For many businesses, the difference between being discovered and being overlooked comes down to how well they show up in local search.
Falling behind on local marketing doesn’t just mean slipping in rankings. It means missing the attention of people already searching for the services you offer, right where you offer them. Local SEO builds on broader SEO practices, but with its own nuances that matter.
Local SEO can elevate your brand’s visibility online and allow you to maintain an edge against competitors. With Verblio Plus, you’ll find the secret weapon you need for local SEO success.
Understanding Local SEO
Local SEO is search engine optimization focused on local keywords and solutions. When customers search for businesses in a specific geographic area, you want your business (or your clients) to appear and be near the top.
Local SEO enables customers who are searching for those key nearby solutions to find them.
Local SEO Ranking Factors
There are multiple factors that may go into local search ranking.
Your Google Business Profile
An accurate, updated Google Business profile is critical to appearing at the top of Google results. If your clients want to appear in local search results, their NAP information (Name, Address, Phone) is essential.
Not only do you need to make sure that Google Business profile information is accurate and complete, you may need them to:
- Add posts
- Include photos
- Engage with reviews and customer comments
High levels of engagement show that a brand is a popular local presence and help boost local search ranking. Low engagement and outdated NAP information, on the other hand, can cause search ranking to drop rapidly.
Online Reviews
When a brand receives reviews on popular platforms, including Google, it increases overall visibility. Not only do you want customers to share their positive interactions with you, it’s a critical part of building social proof. Interested customers are likely to check those reviews before deciding who they want to use for specific services or purchases, and you need regular, fresh reviews to increase local search visibility. Your clients need to encourage satisfied customers to post reviews, and strive to engage with them regularly in order to boost ranking.
Local Content
Creating and publishing hyperlocal content is one of the overlooked keys to ensuring local search visibility. In addition to the content already being posted for the brand — including answers to frequently asked questions and industry-relevant news — you need content focused on information that is relevant to local searchers.
That doesn’t just mean adding geographic keywords to the content you’re already creating. Instead, offer content that explains things that are specific to the local area. For example, law firms may want to add content that is specific to their state laws, while real estate agents may want to post information about local neighborhoods, events, or destinations.
Backlinks and Citations
Building backlinks is another key part of increasing local SEO. By creating helpful, relevant content, forming partnerships with other local brands, and building links back to your website, you can show search engines your relevance and authority. That authority, in turn, translates to a higher search ranking.
Businesses should also ensure their listings are accurate across directories and social platforms. Consistent NAP details strengthen credibility and keep them tied to the communities they serve.
The Difference Between Local SEO and Traditional SEO
Traditional SEO emphasizes factors like content relevance and website usability, and local SEO efforts build on those foundations. To stand out in local results, businesses must go beyond keywords and site design, making sure their presence reflects the intent of people searching nearby. Success comes from meeting the needs of the community and showing up where they’re looking.
How Search Engines Prioritize Local Results
Search engines use three key factors to determine how to rank local results:
- Proximity: How close the business is to the searcher’s location
- Relevance: How relevant the business’s services are to what the searcher is looking for
- Prominence: How prominent or popular the business is
Focus on these factors, and you can improve your local search ranking and ensure your business appears when people look for services in your area.
When to Call a Local SEO Company or Local SEO Agency
Whether your client is a local business or a brand that offers local services, partnering with a specialized local SEO company can significantly boost visibility.
Local SEO providers understand the ins and outs of those local SEO strategies, and they’re well-equipped to help businesses build their local presence online.
Support for Multi-Location and Service Area Businesses
Local SEO isn’t just for small local businesses with one brick-and-mortar location. It’s also vital for brands that have multiple locations or specific service areas. If you’re trying to build SEO for multiple locations, that can mean a lot of content. Having an agency on your side can help you develop your content library, focus on local keywords, and ensure that Google Business profile information is current.
Can you do it yourself? Of course. But a local SEO company can take work off your plate, address blind spots, and maintain your ongoing local SEO efforts.
The Importance of Transparent Pricing
When you choose a local SEO agency, make sure they offer transparent pricing that allows you to track what you’ll be spending. Make sure you understand how your agency will determine your costs, what you’re responsible for versus what they’ll take care of, and what’s included in your package. Furthermore, look for an agency that offers customized SEO packages so that you can select a solution that fits the unique needs of your brand and industry.
Comprehensive Local SEO Services
Local SEO services can help take care of a number of essential tasks that can build local search presence and ensure brand visibility in each local area. For marketing agencies, working with an agency that can provide comprehensive local SEO services can make it easier to keep up with the demands of local businesses, including multi-location brands.
