LOCAL SEO SERVICES: ENHANCE YOUR VISIBILITY ONLINE TO YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS IN YOUR LOCAL AREA

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• What is Local SEO?

  Local SEO is very much a 'does what the name suggests' strategy. Optimisation tactics are used to ensure that your website is visible in search engine results pages (SERPs) when local searchers are looking for information on the products and/or services you provide.
  
  Local search isn't something that can be overlooked, primarily because 45% of all searches conducted on Google are by users actively looking for local businesses. According to Forbes, 95% of users performing local searches do so using a mobile device, and research indicates that 61% of those searches contacted a business within the SERPs they were served. Research also illustrates that 88% of all local searches conducted on a mobile device resulted in a call or physical visit to the business at some point within the following 24 hours.
  
  Local businesses that appear at the top of local SERPs will garner more clicks and drive more enquiries than those towards the bottom of the page. So, to ensure that your business occupies a solid ranking position in SERPs, you need a considered strategy that has the power to help you out-perform your competitor brands.

• How Does Local SEO Work?

  In many ways, local SEO works in the same way as every other type of SEO. So, when a user performs a search, Google will quickly look through the content within its index and select the most relevant and valuable results to serve that user.
  
  But it is important to emphasise that while local SEO has many similarities to 'regular' SEO, there is one key difference: it uses an entirely different selection of ranking factors when organising local SERPs.
  
  In fact, many ranking factors are entirely unique to local search, including, perhaps most obviously, the specific location a user is in when conducting their search. Other ranking factors include:
  
  Whether a business has a Google My Business presence
  The keywords that have been incorporated into a brand's Google My Business profile
  NAP citations
  Social media shares
  The presence and content of online reviews
  Location 'check-ins'
  Star rating on Google Maps
  
  All ranking factors have their merits; however, three ranking factors can be viewed as the most important for Local SEO. They include:
  
  Relevance: To secure maximum visibility in local SERPs, you need to ensure that your listing closely matches the searches being conducted by your audience. The process of providing Google with detailed information about your business will allow it to serve your listing in SERPs for all relevant search queries.
  Distance: When searching for local businesses, the distance from their current location will be a key consideration for all users. Suppose a searcher hasn't provided the search engine with their precise location. In that case, its algorithms will calculate the approximate distance from each business listed in the Local Pack using all the available information it has.
  Prominence: As with more general search results, Google wants to ensure that it is serving the most relevant, highest-quality results to local searchers. To do this, it will look at reviews and ratings about your business all across the web.
  The most effective local SEO strategies leverage the power of a variety of tools and tactics. So, in addition to ensuring that the on-page information you include on your site matches the information contained in your online listings, there are myriad other considerations in your strategy. Creating local content and securing local backlinks are just two additional approaches that may help you to maximise your visibility in local SERPs.
  

• How Important is Local SEO?

  The importance of local SEO really can't be overstated. In fact, it is one of the most effective ways to help your business stand out online, even if you don't have your own website. Yes, you read that correctly; local SEO can help you to secure more direct enquiries and visits to your premises without the need to invest in a full digital presence.
  
  4 out of 5 consumers use search engines to locate localised information. As the leads generated through local search are from individuals who have a specific interest in your business's product or service, local SEO is one of the most effective ways to enhance your conversion rate and secure additional business.
  
  But that's not all.
  
  Local SEO can also help you to convince your ideal audience that you are an experienced and trustworthy brand that can deliver exactly what they are looking for. The more information you can offer, the more likely you are to appeal directly to the people you most want to impress.
  
  Even something as simple as setting up a Google My Business profile page can transform the fortunes of your business in local search. Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to register your business on the search engine's maps listing, and you can include various key pieces of information about your offering, including your address, opening times and contact information.
  
  Local search results display a Local Pack, including the three most relevant search results for a query. These results are displayed in a box beneath the pay-per-click (PPC) adverts alongside a map that has dropped pins marking their physical location. Beneath this Local Pack, the organic results will be displayed. Interestingly, research indicates that local search results receive over 30% of all clicks during local searches. For context, 40% of local search clicks go to organic results, making both approaches equally valuable when creating a comprehensive digital strategy.
  
  It can be all too easy to fall into the trap of viewing organic search as being most worthy of your time and attention, but as we know, local SEO is incredibly valuable. In fact, throughout the Covid19 pandemic, local search has become even more important as increasing numbers of searchers turned to search engines to find the services they needed in their local area in order to adhere to lockdown and social distancing rules.

• Who Needs Local SEO?

  Local SEO should form a key element of the overall digital strategy of every business that serves a particular geographical area and/or has a physical presence that customers can visit. This includes bars, restaurants, retails premises, pharmacies, tradespeople etc. Service businesses that trade across a specific location should also be using local SEO, so this includes locksmiths, plumbers, electricians and construction workers.
  
  Local businesses will see a range of benefits from a robust local SEO strategy, particularly because search engines actively favour small businesses over giant global conglomerates in local search. The process of investing in your approach to local SEO will help you to position yourself in front of a local audience who have already displayed an interest in the products and/or services you offer.
  
  Local SEO is so important because most local businesses will find that a local audience is the best audience they could possibly appeal to, and a local audience converts at a much stronger rate than a national audience. Why? Well, in addition to being easier to connect with, local consumers are also more likely to be loyal and continue to frequent local businesses for as long as they continue to receive the high-quality service they expect and deserve.

• How Much Does Local SEO Cost Per Month?

  Now that we have covered some of the primary benefits of local SEO and hopefully convinced you that this tactic can help you maximise your local business's online visibility let's touch on the associated costs.
  
  Our local SEO monthly rolling contracts start from as little as £400 per month plus VAT, and includes optimising both your organic and Google My Business listings. This dual approach is the most effective way to drive the strongest outcomes, and importantly, each strategy will be comprehensively tailored to your core goals and objectives. This will ensure that you are driving value from your SEO spend and can continue to take tangible steps towards securing the future of your business.
  
  We will work closely with you to devise a robust approach to build on your existing digital presence and consider what success looks like to you and your business over the short, medium, and longer-term. The proposal you receive will include a comprehensive outline of all the deliverable elements you can expect to receive. This level of transparency is essential to us, because we want you to know that we are effectively managing your budget and investing it in the areas that will drive tangible results.
  
  If you're ready to put yourself out there and take steps towards increasing your local customer base. In that case, local SEO is the most cost-effective and measurable way to secure meaningful success and generate a strong return on investment.