How to improve local search rankings

For local businesses, taking your business online can open up a whole new world of orders and requests. But being online doesn’t automatically mean that everyone will see your business. For this you need to optimise for search queries relevant to your products, or the services you offer. And you’ll soon find that there’s a world of competition out there. But one place you can get ahead, is in the local search results. So what are local search results, and what can you do to improve local search rankings?

What are local search results?

So what exactly are local search results, and why should you be aiming to show up as part of these?

Well, whenever a query for a product or service is entered into Google, Google will pull up any relevant business listings, in the area you are searching from. This is part of Google’s personalisation algorithm. These listings come from Google My Business, and they will show searchers exactly where your business is located, on an interactive map. This is highly effective for people who want immediate products, or to talk to someone who offers the services they need. As soon as searchers see local results, they feel that your company is automatically more trustworthy, because the chances are, someone they know will have experience of your company. This can result in more sales and conversions, as well as increasing your brand awareness in the local area.

How to improve local search rankings

So how do you land in one of these top spots for local searches? Well there are a couple of things you will need to work on. These include:

• Maintaining business information and listings
• Customer reviews
• Content marketing

Maintaining business information and listings

One of the most important aspects of local SEO is ensuring that your business name, address and phone number are consistent across all platforms. This includes your website, social media profiles and online directories. Any inconsistencies can confuse search engines and reduce your chances of appearing in top local results.

Signing up for your Google My Business listing is simple and easy to do. 25% of Google’s local search signals come from the My Business listing. However, just because your company is listed, doesn’t mean it will appear at the top. But keeping your Google My Business profile updated with fresh content, such as posts, offers, images and updated opening hours, can help maintain your visibility. Regular engagement signals to Google that your business is active and relevant, which can positively impact your rankings.

Listing your business in reputable online directories can help to strengthen your local presence. Websites such as Yelp, Yell and other industry-specific directories can provide valuable backlinks and signals to search engines that your business is trustworthy and established within the local area.

Customer reviews

Research has shown that the companies and businesses displayed at the top of local results, have on average, a 4.4 star rating. This means that you should encourage positive reviews of your company online. These reviews will be displayed in the local search results, alongside any images. Google reviews, TripAdvisor, and even Facebook reviews or recommendations can be used and shown off here. Google reviews it seems though, will be the most valuable.

Content marketing

Content marketing is the final step to dominating the local search results. Your content should be produced regularly, and make links to the local area. Whether that’s with the choice of colloquial words, or with local imagery and external links, you can make your content feel relevant to local readers. And your references will help establish your local search ranking.

While general keyword research is important, targeting location-specific keywords can help you appear in more relevant searches. Including your town, city or service area within your website content, page titles and meta descriptions can significantly improve your visibility for local customers.

Here at Pumpkin Web Design we are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing professionals. We provide a wide range of website solutions and SEO services across Preston and the North West, from Blackburn and Bolton, to Southport, Wigan, and even Manchester. We work with businesses of all sizes and across a wide variety of sectors, from local service providers to established commercial brands. So, for more information about SEO, content marketing, traffic growth and web design, get in touch with the experts at Pumpkin Web Design today.