Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is an essential technique to assert a business and gain visibility in the highly competitive digital environment today. In simple terms, Local SEO is the optimization of a business’s online presence to gain more customers from locally oriented searches. Content represents the heart of content marketing strategies for Local SEO, as it can make a business more visible in local search rankings, provided it is valuable, relevant and structured according to the search engines’ best practices. This article addresses the role of content in Local SEO, providing a proper guide on how to manage it to ensure a successful Local SEO strategy.
The Importance of Content in Local SEO
Local content is the foundation of Local SEO because good content directly correlates with search engine rankings and local citations online for your business. The more quality content that speaks to the local community you serve, then the more effectively a search engine can determine what your business is about, and how it relates to the community you serve. When a search engine can soundly associate a business with actual local keywords, the business will have greater opportunity to show up in the top results on a search engine results page (SERP). If you’re visible in the top results on an SERP, the links in that search can drive traffic to your business’s website. In turn, the more traffic on your site, the more people that step foot in your physical location, or the more they convert online.
Furthermore, the content itself enhances the human connection for potential customers who search for local businesses. For example, when a consumer searches for local business, they often search with a specific intent. They may be searching for a local business that is open during a specific time, or they may be contacting a lawyer for an upcoming court date. The business’s content should then help answer these questions. Notice, I didn’t say that the content only needs to be location specific. Answering your audience’s specific questions in your local area with positive engagement (more on this later) will improve your search ranking, regardless of whether you’ve included the city or state name in the content or not. Of course, when you do use city or state names in your content, you are more likely to reach readers in that same area, since search engines like positive engagement, honesty and relevance. Engagement plus relevance is the secret behind the value of content for Local SEO.
Types of Content That Enhance Local SEO
There’s a lot of content that can be used to help optimise Local SEO and all of it is great for attracting and interacting with local audiences. A blog, for instance, can be an amazing tool for multipurpose SEO. It can rank in search engines for keywords that your customers are looking for and can specifically help answer local problems, questions, and concerns. Regular and consistent blog posts talking about subjects local to your community can help establish you as an authority. The rankings boost you get from the local SEO aspects of your blog can also boost the visibility of your brand, products, or services. And if you are careful about it, your blog can be the perfect place to use local keywords, internal links, and geographic markers.
A second essential type of content is localised landing pages. These types of pages target specific geographical areas, making them particularly useful for businesses with several base locations. Each landing page needs to be optimised, with keywords that are localised, unique content and completely correct information about the services in that location. Furthermore, customer testimonials and case studies can also be added to these pages. All such localised content makes the content more credible and relevant, thus increasing the chances to rank on the front page of local search. Videos, infographics and other types of user-generated content are also content types that can help to involve the local audience and enhance a good local SEO
The Role of Keyword Research in Local Content Strategy
Keyword research is one of the most fundamental parts of any SEO strategy – and one that’s extremely important for a strong Local SEO strategy. It ensures that all the content you produce is consistent with what people are actually searching for when it comes to their local queries. Local keyword research targets phrases that contain geo-modifiers, such as a city name, a neighbourhood, or a region. For example, a bakery in San Francisco should target keywords such as ‘best bakery in San Francisco’ or ‘San Francisco custom cakes’. The keywords should be incorporated into the content naturally so it becomes more relevant for your local searches.
In addition, long-tail keywords – specific key phrases that people search for – can work well for Local SEO. These keywords generally have lower search volumes, but also have more intent, which means that people using them to search are more likely to convert. For example, ‘gluten-free bakery near Union Square’, not only has more specific location, but also is a keyword that probably has a niche market. Using keywords like these can drive additional targeted traffic that wants your product or service which improves both your search ranking and your conversion rates. It’s important to stay up-to-date with keyword research, as search trends can shift and, as a result, require updates in the content to stay effective.
