Table of Contents

1. What is Local SEO?
2. How do you rank for local SEO?
   • Getting a local SEO audit
   • Analysis of competitor websites
   • On-page SEO performance
   • Analysis of Backlinks
   • User-generated contents
3. Does keywords play any role in Local SEO?
4. How to choose the best Local SEO Reseller?
   • Standard of results
   • Highest-quality content
   • Authentic links and issue-free building strategy
   • Consideration of the constantly changing scenario
   • Consider multiple companies
5. Achieving the ultimate goal

“Google only loves you when everyone else loves you first.” – Wendy Piersall.

Ranking in the search engine pages for Google is now a prerequisite for businesses. With the improvement of the internet to reach every corner of the earth, even the local businesses have to be present on the virtual web. People are now moving across the world for their work or life choices, and for some things, they still prefer to buy it from a brick-and-mortar store; and they turn to the internet to find them.

The statistics available state that 76% of the people who search “XYZ business near me” on their smartphone visit the business in a day. Additionally, mobile searches on the terms “store open near me” (for example, “grocery store open near me”) have increased by 250% from 2017-2019. So, it stands to reason that the local businesses have to employ and utilize SEO characteristics. So, let us look into the matter in-depth.

What is Local SEO?

The simplest definition of this term would be optimizing the visibility of a website to increase its inclusion in the local search results. This process includes using geo-targeted keywords and content to help businesses featuring to customers searching within their surrounding area.

Usually, the SEO capitalizes on increasing brand awareness in their vicinity, primarily by featuring in the results of the “near me” searches. This technique ultimately drives more foot traffic or increase enquiries.

How Do You Rank For Local SEO?

Competing for a significant place in the Google search results was nearly impossible for the small local businesses in the early years. From 2014, the pigeon update of Google changed the scene for the local businesses. From then, the regional trade institutions with a website could trade for a place on the search rankings on a local level.

The search engine started to award ranking boost to businesses nearer to the searcher in location-specific services (like ‘pizza shops near me, ‘supermarket near me, ‘building contractors near Colorado’, etc.). The utility of this development was perfect for online businesses, as 76% of users were found to trust online reviews and personal recommendations. So, how can a local business rank for SEO?

• Getting a local SEO audit: An SEO audit of your local website will provide you with the correct diagnosis of the health of the websites. It will uncover the technical issues affecting the ranking of the website, as well as recommend the solutions as per the results. However, a local SEO audit will be more effective than a general website audit as it tests the factors that affect local search result performance more deeply.
• Analysis of competitor websites: Knowing your competition will show you how you can better your local SEO strategy. Different SEO tools offer you the local keywords your competitors are targeting, their ranking pages and the type of content they are posting, resonating among the local audiences.
• On-page SEO performance: The on-page SEO performance of a website is the starting stone of effective local SEO. If it is optimized, everything later – from link building to citation promotions – will follow. You can get the on-page performance results from the SEO audit.
• Analysis of Backlinks: A website will be accepted more by the general user if other authentic sources assure it. For example, if your business is linked to other local companies or the chamber of local commerce, it will rank higher in the Google local rankings. Your SEO audit company will perform the necessary backlink inspection and analysis for your website.
• User-generated content: Content generated or accessed by the general users, like reviews, ratings, and other contents pointing back towards the website, will help engage the directed customer pool. When the customers perform a specific search, these social signals contribute to the business’s online visibility and ultimately drive traffic.

It is better to have an in-depth understanding of the website performance before endorsing and implementing a local SEO policy. The info helps you build the local SEO checklist while providing the necessary foresight to make informed judgments.

Do Keywords Play Any Role In Local SEO?

Keywords play a role in every SEO. It is mandatory to check the keywords ranking for the website. A local business has to implement keyword research into the SEO methods; however, you have to utilize it so that the website appears more when the customers are searching for it.

For example, let’s consider you have a pastry shop and want to appear more in the local customer’s search. You will have to put up the following info for the inquiries that address the following:

• The location of the store.
• The time of business.
• Any contact info of the shop.
• How can one reach the store?

Usually, stores with the proper SEO are featured along with this information on the Snack pack – the boxed results showing the top local listings about the search query in the Google search engine.

Another essential task is to optimize a local SEO is to put in a location in the keyword. For instance, if you want to feature a game store in Brooklyn, get the keywords the customers are most likely to use. There are several online tools with which one can search the keyword on a business and its search volume, including the keywords with the most search volume into the website content. A great place to get relevant keywords is community forums in the questions the members ask. You can get lots of commercial, transactional, or informational keywords from there.

How To Choose The Best Local SEO Reseller?

