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Local SEO

The local SEO landscape is complex, and corporate companies have special problems.

Please find out the top five obstacles and how to overcome them for enhanced corporate local SEO.

Knowing how to execute "national" SEO, Google Business Profile, and then understanding how Google treats your key search queries in different areas may make local SEO difficult for corporate companies.

That's why corporate search marketers need help with local SEO. What are the most typical obstacles to local SEO if you're a business? Let's find out.

1. Knowing When To Prioritize Local vs. National SEO

Businesses often struggle with determining whether to use a "local" SEO strategy against a "national" one and when to do so.

This is reasonable because it is sometimes obvious which option best suits your needs.

Knowing whether or not the most popular keywords you're aiming for have a local context might take a lot of work.

However, it is crucial to the overall strategy's success since it will greatly affect the degree to which your activities contribute to achieving your business's objectives.

If you know which phrases Google classifies as local, you can better target your keyword research and decide how to use your SEO budget best.

Lack of attention to detail in site layout or keyword selection may drop visitors.

Analyzing the Meaning of Local Searches
So, what, precisely, do we mean when we talk about "local search intent"?

Knowing the user's purpose before searching might help you determine how to optimize your website's content.

For the sake of this study, we will primarily be focusing on four distinct categories of search intent:

1. Search queries with national intent.
2. Search queries with semi-national.
3. Search queries with local intent.
4. Search queries with hyper-local intent.

Features on the search engine results pages (SERPs) might help you determine the purpose behind your target searches.
Semrush vs. That Other SEO Tool

We placed Semrush and another SEO tool head-to-head. Semrush won this round. Incorporate additional context, keywords, and links.

Who did Semrush end up losing to?
None of the state or city results or a map pack appear in the SERPs for queries with a broad focus (example).

There are no "local" results in this SERP, suggesting that Google interprets these searches as having no local intent.

If a significant fraction of users were to modify their searches to include geographic terms, such as "Pleasanton newspaper story," the search engine results pages (SERPs) would likely change to include some local results.

SERPs for queries with semi-national search intent do not include state/city-specific sites but display a map pack (example).

A map pack may be shown in cases where there is a somewhat even split between local and national clicks, such as with [bank]-related inquiries.

Possible reasons for this include users' interest in finding a local branch and users' interest in accessing the bank's main homepage.

The search engine results pages (SERPs) for queries with a local search intent include a map pack and partial to complete state/city-specific pages (example).

When you search Google for something like "plumber," you'll get a map pack of local plumbers right at the top of page one, and the rest of the results will be for other places you may need a plumber.

Google thinks the user wants to locate a plumber close by.

Questions That Target a Specific Area Very Specifically

For hyper-local terms, the searcher's physical location is crucial and significantly influences search engine results page rankings (example).

When searching with hyper-local intent, proximity to the service provider is paramount.

The map pack takes up most of the search engine results page (SERP) for this search. Consequently, Google considers providing hyper-local results essential for [Auto insurance near me].

How To Identify Search Intent

1. Analyze current SERP outcomes across different geos.
2. Examine the SERP for a map element.
3. Check for state or city-specific pages.
4. Review the titles and URLs.
5. Analyze consistency and make a single-minded determination.

How to Tailor Your Approach to Various Search Goals

Plans on a National Scale
Strategies with a broad national scope will need much information and credibility.

If you find that most of your targeted traffic comes from users outside the area, then you should focus your SEO efforts on your primary domain.

The creation of backlinks is how you will go up in the rankings.

Create online profiles and directories.

There is no shortage of online directories and listing services.
These portals compile online directories of firms catering to a certain market, geographic area, or product type.
These sites are useful for reaching out to neighboring clients since they provide easy access to essential details like an address and hours of operation.

You should take the same care in filling up these profiles as you would with your Google Business Profile.
Don't forget to provide contact information like your name and address.
Bing Locations, Yelp, Whitepages, and Foursquare are just few of the many popular listing sites that you should consider signing up for.

Make use of feedback from customers.

Did you know that 49% of local consumers read online reviews as seriously as they would rely on a friend's referral?
In light of this, it's clear to understand how internet reviews play a role in effective local SEO.

You want to provide the greatest possible image as local SEO strategies boost your rankings in search engines and on maps.
You don't want to have the worst possible first impression if you happen to be at the top of the search engine results, do you?
Seventy-five percent of users say they have a more favorable impression of a company after reading reviews that praise the quality of service they received.

Keep in mind that you are not limited to just Google reviews.
Several companies actively seek customer feedback on social media and review sites like Yelp and Facebook.
There might, however, be other specialty portals where your company can flourish.
You could solicit reviews from patrons on niche or industry-specific platforms.
If you own a hotel or restaurant, for instance, you may recommend that consumers check out TripAdvisor.
You may also try The Knot for reviews if your company deals with weddings.
Determine which review platforms are most useful for your company by doing the necessary research.

These review sites not only increase your internet visibility, but they also also have inbound connections to your own domain.
You may achieve your local SEO objectives, such as increased website traffic and a higher perceived online authority, with the support of these backlinks.

Begin a local SEO campaign.

