example: “Hotel in Downtown Denver”. Local Search searches for information on the network to make a transaction offline. Example: “atm denver technical center.”.
What is local search in Google?
A “local search query” is a search query that someone enters into Google when searching for a service or store in their geographic area. Examples of a local search company include a plumber, a restaurant, a retail store, or a lawyer.
What is a local search strategy?
What is local search marketing? Local search marketing is all you do on the web to promote a physical business that creates face-to-face contact with your customers. This applies to single-branded small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), public company brands and chains.
What is an example of local search engine?
| S.No | sites | DA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | mapsconnect.apple.com | 100 |
| 2 | plus.google.com | 100 |
| 3 | tripadvisor.com | 94 |
| 4 | foursquare.com | 89 |
What is the meaning of local search?
Local search is the use of specialized Internet search engines that allow users to submit geographically limited searches based on a structured database of local business listings.
What is local content in SEO?
Local SEO is a great strategy for small businesses and service sectors that market primarily in a specific geographic area. By focusing your content on local keywords and intentions, you effectively narrow the competition and coverage to your target audience.
What are local SEO keywords? Local keywords are keywords that contain location-based phrases that generate results related to the same geographic location. These keywords help drive people in your area to your business and play an important role in optimizing your local search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
What is a local SEO module?
Local SEO is a search engine optimization process that helps businesses be on Google and other search engines in local searches. For example, if someone searches for “pizza shops near me,” “Brooklyn’s best coffee shop,” or “plumbing service,” a local link will help you appear at the top of your search. results.
Is SEO and local SEO same?
Here’s the difference. If traditional SEO focuses on improving the visibility of your site nationally or globally, local SEO will allow you to capture local search territory to reach searchers in your area. SEO and local SEO use many of the same strategies.
What is local SEO pages?
Local SEO is the practice of optimizing your website for a specific local area. If you have a local business, such as a store, restaurant, or agency, you want your websites to be based on search queries from specific local audiences. … You can do this in part on your website, but you can do so much more!
What is local SEO vs SEO?
If traditional SEO focuses on improving the visibility of your site nationally or globally, local SEO will allow you to capture local search territory to reach searchers in your area. SEO and local SEO use many of the same strategies.
Is local SEO easier?
Local SEO is almost always cheaper than national SEO because there is less competition for local keywords and you are targeting a smaller audience if you used a national keyword. Local SEO is much easier to devise, implement and manage than national SEO.
