Today, most businesses are highly dependent on content and need content that can attract users. In addition to the work done on a website, there are techniques that will get you results faster and double the impact of your efforts. SEO can be a shortcut for this and in this article, in addition to introducing SEO, we discuss what local SEO is and how it can be used.
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What is SEO?
Before we know what local SEO is, it is better to have a definition of SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and is a set of techniques for search engine optimization. These techniques, with the help of tools such as keyword search tools, direct the user to your site and improve your site’s ranking in the Google search process. Many factors affect SEO and there are also many sub-branches in this field, mastering all of them requires enough time. In this article, we examine one of the sub-branches of SEO called Local SEO.
What is local SEO?
Local search happens when you search for services in your current area on Google. Maybe it happened to all of us to search for a service or a product on Google and Google also shows us many stores and institutions that are near us and easy to access. Why does Google show us stores that are close to our location instead of showing all related stores?
Local SEO is sometimes known as local search engine marketing. It is a way to attract users and provide services to customers who are geographically close to your business location. Such a possibility reduces the gap between supply and demand and helps you get your product to the customer sooner than other competitors.
In fact, in this way, you somehow inform the crawling robots of Google, which are responsible for visiting and displaying sites, in which area your business is located and to what extent it can serve.
What is the importance of local SEO?
The importance of this issue is clear when according to statistics, about 50% of those who do a local search, make a purchase within one or two days. Therefore, if you use the name of the area you are in in things like keywords of your site, you will probably be shown more times in the search results of users. For example, if you search for “educational institution in Toronto” instead of “educational institution”, Google will reject all results from the geographic filter and only display institutions in Toronto.
Of course, if you also search for the phrase “educational institute near me”, Google will intelligently show the nearby institutes by accessing your current location. Now, if you have emphasized on the Toronto area in the principles of SEO for your site, the chances of showing your site to the audience will increase. If you intend to focus on a specific geographic area in your business, local SEO is very important for you. This technique will help you to attract the attention of customers close to you and take over the regional market.
What is GMB in Local SEO?
Google My Business means showing a business profile on Google. In this profile, the description of activities, location information and contact with the business, pictures of the location and location map of the company in Google, working hours, service categories, etc. are shown. This technique is known as one of the citation factors and increases the click rate and visibility of your site and is one of the measures to improve the site’s local SEO. Usually, information related to the Google Map service is also shown in this section.
What is Citation in Local SEO?
A citation is a directory of your business information such as name, address and phone number (NAP) to be made available to the public and other similar businesses. You can search for a directory related to your business in Google and enter your name among them.
What are the principles of local SEO?
Specify the area
It is better to enter the name of the region, city and even the country on your site. If you own several locations for your company, it is better to consider separate content for each one and mention your location.
Importance of Citation
Make sure your site’s information is in the directory for your type of work category. Your name, address, contact information, website link, and anything else that helps identify you will improve your local SEO.
GMB improvement
Updating your GMB profile will make you more prominent in the use of some Google services such as Google Maps and more visible in search results.
Improve backlinks
All valid backlinks can improve your site’s SEO and give your business more credibility.