You visit a friend and decide to eat out. You pull your phone and type in ‘Restaurants near me’. A restaurant that has worked on its local SEO is going to pop up high up on the results.

I’ve heard that there is a fish and chip shop that has connivingly called itself ‘Fish and Chips Near Me’. Not many businesses take it that far but it has become essential for small businesses and charities to optimise their online visibility. This is where local SEO, or search engine optimisation, comes into play.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a highly effective digital marketing strategy that helps businesses optimise their online presence to target their local audience. It focuses on improving a website’s visibility in localised searches, ensuring that businesses are easily discoverable when potential customers search for relevant products or services in their area. It is different from SEO but you can read an excellent blog about that by Jordan Farrer.

How is it Used by Marketers?

By implementing local SEO techniques, we can improve a website’s rankings in local search engine results and increase the likelihood of attracting potential customers who are actively searching for a specific product or service in their area.
Marketers use various strategies to enhance the local SEO of a business, including:

1. Keyword optimisation – Conducting research to identify relevant keywords that resonate with the local audience and incorporating them strategically into website content, meta tags, and headers.
2. Claim a search engine listing – Claiming and optimising a listing on a search engine like Bing, will ensure that the business appears in local search results, maps, and other platforms.
3. Online directories – Ensuring your business is listed accurately on popular online directories and review sites, such as Yelp and TripAdvisor.
4. Localised content – Creating engaging and informative content that caters specifically to the local target audience. Address their needs, concerns, and preferences.
5. Local link building – Building relationships with other local businesses and charities to secure backlinks and enhance the website’s authority in local search.

Get involved

You don’t even need a computer or website to build local SEO! Getting out into your local community by collaborating with local charities and businesses, volunteering, supporting local causes. These efforts will be rewarded with increased brand awareness, established credibility, and stronger relationships that can lead to positive word-of-mouth referrals and online mentions.

Another option is to attend some networking events. These will allow you to meet other local leaders and embed your business or charity even deeper into the locality. There are many networking organisations out there but I can recommend Business Buzz.

Conclusion

If you’re a small business or charity looking to elevate your online presence through effective local SEO strategies, contact us today. Aubrey’s expertise and experience can boost your organisation’s visibility, attract more customers, and achieve your marketing goals.

Remember, in today’s competitive online landscape, optimising your website and web presence for local search is more important than ever.