Local SEO Audit
The first step in building your local search presence is conducting a thorough local SEO audit. This can help identify weaknesses and opportunities. A local SEO audit will identify:
- Who your competitors are and what they focus on
- Your place in that local market–or each local market, for multi-location or service area brands
- What your local presence currently looks like, including both your strengths and weaknesses
As part of the process, your local SEO agency will identify what you already have in your content library, what assets you may need to update or refresh, and where you may need to expand your library or your overall local SEO efforts in order to achieve your goals.
Local Keyword Research
Comprehensive keyword research is an important part of your local search optimizations efforts. For local SEO, that doesn’t just mean identifying the specific terms customers in your service area are using to search for your products and services (though those terms can be relevant and may vary by market). It also means taking a close look at local keywords that can help establish your presence in your geographic area. Local keyword research may look at:
- Locations within your service area
- Alternative keywords for your service area (e.g., county vs city names)
- Local landmarks, businesses, and streets
These hyperlocal keywords can help boost your local SEO presence significantly. Once you understand those keywords, they can be used for local content creation.
Listing Optimization
As part of the local SEO process, an effective local SEO agency will optimize your local listings and Google Business profile. These strategies help increase overall Google Maps visibility. The agency will also keep that information updated.
On-Page Optimization
On-page SEO includes a variety of strategies, from using the right keywords and local terms, to things like:
- Meta descriptions
- Using keywords in headings
- Image optimization
- URL optimization
- Links and backlinks
On-page SEO may include things like improving load speed, image alt text, and overall accessibility features. By maintaining these elements, your local SEO agency can prevent your search ranking from falling unnecessarily.
Local Business Citations and Link Building
Each reference back to your website helps build your brand authority online and increase your local search ranking. When you’re striving to increase your local SEO, you need citations and links from local businesses to help establish you as a leader in your field and in your local area. Your local SEO agency can help with building those citations and links, including helping you form partnerships with local businesses that can prove beneficial to both brands.
Online Presence Management
Managing your online presence can go a long way toward improving your search ranking and showing search engines that you are a trustworthy, authoritative presence in your field. By managing online reviews and leveraging positive reviews, your local SEO agency can help boost your search ranking. Your agency can also provide you with strategies that can help you build those positive reviews and encourage customer engagement.
Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment
Like building your overall online presence and increasing traditional SEO, your local SEO efforts are not a one-and-done process. Building your local search ranking requires continuous monitoring and regular adjustment of your efforts to help boost your growth. Your agency can track the overall success of your local search optimization efforts, make sure that your brand is visible, and make adjustments to your strategy to help you see increased results.
Verblio Plus: The Best Local SEO Solution
Verblio Plus can deliver the end-to-end services for marketing agencies. We can help clients across a range of industries accomplish their local SEO goals, and offer full-service content marketing and SEO services.
Content Writer Access
At Verblio Plus, we have access to expert local SEO content writers who specialize in local business SEO. They understand how to integrate those vital local keywords into their content, weaving hyperlocal information into posts that provide answers to essential questions, and doing so naturally.
Scalable Content Creation
Being able to scale to meet your clients’ needs is essential. Each time a new location opens or the service area increases, you need to be able to increase your local SEO marketing efforts–and content creation–to match them. Verblio Plus makes it easy to scale that content creation to support multiple business locations or service areas.
Customizable Plans
We understand that you don’t need a one-size-fits-all option for your local SEO services. We offer customizable local SEO content plans that allow you to easily align them with your local SEO strategy. No matter where you are in your local SEO process, we can help you with the services you need. Our plans are scalable and can be adapted as your needs change, whether you’re a marketing agency adding clients or a local business expanding to a new location.
Seamless Integration
We integrate our efforts seamlessly with your existing SEO campaigns and local search optimization efforts. You won’t have to worry that your clients’ local search-slanted content will be out of step with their existing solutions or strategies. Our experts will review your branding information and voice to ensure that your content is in line with your other efforts.
Transparent Pricing
We offer transparent pricing models that fit agency budgets and client objectives. You can tailor your local SEO services to your specific needs and budget and will know up front what you’ll be paying so that you can make decisions based on that information.
Fast Turnaround
Agility is essential when it comes to your local SEO campaigns. You may need to pivot quickly, whether a new competitor has moved into a specific local area or you need to adjust your campaign in order to meet changing customer expectations. With Verblio Plus, you get a quick turnaround time so that you can keep your campaign agile and responsive.
Editorial Oversight
We provide quality control and editorial oversight that ensures SEO-friendly, engaging content–so you can focus on the other elements of your campaign and trust us to handle your local SEO efforts.
Data-Driven Insights
We use real data to inform our efforts, including data-driven insights and keyword research designed to help maximize search rankings for each of our clients. In addition, we help you make essential adjustments to your strategy based on those insights so that you can continue to see improvement in your overall results.
