Local search engine optimization (SEO) allows your website to rank higher and be more visible in local search results. This strategy is especially important for small and local businesses, allowing them to reach more targeted audiences and support business growth by increasing leads and sales. If you’d like to leverage the benefits of this tactic as well, here are some local SEO trends that will shape 2023, which you can implement in your strategy to ensure success:
Google My Business (GMB) has long been a key driver of local SEO, and its relevance will continue well into 2023 as well. By appearing on the right-hand side of local search results, GMB listings can significantly increase a company’s exposure and visibility. Thus, attracting more customers and increasing sales. To leverage this influential factor, create a GMB profile for your own business and make sure it’s complete. This means categorizing and describing your business, including important information such as addresses and phone numbers, listing your products and services, uploading relevant images, and more.
While GMB might be the most influential, there are a number of other online directories consumers frequently use to find local businesses. These include more established platforms such as Foursquare and Yelp, as well as smaller industry-focused and location-based directories. All of these websites can be beneficial for boosting search engine rankings, building trust among consumers, and even getting high-quality backlinks. Make sure your business is listed in any directory relevant to your location and industry as well. This simple strategy will allow you to drive new qualified leads and support your overall SEO efforts.
Many SEO strategies focus on non-localized content today, but that will likely change in the following years. Engaging a wider audience and driving website traffic are both important ranking factors. However, they’re not necessarily effective at boosting the success of local businesses. That is why localized content is slowly taking priority. Local website content maximizes SEO and other marketing efforts. Thus, producing higher-quality leads and boosting sales. Consider this tactic as well. For example, you can create site content that describes local news, industry-related events, or even your own products and services. Location-based keywords will be important here, too.
Keywords are crucial to all SEO strategies, including local ones. Your on-site content will have to contain the right keywords in order to rise in rankings and attract new visitors. Apart from location-based keywords, you should also focus on the words and phrases your target audience frequently uses to find local businesses and offerings similar to yours. However, you should make sure the keywords you choose aren’t too competitive to rank for either. To simplify this process, Australian brands often hire an agency specializing in digital marketing from Sydney. With extensive optimization knowledge and experience, these professionals can enhance all SEO campaigns and ensure success.
On the other hand, US companies are quite mindful of location implementation when optimizing their websites. Instead of listing their physical location only on the ‘Contact’ page, local businesses will also strategically place their location information across their websites in an effort to enhance their SEO efforts. Think about doing the same when developing a strategy for 2023. Make sure that your business location is incorporated in key places. Consider, headings, title tags, meta descriptions, body copy, and footers. This can go a long way toward boosting your local rankings.
With daily mobile use rising across the globe, an increasing number of business and product searches are performed on mobile devices as well. For that reason, a higher number of brands are attempting to make their websites more mobile-friendly. This improves the overall user experience. However, it seems like mobile optimization is important to SEO as well. In fact, it represents another ranking factor that’s relevant to Google algorithms. To ensure prospective customers can easily find your business via mobile devices, prioritize this type of optimization. Increase loading speeds, make content scalable, make links and buttons clickable, leverage responsive design, etc.
The value of genuine customer reviews is increasing among audiences, too. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since customers tend to trust the personal experiences of other clients more than the promises made by brands. Take advantage of this fact to boost your SEO strategy. By getting more positive reviews, you can improve your word-of-mouth marketing efforts, increase leads and sales, and improve your overall rankings. Encourage every satisfied customer to leave a review on your website, GMB, or another platform. Consider incentivizing them with special offers and discounts.
Local SEO trends are key to growing your business in 2023. Leverage the trends and tips above to improve your local strategy and find new opportunities for success.
