We’re experts in local SEO. In fact, we wrote the Definitive Guide to it.
We’ll talk with you to understand your business, your market, and the keywords your customers are using to find your competitors in the search engines. Then we’ll work to get your website ranking at the top of the local search results so those customers find you instead. Our local SEO services include:
- Onsite SEO analysis & recommendations
- Local directory listings (ie, Local.com, SuperPages.com, Yelp.com, etc.)
- Google Places setup & optimization
- Bing Business Portal setup & optimization
- Citation building
- Link building
The graph below illustrates real rankings over three weeks for one of our clients compared to rankings for their competitors in Google Places local search results.
Can you guess which colored line is our client?
| “AudienceBloom under-promised and over-delivered. Within two months of starting our local SEO campaign, we were already ranking #1 in Google for our top local keywords. This visibility has helped establish us as a trusted provider in our area. We’re very happy with AudienceBloom’s professional service and speedy results!” - Miguel Luna, Avalon Construction Corp. |
What Tactics Does a Successful Local SEO Campaign Entail?
Local SEO campaigns are necessary for businesses with brick-and-mortar locations that serve a specific geographic market, usually not larger than the size of a city. In search results, local results look a bit different than normal organic search results; you’ll recognize them by their accompanying drop pins on a map overlay. Local search results are triggered by a number of factors, including:
- IP address of the computer from which the search query originated
- Geographic identifiers within the search query (ie, “seattle italian restaurants”)
So, what needs to be done to have your business website rank well in the local search results?
1. Onsite SEO
A good local SEO campaign begins with solid onsite SEO. This includes all the factors that you can control on your website, including title tags, meta tags, h1 tags, and much more. It’s also important to list your business name, address and phone number on the footer of your website. This way, it’ll appear on every page of the site, strengthening the signal to Google that this is your business location, and that it’s a physical location that can be placed on a map.
2. Google+ Setup & Optimization
After you’ve optimized your website from an SEO perspective, it’s time to set up your Google+ local business page. To do this, you’ll need to have a Google+ account, which you can create at plus.google.com. After you’ve logged in, select “Pages” from the menu on the left side (it may be hidden in the “More” category), then select “Local Business or Place.” Follow the instructions from there to complete the setup. This step is crucial; without completing your profile, your business website can’t be displayed in Google Local search results.
Be sure to fill out every field entirely and thoroughly; this is very important. Add at least 10 images (this can be images from your office, outside your office, employees, the break room, anything), and at least one video. The video can be taken using a smartphone, and can be a simple hello from the company CEO, welcoming visitors to check out the website.
3. Bing Business Portal Setup & Optimization
Bing is the counterpart to Google, so be sure to set up your business in Bing Business Portal as well. Follow the instructions at bing.com/businessportal to get started.
4. Local Directory Listings
Examples of local directories include SuperPages.com, YellowPages.com, and Yelp. We recommend Yext.com for completing thorough directory listings.
5. Citation & Link Building
After setting up your Google and Bing business profiles, and listing your business in local directories, it’s time to start building inbound links and citations to your business. Links are clickable text or images that point to your business website. Citations are mentions (clickable or non-clickable) of your business name, address, and phone number across the Web. When search engines encounter citations, they see it as a sign of credibility or trust, which improves your rankings within local search results.
Building links and citations is time-consuming, but necessary for good local SEO results.
6. Reviews
Customer reviews on your Google+ page are very important for local SEO. Ask your customers to leave reviews, and give them the link to your Google+ local page so they can easily do so. Higher amounts of positive reviews will quickly lead to better local SEO rankings.