Account Managers
Each of our clients works with a dedicated account manager that can act as your SEO consultants and partners. These account managers will get to know your brands, your industries, and your content needs, then serve as a vital liaison that will ensure that you get the content and solutions you need.
Proven Results
Verblio Plus has a proven history of results, including increased organic traffic, improved local visibility, and a rise in site inquiries.
Implementing Verblio Plus For Local SEO
Whether you already have a local SEO plan in place or you’re still building your plan for the future, Verblio Plus can help you accomplish your goals. Our expertise helps increase website traffic, build local search rankings, and even increase direct phone calls thanks to your local search visibility.
On-Page Optimization and Local Listings Content
Verblio Plus can offer essential assistance with your on-page optimization for local content and your local listings content. We handle the content generation for your geographic region, including hyperlocal keywords and information that will help you attract search traffic from your specific geographic region.
Online Reputation Management
In addition to helping with content creation, Verblio Plus content can enhance local business citations and assist with online reputation management. Our experts can help you generate backlinks, connect with other local businesses, and ensure that your business is listed on relevant channels, including social media, external websites and directories, and other vital locations.
Local SEO Tips for Marketing Leaders
As a marketing leader, you want to maximize your clients’ success–and we’re here to help you do exactly that.
Tip 1: Prioritize Local SEO Ranking Factors
If you want to maximize your clients’ success, make sure that you are prioritizing local SEO ranking factors. 76% of people who conduct a local search on their phones will visit a physical location within 24 hours, and an estimated 46% of searches on Google are for local information.
Focusing on local SEO doesn’t just generate short-term gains; it also helps generate long-term wins. SEO is an ongoing, long-term process that builds on itself as you continue your efforts. Starting with local SEO ranking factors can help build those much-needed long-term gains in visibility.
Tip 2: Utilize Location-Based Keywords with Content Creation Best Practices
Location-based keywords are a critical part of building local SEO. That means including not only the specific name for given geographic areas, but also incorporating local sites, streets, and other keywords into the content. However, that doesn’t mean local keyword stuffing. Instead, focus on using content creation best practices, including providing relevant, useful, engaging content to readers.
Tip 3: Make the Most of Online Reviews
Encourage satisfied customers to leave online reviews to help boost local search ranking. Furthermore, make sure to engage with those reviews. Brands’ responses to customer reviews can go a long way toward building trust and authority.
Tip 4: Monitor Local Search Visibility
Ongoing monitoring and adjustment are a critical part of any SEO plan. Track local search visibility and adjust strategies accordingly. Not only does that mean focusing on strategies that are working, it may also mean moving away from strategies that are not helping those brands accomplish their goals.
Tip 5: Combine Verblio Plus with Other SEO Services
Verblio Plus, when combined with other SEO services, can help you create a holistic local SEO campaign that provides you with access to all the resources you need to improve your efforts and get the local visibility you need. Verblio Plus can help marketing agencies and local businesses scale their local SEO marketing efforts more effectively.
Gain the Local Advantage with Verblio Plus
Local SEO services drive business growth and provide you with an essential competitive edge. If you aren’t focusing on local SEO, you’re missing out on the opportunity to reach local customers who are ready to visit and make a purchase.
Verblio Plus is the ideal local SEO service provider for marketing agencies. We offer a range of services that make it easy to scale your local SEO efforts according to your specific needs, putting you in a better position to help your clients grow. Elevate your local SEO strategy and deliver unmatched results for your clients with Verblio Plus.
Glossary of Key Local SEO Terms
- Local SEO services: Services designed to optimize a business’s online presence and ranking for customers in a specific geographic area
- Google Business Profile: The free online listing that makes businesses visible on Google Search and Google Maps; maintaining this listing is a key part of local SEO
- Local SEO audit: An audit of a brand’s local search engine visibility efforts and online presence that determines what factors are successful and which ones require improvement as well as assessing the brand’s local presence and competitors
- Local SEO ranking factors: The factors that contribute to local search ranking, including proximity, relevance, and prominence
- Local business citations: Online mentions of a business’s name, address, and phone numbers across a variety of platforms, including business directories, social media, and websites
- Local link building: The process of building links back to the brand from other local businesses or that highlight its local presence
- On-page optimization: The process of refining website elements, including meta information, images, alt text, and accessibility, to improve SEO
- Local search engine optimization: The process of building search ranking based on local keywords
- Local SEO packages: Packages designed to provide a variety of local SEO services, often tailored to the specific needs of a brand or agency
- Local search results: Search engine outputs that show businesses or services based on a searcher’s geographic location
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