Looking up contact details in the phone book was yesterday – these days, people google it. Almost everyone knows that when we are looking for a restaurant or doctor nearby, we increasingly start our search on the go with our smartphone.
Accordingly, a local SEO company plays an important role for regionally operating companies. In our blog post, we explain what local SEO means, for which companies local SEO is worthwhile, and show you which measures you have to take to improve your ranking in local search.
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO means all optimization measures of your web presence about the local search. With a local SEO company the search queries, users use specific location information when they are looking for a shop, restaurant, or service. But generic search queries that do not contain a place addition can also have a local reference, such as “restaurant,” “car repair shop,” or “baker.”
Google intends to provide the user with relevant search results.
For which companies are local SEO recommended?
Whether a doctor, lawyer, restaurant, car repair shop, boutique, or hotel – hiring a Local SEO company is worthwhile for every company that sells products in a brick-and-mortar store or offers local services. In these cases, local SEO is even a must.
Users looking for services or products in their area are about to make a purchase decision. Anyone who appears in the local search with the right information at this moment has a great chance of turning these users into customers. With the help of a Local SEO company, you increase your visibility in the local search results and make users aware of your store.
Important local SEO ranking factors
One of the most important ranking factors in local SEO is the physical proximity to the location you are looking for. This factor is not optimizable unless you consider moving to the city center. You have better chances of being found in a central location, but there is great competition there.
In addition to the location, other factors influence the ranking in the local search. To increase your visibility in the local search results, you should optimize the following areas.
Consistent details of your company data (NAP)
The abbreviation NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone Number and means that these data should be given identically everywhere and to the local SEO company. Whether on the company website, Google My Business page, entries in business directories, social media channels, or review portals, enter your company data uniformly on all of these channels.
- Name: The complete company name should appear here. The company name can be supplemented by the location or the service offered.
- Address: All of your entries should have the same address as the location.
- Phone Number: For the telephone number, you should choose a spelling and indicate it identically everywhere.
With your company data’s consistent entry, you have already fulfilled an important factor for local search engine optimization.
Use of local keywords
- Create or adapt your content with keywords that have a regional reference.
- A best local SEO company optimizes your website’s meta information by including the location and the service in the title and meta description.
- Your headings, especially the H1 heading on your homepage, should contain your location, company name, and the main keyword.
- Don’t forget to make the local reference visible in the alt tags of images.
Mobile optimization
Another important ranking factor is the website’s mobile user-friendliness.It is therefore essential to have a local SEO company optimize your website for mobile devices as well.
It includes not only fast-loading time but also a responsive design that adapts to the display size of the end device. With the Mobile-Friendly Test from Google, you can test whether your website is user-friendly for mobile devices. Also, the tool gives you tips on what you should improve.
