Learning Local SEO and Local Search Optimization

Learn how to rank prominently in Google, Yahoo, and Bing Local as well as other major Local search engines

By Dev Basu, President, Powered by Search Inc

In summer 2009, TMP Directional Marketing and comScore found that and 46% of local online searchers contacted a business by telephone after Web research, and 37% visited in person.

For a service based or retail business, traffic to local search results now account for as much as 30% of the total number of searches being conducted on a monthly basis. This makes it imperative for a business to be ranked prominently within the local maps search listings on the 3 major search engines (Google, Yahoo, Bing).

Local SEO consists of 8 major steps which are as follows:

Market Research
Keyword Focus and Use of Local Modifiers
Optimizing Your Website for Local SEO
Creating or Claiming Existing Local Business Listings
Optimizing Local Business Profile Listings
Building Citations and Links to Enhance Listing Rankings
Encouraging Customer Testimonials and Reviews
Staying Up to Date with Changes in Local SEO

Action Steps

Instructions, Comprehensive Guides, Tools and Resources to Optimize Your Listings

Market Research

What are your competitors ranking for?
Try: It's important to know how much competition you have in your market and knowing what your keywords your competitors are optimizing for will give you a good idea of what keywords to focus on for your own local search optimization efforts.

Search the main type of product or service you offer + the city or town your business serves in each of the major search engines. For example, you may search for ‘kitchen cabinets toronto’ or ‘personal injury lawyer chicago’

Record competitors that show up in the local business map results for each of the search engines. With regard to Google.com or the relevant Google.TLD for your own country, click the ‘more’ or ‘reviews’ button within the 7-pack of local search results and record the specific categories your competitors are using for their own listings. These will be important for you to keep at hand when you optimize your own listing.

Keyword Focus and Use of Local Modifiers

Understand how people search for local products and services.
Try: Using the Google Adwords Keyword Tool is a good start to understanding which keywords drive the highest traffic. Start by choosing your own Country and Language, and then type a few of the relevant keywords related to your business product or services followed by the city or cities you serve.

Example:

Personal injury attorney toronto
Personal injury lawyer toronto
Brain injury lawyer toronto
Slip and fall lawyer toronto

You will want to extract the results of your keyword research into a CSV file that can be opened in Microsoft Excel or an equivalent application as you will be using the keywords with the highest search volumes and advertiser competition as your ‘target keywords’.

Optimizing Your Website for Local SEO

On Page SEO with a Focus on Local Modifiers
Try: My guide to Local Business Landing Page Design will teach you how to optimize your website for Local SEO.

Key Actions Required

Localize your website’s title tags, header tags, and meta descriptions to include your service areas. Keep in mind that different areas may spell products or services differently. You should also include local slang or colloquialisms. Use the hCard generator to code your address in the hCard microformat recognized by the search engines. Place your Name, Address, and Phone Number information on each and every page of your site in the side bar or in the footer.

Creating or Claiming Existing Local Business Listings

How to get control of your local business listings on the major search engines.
Try: You can create your business listing using the following links at the Google Local Business Center, and also for Bing, and Yahoo. When creating your listing, use your DBA as the title for your business, followed by accurate information for your local address and local phone number. It is important that you fill out this information as accurately as possible to let the search engines know how to find 3^rd party business data from other sites and associate it with your business profile. Ensure that you complete your profile as comprehensively as possible, by including the following:

A keyword rich business description
Extraneous business information such as Hours of operation, Payments accepted, Services offered, Certifications, Awards, Parking Availability
The maximum number of business centric images and videos allowed.

When you are ready to verify your information, you will be either contacted via phone with a secret pin code to verify your identity, or a post card will be mailed to your business location. Once you have verified your information, you now control your local business listing.

Optimizing Local Business Profile Listings

What to pay attention to when populating and optimizing your listing information.
Try: Learn more about the Local Search Ranking Factors and use the Google maps category tool to choose the right categories for your business. You should also read the listing guidelines provided by the search engine to ensure you don’t over-optimize your listing. Use the category finder tool to choose 1 suggested category and up to 4 custom categories related to your business.
*Tip*: Use the same categories as the top ranking competitor business profile. Ensure your descriptions and extra business information fields are keyword rich but not spammy in anyway.

Lastly, if you find that you have not completed your business profile to 100% then use this pie chart to fill in the missing pieces.

Building Citations and Links to Enhance Listing Rankings

Create credible references with your business information from 3rd party data providers in order to get higher rankings.
Try: Visit my Canadian Guide to Local SEO Citations . For US based businesses, please submit to:

InfoUSA – Submit your business to InfoUSA
Superpages.com –Submit your business to Superpages
Localeze – Submit your business to Localeze
Yelp – Sign up as a business owner then add your business
InsiderPages – Submit your business to InsiderPages
Judy's Book - Submit your business to Judy's Book
Merchant Circle - Submit your business to Merchant Circle
City Search - Submit your business to City Search

Also refer to Powered by Search's 20 Best Local SEO Citation Sources for a detailed list of other citation sources.

Encouraging Customer Testimonials and Reviews

Get reviews to increase rankings and the credibility of your business.
Try:

Ask your customers to review your business after they've had the pleasure of using your services.
Build a review page on your website with links to review portals for Google, Yahoo, and Bing, as well as social search engines and IYP sites such as Yelp, Insider Pages, and industry specific review sites.
Monitor your reviews for positive and negative sentiment. Tackle negative reviews by contacting the customer and 'making it right'.
Once you pass 5 stars in Google maps reviews, you will be awarded a boost in your rankings.

Staying Up to Date with Changes in Local SEO

How to learn more about Local SEO and keep up to date.
Try:

Read Local SEO blogs
Attend Local Search Conferences such as the Local Search Summit, and SMX Local
Hire a Trusted Local SEO Provider as a consultant or campaign manager.