Do you want your business to be easily found by users located nearby? A good local referencing is the key! In fact, it boosts your visibility on geolocated search results and doesn’t just attract new customers. In this article, we’ll give you tips and advice on how to improve your local SEO and propel your business to the top of search results.
Understanding local SEO
Local SEO refers to all the techniques used to optimize a company’s visibility on geolocalized search results. In concrete terms, when a user performs a search on a search engine, the results displayed may vary according to their location.
For example, if a user searches for “Italian restaurant” from Paris, the results displayed will be different from those displayed if they perform the same search from Marseille. Geolocated search results display the businesses closest to the user, and offer practical information such as address, phone number, opening hours and customer reviews.
.
Local SEO is important for businesses with a physical presence in a given geographical area, such as stores, restaurants, real estate agencies, medical practices and so on. Indeed, it enables them to be easily found by users located nearby and thus attract new customers.
Local SEO is important for businesses with a physical presence in a given geographical area, such as shops, restaurants, real estate agencies, medical practices, etc.
Optimizing your Google My Business listing
Google My Business is a free tool offered by Google that lets you create and manage your business listing on Google Maps and geolocated search results. Here are a few tips for optimizing your Google My Business listing:
Create and check your listing
First of all, it’s important to create your Google My Business listing, filling in essential information such as your business name, address, telephone number, opening hours, etc. It’s also important to check your listing to confirm that your business is real. It’s also important to check your listing to confirm that your business is real.
Essential information
It’s important to fill in all the sections of your Google My Business listing completely and accurately. The more complete your listing, the more likely it is to appear at the top of geolocation search results.
Add photos and reviews
Photos and customer reviews are key to improving your company’s local SEO. We therefore recommend adding quality photos of your business and your products or services, as well as encouraging your customers to leave reviews on your Google My Business listing.
Optimize local keywords
It’s important to use relevant local keywords in the title, description and categories of your Google My Business listing. For example, if you’re an Italian restaurant in Paris, it’s recommended to add the keywords “Italian restaurant” and “Paris” to your listing.
Working on your local online presence
Implementing actions so that users located nearby can easily find your company on the various online channels, that’s what we mean by working on your local online presence. Here are a few tips for improving your local online presence:
Create local pages on your website
If you have a website, it’s a good idea to create specific pages for each geographic location where you have a presence. For example, if you have several stores in different cities, you can create a page for each city. This will optimize your local SEO and attract visitors to each of your stores.
Listing on local directories and websites
There are many local directories and sites on which you can register for free to improve your local SEO. This will make it easy for nearby users to find your business.
Getting local backlinks
Local backlinks are links from local websites pointing to your website. They’re important for improving your local SEO. You can get local backlinks by participating in local events, sponsoring local associations, proposing partnerships with other local businesses, etc.
Tailoring your content for local SEO
To take care of your content and improve your local SEO, here are a few tips:
Use local keywords
Local keywords are geographic terms relevant to your business. They can be used in titles, descriptions, texts on your web pages, your posts on social networks, etc. For example, if you’re a florist in Marseille, you can use keywords such as “florist in Marseille”, “flower bouquet in Marseille”, etc.
Create local content
Local content is content that deals with topics relevant to your business and your geographical location. For example, if you’re a restaurant in Bordeaux, you could create content about the region’s culinary specialties, local events, tourist spots and so on. This will attract visitors interested in your geographic location and improve your local SEO.
Using structured data
Search engines understand the content of your web pages thanks to structured data, which consists of structured information in JSON-LD format. This can include information such as your company’s address, opening hours, customer reviews, etc. Using structured data can improve your visibility on geolocated search results.
Engaging with local social networks
Local social networks are popular social platforms in your area. By engaging with them, you can attract local visitors and improve your local SEO. For example, you can post photos of your company and products, share interesting local content, respond to user comments, etc.
Measuring and tracking your local SEO
It’s important to regularly measure and track your local SEO to know whether the efforts you’ve made are paying off. Here are some tools and indicators you can use to measure your local SEO:
Google My Business Insights
This tool provides statistics on visibility, engagement and user actions on your Google My Business listing. It lets you know how many people viewed your listing, where they found your business, the actions they took (calls, directions, website visits, etc.) and more.
Google Analytics
This tool enables you to measure traffic on your website, analyze traffic sources (organic search, local referencing, social networks, etc.), the most consulted pages, session duration, etc. It also lets you track conversions (calls, completed forms, purchases, etc.) and analyze user behavior on your site.
Search rankings
Search rankings can give you an indication of your visibility on local search results. It’s important to monitor your rankings regularly to see if your local SEO efforts are paying off.
Customer reviews
These are an important indicator of the quality of your business and your local SEO. Positive reviews can increase your visibility on local search results. It can also encourage potential customers to use your services.