After performing the appropriate SEO audit, it is now time to implement the changes to increase your traffic and revenue. Now, who would do it? The obvious answer is the in-house SEO expert. However, if you do not have one, there is no need to worry. There are digital agencies that will perform the SEO for you and better your website performance. These digital agencies for hire are known as Local SEO Resellers and work on behalf of the hiring company.

There are benefits of hiring a local SEO reseller for the optimization of your company’s website. Firstly, you wouldn’t have to hire an individual SEO for your company. The SEO reseller will work on the background and deliver the results to you. If you don’t have access to an internal SEO expert, then you can take the help of these services. They have good working relations with editors, writers, and publishers, who can provide high-quality backlinks quite easily. With some resellers, you can even get a white-labelled dashboard to show the campaign’s efficacy for your business.

So let us now know the factors to search for when looking for a high-quality SEO reseller;

• Standard Of Results

The SEO resellers you choose should focus on the results and keep their standards high. They should recognize and utilize metrics like sales and leads, which would give scalable and authentic results. If your website is on page one of Google’s search results are fantastic, but it should transform into actual conversion and impact, rather than being only a single positive sign. The SEO reseller must take you to the top and provide results that transform into actual conversions and, ultimately, sales.

• Highest-Quality Content

Analogous to the entertainment industry, in local SEO, content is still the king. The local SEO reseller must design organic content that is naturally compelling. It must be imbued with organically layered backlinks and search keywords – the effective standardized combination for high-quality SEO. Inclusion of Ads is OK, but it must not decimate the content; the hyperlinks shouldn’t be jam-packed artificially into blurbs. People are well aware of the presence and reason of ads but expect it to be non-obtrusive and should not hamper the SEO content.

An extension of the above, the local SEO reseller must conduct exhaustive research for determining catchphrases and keywords. The keywords and phrases must resonate with the customers. A simple test of that is to see whether the keyword of your choice matches with the ones found by the local SEO reseller.

If you are hiring a local SEO reseller, you must provide them with the time and freedom to produce the best content. Like the advertising industry, the content creator needs time to build the highest-quality content. It would be better to give them the necessary time.

• Authentic Links And Issue-Free Building Strategy

The links must be high-quality. They must be true to their claims and should not be associated with any copyright violation. SEO firms using links that look like they would end in the user’s spam must be considered. It can not only drive the clients from your website but land you into legal troubles. An excellent way to identify such SEO resellers is to perform extensive research before choosing them and asking questions about the methods they use. If they are wavering in answering them, then it is best to take your business elsewhere.

• Consideration Of The Constantly Changing Scenario

The online marketing scene is facing changes every day. The local SEO reseller must take this factor into account. It would help if you chose a trustworthy and dependable concern with the experience and will provide you with a timeline that they will keep. Their efforts should result in a functional and practical promotion of your business designed to give results. The SEO reseller company you have chosen must be informed, perform adequate analysis, and then implement the changes into your SEO campaign.

However, your SEO campaign may not require making every change that occurs in the online marketing scenario. That’s why it is better to choose a local SEO reseller with an in-depth understanding of the online marketing environment and its changing system.

• Contemplating Multiple Companies

If you were looking for an in-house SEO expert for your concern, would you consider the first person to come to the interview? You would interview multiple persons before selecting one. Like that, you must consider more than one SEO company to determine which one of them is the best suited for your business. So, how are you going to do it?

• You could ask for case studies from the contenders for a local SEO reseller contract. An experienced and functional concern will provide authentic instances where their techniques have helped improve the sales of other companies. For professional SEO companies, you can find their achievements on their website. Compare them to find out the most fitting local SEO reseller for your company.
• It would be best if you asked whether a potential candidate can work with Schema.org indeed. It is an essential tool for local SEO. Your chosen company should work it from its configuration, analysis to implementing the results from it.
• SEO services now come in different types – international SEO, domestic SEO, and local SEO- are some of its classes. If the chosen company works solely on local SEO’s or has a dedicated team to handle the local SEO’s, it would be the best thing for your concern. They will understand the nuances of your services and effectively target the local customers in the area.
• Ask the companies after giving the required information about your company, products, and services about the local SEO model they are considering applying for your business. The most appropriate company would present more than one model of local SEO methods for your business.

Achieving The Ultimate Goal

 
Today’s business models suggest that lead conversion is more critical than website traffic, as the former will help in increasing the revenue of the business. This concept is best surmised by the quote of Dave Naylor, “My rule of thumb is to build a site for a user, not a spider.” You shouldn’t ignore your customers to make your website appease the algorithms of Google. Creating a website intuitive and responsive to the need of the customers will be beneficial in the long run. Therefore, you must make the local SEO choice after extensive research and discussion.