With an appreciation for local SEO's value to your company's growth, you can go forward with strategy development and implementation.
Start with our advice, and keep an eye on how well you're doing in local search results.

Are you familiar with developing a local SEO strategy?
How did you approach this problem?
Leave a comment below to share your thoughts with others.

Semi-Local Tactics
Focusing on semi-local keywords will take up most of your time as you add another focal point to your primary site's content and authority.

You need to improve your Google Business Profile listings for semi-local keywords so that they show up in the map pack.

In the Neighborhood: A Global Strategy
If you find out that Google sees your keyword as local, the structure of your site will become much more crucial.

An index of state or city sites is a way to attract more visitors and enhance search traffic.

A policy with a Focus on the Details at the Neighborhood Level
To rank higher for near-me keywords with dedicated location sites, it's best to compile a list of state and city-level pages as your priority.

The layers may not appear exactly like this, depending on the orientation you're viewing them from, but they should be somewhat similar:

• Web page indexing locations.
• We have the official state page.
• Pages devoted to the
• city and the location.

2. Having A Single Source Of Truth For Location Data

Because of local listings management firms like Yext and Uberall.
However, multi-location firms often lack "one source of truth" for their many locations' data.
In case it still needs to be done, do this immediately.

3. Optimizing Store Locators

Many companies use independent firms to manage their shop finders. In principle, we see no problems here.

However, there are a couple of ways things may go wrong:
A Store Finder That Doesn't Do More Than a Search
Store locators that do well in search engine optimization should consist of a simple, connected collection of state, city, and location sites that a bot or user can quickly navigate.

However, many manufacturers create a shop locator website with a search box to help you discover a store near you.

A few years ago, we analyzed the locators of the top one hundred US shops and discovered that those with search-only locators scored for around fifty percent fewer keywords than those with a linkable state > city > location architecture.
Make sure your locator infrastructure follows these guidelines.

Location Content Page

It's uncommon for companies to spend resources on developing a locator yet allocate none for the actual content of their website.

There is no harm in having a simple "about us" page that lists the company's name, address, phone number, product/service categories, etc.

However, SEO performance may be improved by creating a location page with unique, expanded content relevant to the place and themes you seek to rank for.

Your location managers can be quite helpful in such situations. Successful businesses often conduct surveys of their location managers to get original local content.

Popular items in the market, evaluations from local customers, and data about points of interest that have been syndicated might be other useful resources.

Classes of Importance

Search engine results pages (SERPs) increasingly prioritize local results for e-commerce-related inquiries.
Companies that do well in Local Packs have strong links between their location pages and their most important product categories.
You might think of it as telling Google that these specific areas are important to your business.

4. Google Business Profile Management And Optimization

 

Even though establishing a Google Business Profile (GBP) shouldn't be difficult for companies, there are a million ways in which it might go wrong.

For example, below are some of the difficulties and prospects associated with GBP.
Avoid Putting Up Multiple Ads
I recently spoke with a service sector firm struggling to rank; amazingly, duplicate listings are still a concern with GBP. They had duplicate GBP listings, which was quite obvious.

Instantaneously after removing the duplicates, they saw a 15-position increase in search engine ranks for their primary keyword. So, watch out for them.
Keep an eye on your UK listings.

If buyers want to pay in GBP, they'll find that your ads are always changing. Photos and user feedback are being uploaded.

If Google decides that it can get more reliable information from another source, it will prioritize that information and delete yours.

There is no such thing as a "set it and forget it" with GBP. Develop a method to track how often your GBP pages are updated.

The GBP Dashboard will show you a lot of the action, but it will only be able to keep up with some little tweaks.

That's why we developed this open-source, free app to keep an eye on how your GBP looks over time.

GBP Post Scale

You may add brief messages to your GBP called "Posts." These strategies may be a low-cost strategy to increase the number of qualified visitors to your site.

Submissions may be either written or visual.
The challenge most companies have is that they need to be geared up to create content for each of their global locations.

To facilitate GBP Posts across various locations, it is necessary to provide a method for generating promotional materials suitable for GBP Posting.

As part of any new campaign, it is customary to produce a GBP-sized (400 x 300) version of all authorized marketing pictures and material.

Local SEO

You should also include tracking settings for any links contained in your GBP postings so that their success may be evaluated.

5. Building A Local Search Presence For SABs And Marketplaces

However, this is only true of some locally-focused business names.
Local marketplace brands like Yelp, DoorDash, and Zillow, and SABs like plumbers and roofers, who focus on local search inquiries but need to be qualified to appear in Local Packs, are many.

This is because they need brick-and-mortar stores in their primary customer base.

Because of this, they need to catch up on many clicks and money.
Creating a "shop inside a store" at the site of a partner brand is a fantastic approach to increase local pack exposure; however, this strategy is not appropriate for all brands.

A prime illustration of this is the FedEx OnSite service available at certain Walgreens pharmacies.

If the leads are valuable enough, you may build up stores in certain places to improve your Local Pack rankings.

As I indicated, national and global firms may use an almost endless supply of local SEO strategies.

Like any other advertising medium, it is important to test, assess, and refine new strategies as they are implemented.

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