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Video Summary
Local search is important if you have a business that serves a local audience, in other words, your clients are people who live in the geographic area around your business.
This is important because you need your business to show up for searchers within that local area. That’s where your money comes from! And, if local clients are searching, you need to be able to stand out from your local competitors.
As a local business, you probably already have an idea about who your target customers are, and the products and services they need from you. So, what is local SEO and how can you use it for your business? Continue reading for more.
Video Transcript
Hey, this is Jeffrey Kirk. Today I’m talking about getting your business to show up in the local search results.
So a couple of days ago, my nephew was playing a video game on his tablet and was getting frustrated because he couldn’t win. And so he whines, he goes, “Aww, I’m gonna lose again. I don’t like to lose because that makes me cry.”
His other uncle tries to console him, telling him that video games are made so that you lose and that everyone loses. That he loses and I lose, and so losing is normal. But I guess I don’t see it that way. Shouldn’t we teach personal responsibility?
So I said, “oh, you don’t want to cry? Then you really have 2 choices. And the first one is easy… Simply decide not to cry. It’s either that, or you have to learn how to win.” I don’t think he appreciated my answer. It’s easier to be a victim of the game than to look at your own decisions in the process.
Well, I’m not going to push too hard right now. After all, he is only 5, and I don’t think he had any idea what I was talking about. I’ll come back to this later… In the meantime, be sure to subscribe to my channel, click the little bell so you get notified when my next video comes out, and comment about the conversation with my nephew.
Who is on the right track here? His other uncle, or me? Okay, ready to get started with today’s topic?
Local Search
Local search is important if you have a business that serves a local audience, in other words, your clients are people who live in the geographic area around your business.
This is important because you need your business to show up for searchers within that local area. That’s where your money comes from! And, if local clients are searching, you need to be able to stand out from your local competitors.
What exactly is local SEO and how can you use it for your business?
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is about analyzing what people are searching for, what questions they have, what words they are using, and what they want to find. By understanding these things better than competing businesses, you get an advantage. You can be better matched to those who are searching for the services your business offers.
The goal here is to increase the quality and quantity of your site’s search traffic and give exposure to your business by appearing at the top of the search results. However, knowing what you must do, and actually getting results, are two completely different things! Keep watching so I can help you hit your goals.
As a local business, you probably already have an idea about who your target customers are, and the products and services they need from you. When you’re visible and able to connect with your customers, you are able to provide better user experiences and demonstrate the credibility of your business.
Google Business Profile
Because your business operates physically in your local community, having a Google Business Profile will help you get a boost in the search results. Google recommends creating and claiming your business profile. They give this to you as a free service and allow you to maintain your business information online.
It’s important to have a complete profile so local searchers can easily find your business. I have separate videos explaining how to get and optimize your profile if you need to do these things. Be sure to check those out.
Once you have your profile set up and optimized, it’s easier for new clients to find you. They can find you by business name, by business address, and most importantly, by what you do. The prospects who don’t already know your business will search for what you do as a solution to their problem. So, you have to show up when those prospects are searching!
Keep in mind they will search for products or services or solutions. And for local service providers, many searchers will add the phrase “near me” when doing a search. For example, searches could be “business accountant near me” or “CPA near me”. Or someone could use a location such as “CPA in Springfield”.
And, if someone does a search for a phrase that Google considers local, they will automatically assume the local intent and show options that are near the searcher’s location. In other words, if someone searches for, “business accounting”, Google will give the searcher similar results as if they had added the words “near me”.
Keyword Research
So you need to understand what your prospects, your future clients, are searching for. And how does your business help them? Then plan which of these words and phrases you want to target on your website. And consider how you can best incorporate those key phrases into your content.
Of course, the words searchers use depend on the type of business you have and what problems they are trying to solve. So, you must focus on your target audience. Start with your own knowledge of your prospects. What are they going to search for when you want your business to appear in the search results?
These are your initial keyword phrases. But don’t stop with these. Instead, enter them into a keyword research tool, such as the Google Keyword Planner.
Doing this helps you discover other topics, phrases, and common questions related to those initial keywords. A good strategy for you to consider is to take those common questions and create separate blog posts to answer them. Or, if the answers would be too short for a post, then create a list and answer them on your FAQ page.
I have several videos that teach you how to effectively do keyword research. And I’m including the links here so you can check them out too.
Content Headlines
Another local SEO content strategy you can use is to create appropriate content headlines based on your location. For example, you could have a page titled as, “Business Accountant in Franklin”. A couple cautions here though…
First, just do this in the title. You don’t have to repeat the phrase over and over again in the content. I’m sure you’ve seen websites where they do that.
This is an old search engine optimization trick going back 20 years or more. But if you do this now, it will hurt your results. Your site could get a lower search position. And if you put off your site visitors because your content sounds stupid, then there’s going to be no one who wants to read that.
Always write content for your human readers, not the search engines. A good title lets the searchers know that your content is appropriate for them because you have a local business. The other caution… Well, it’s not really a caution, but it’s more of a suggestion…
At the bottom of the page, or somewhere in the content, you can include the other communities you serve. In other words, if your actual clients come from the same city you’re in, as well as a few nearby cities, mention those other communities in the content.
This way visitors to your site can easily recognize if you are conveniently located for them within their vicinity.
Blogging
One of the best ways to include local content is with a blog. This way you can have separate posts about each different keyword phrase and location. Blogs are an easy way to get search engines to connect your site with your target audience.
How do you create good blog content? Always focus on your visitors and provide them with valuable information. Write about what your business offers and how this can help solve your visitors’ problems. And include some customer testimonials about their actual experience with your business.
Brand Reputation
Another local SEO content strategy is to establish your brand’s reputation. Reviews and ratings help show your business is trustworthy and credible.
Online reviews continue to grow in value and have a significant impact on your visibility in your local area. In fact, for your business, this could be the most important thing you do! The problem is, for reviews and ratings to have the biggest impact, you need to have a consistent stream of high-quality Google reviews along with a rating above 4 stars.
Most businesses fail to get reviews consistently so there’s a great opportunity for you.
I have a system which makes it easy to get those high-quality reviews consistently. Join me on an upcoming training webinar where I will show you how to take advantage of this to gain an unfair advantage in the search results.
Also keep in mind that reviews and ratings are not exclusive to Google. Depending on your business, you may need to reach other review sites and social media platforms.
Overall
Ultimately, your goal to reach a local audience is to create great content that appeals to your audience. This way Google and other search engines can understand what your business is about and connect that message to the searcher’s intent.
When you have your Google Business Profile complete, and you’re getting good reviews consistently (which means you’re providing great service), and you have good information on your website, then you’re making it easy for your future clients to find your business.
So, like my nephew, you have a choice. You can complain because you’re losing, and no one can find your business online. Or you can decide to learn how to win this game. Join me on the webinar so I can show you how to win.
Your business deserves to be seen online, and I will help you get there. Thanks for watching and have a great day!