Optimizing Content for Local Search Intent
And perhaps the most fundamental element of a sound Local SEO content strategy is optimising for local search intent, which is defined by Moz as: ‘What is the searcher’s underlying intent behind the query? Try to understand the reason they are typing that specific phrase into Google, and consider how you can create content that aligns with their query brilliantly.’ Put another way: the better you can understand the searcher’s information need, and consequently address it with laser-like precision, the more likely it is that the searcher will find your content useful and see you as a result worth clinging to. You might think (or hope) that simply stuffing your website copy with keywords such as ‘best dentist in Chiswick’ and ‘best dental surgery in West London’ would be enough to boost your local search rankings. Well, it is – but only if you have nothing else to say. The truth is that Google’s algorithms are getting smarter and smarter. In order to satisfy ‘user intent’, which is what the SEO ‘algorithm of algorithms’ is all about, you need to prove that you’re writing for the web, not for print. It’s that simple. But perhaps more importantly, you’ll never produce any prose as long as you’re plugging keywords into your text like loose fill. And the shorter your paragraphs and sentences become, the more likely it is that an overworked, time-pressed web user will be able to home in on the information they need. Local search intent often arises from queries that reflect a high level of purchase intent, as well as those seeking immediate information, such as ‘restaurants near me’, ‘plumbers in [city name]’ or ‘24-hour pharmacy’.
Aside from serving as an answer to common basic local search queries (eg, which is the best Mexican restaurant in Prague), your site content should, ideally, be structured in a way that both users and search engines can easily comprehend: with headlines, bullet points and paragraphs that are no more than three to four lines in length, so the site’s local content should offer a menu, but highlight special offers, hero dishes and customer reviews, and be optimised with local keywords Similarly, it’s becoming increasingly important that sites produce content that answers frequently asked questions (FAQs) about a business and its services, as this FAQ content may be the answer that is read out by a smartphone in response to a common voice search query. For example, if I want to know what the opening time of a local restaurant is and ask my phone, the FAQ content might match the search query, especially if your site semantically abdicates the right answer.
The Importance of Local Citations and Reviews in Content Strategy
These are often in the form of citations or reviews, and it’s vital to create content that integrates local citations into content in order to strengthen an authority on a local search engine. Local citations are the instances when your business’s name, address and phone number (NAP) appears on other people’s sites such as third-party directories, social media and review sites. A key aspect of citations is consistency. NAP data should be exactly the same across different sites otherwise your business might not be recognised as legit or relevant by the search engine. Again, publishing content that features citations or reviews into your business could encourage other publications to also mention your business.
Just like on-site blogs and articles, off-site reviews are a great way to drive local traffic. Further, the rise of search has made reviews as critical in off-site rankings as they are to a good reputation offline. Search engines look for reasons to trust your content and often reward quality reviews as a sign of success. It is little wonder why Google, for example, acquired Zagat reviews – a quality rating platform. So, an important part of a local content strategy is to get satisfied customers to review and talk about their experience with your business. Phone calls and email can be a good means for happy customers to weigh in with a Google My Business review, or on another relevant site like Yelp. Potential customers who search for you then use those reviews to judge the quality of your business. Customer reviews and testimonials can also work their way back onto your site. For example, this company’s satisfaction guarantee is prominent on the business site and integrated with their content, rather than simply a popup overlay (which I personally find annoying). People trust what other people are saying about a company.
Monitoring and Updating Local Content for SEO Success
With local SEO, continuous monitoring and updates to content are a must. Search engine algorithms evolve and local search trends change at a rapid pace, so content that you had optimised just a few months ago is almost certain to not perform as well today. Perform regular content audits to evaluate your site content – blogposts, landing pages, metadata – to ensure it’s still relevant and optimised for local search based on current trends. This includes, but is not limited to, updating keywords, refreshing old content, and adding new content that targets emerging local topics and/or changes to your business.
Beyond the above checks, watching performance by exploring dashboards, such as a Google Analytics dashboard for local content and a Google Search Console performance report for local content, provides valuable insights into what content is performing well and what isn’t by looking at important metrics like monitoring: • Organic traffic • Bounce rate • Conversion rate and so onIf the local content is not driving the traffic like once to a blog-post that tries to rank in local SERPs through a long-tail topic-related local keyword is something to worry about. It has to be first inspected and later managed by tightening the keywords or changing the keyword comprehension/usage. Businesses must be hyperactive in managing and updating content on regular to ensure that local SEO is going smoothly while gradually securing evolving visibility in local search.
Conclusion
Content plays an undeniably crucial role in Local SEO, serving as the foundation for enhancing visibility in local search results and driving targeted traffic to a business. By understanding the importance of content, leveraging different types of content, conducting thorough keyword research, optimizing for local search intent, incorporating local citations and reviews, and maintaining an ongoing process of monitoring and updating, businesses can effectively manage their local content strategy. This approach not only helps in achieving higher search rankings but also in building a strong connection with the local community, ultimately leading to long-term business success.