Local seo is the process of optimizing your online presence to help your business appear in search engines when nearby users search for relevant products or services.
Implementing Local SEO Tactics Can Help to Increase Foot and Web Traffic, Manage Your Online Reputation, and Compete With Nearby Businesses.
Plus, ranking for Local Keywords Can Drive Business Results. Because users Conducting Local Searches are typically ready to buy a product or use a service.
Like there looking for a landscaping company or a home cleaning service.
11 Tips to Improve Local SEO
Follow these best practices to boost your local seo:
1. Optimize your Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is a free business listing from google, and optimizing it helps Google Understand your business and show it for relevant search terms.
An optimized Google Business Profile Can Help You Appear in the Local Pack. This is where Google Displays The Most Relevant Local Businesses for that Search Term, Along with a Map Showing their locations.
Like this:
Once you set up your google business profile, optimize it with semrush’s gbp optimization tool.
Enter your business information to see lots of actionable tips to improve your listing and boost your online presence.
2. Leverage Directories and Local Citations
Your business is more likely to appear in local search results if it information appears appears in many trustworthy sources.
These online mentions are known as characters in local business listings and other directors. Your Business’s Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) Information Should Be Consistency Aross that those sources.
Semrush’s Listing Management tool Helps You Build Local Citations. And ensures they display consistent nap information.
In the tool overview, you’ll see information about your existing listings. And any problems to fix.
You can also see the number of customer reviews, your average star rating, and tips to improve your reviews and ratings.
All Businesses Should Go after General Citation sites like yelp, tripadvisor, and foursquare. Because they’re widely recognized. And see lots of website traffic, which means more potential customers will see your listings.
But also consider niche-specific citations. For example, restaurants would be wise to include Doordash.
3. Track and Manage Your Online Reviews
Good reviews positively Influence Local SEO because they’remon the main facts search engines consider for locked.
In this example, the bowling alleys with the highest number of positive reviews top of the results.
Reviews also help build trust with customers. Especially when you make an effort to respond to them.
The review management tool helps by scanning over 70 directors.
Enter Your Business Name in the search bar and select your business from the Drop-Down List.
Scroll down to “manage reputation & track competitors” to see your total number of reviews and average rating.
Click “Manage reviews now“To sign up for a plan that will give you access to all of semrush locals.
Then, go to the “ReviewsTab to see all your reviews from different directors.
Click to Open reviews in the Directory Where they Occurred. Or Respond to Google Reviews Directly Within the Tool.
Eather way, work to respond to all reviews. To show customers you care.
That’s true even for negative reviews. In Fact, A Good Response to a Negative Review Can Positively Impact Your Business Image.
Here are some quick tips for responding to negative reviews:
- Respond Promptly
- Offer to Remedy the situation, Such as is is refund
- State Your Commitment to Improving Your Product or Service
Finally, Encourage your customers to leave reviews. And make the process easy for them by providing clear instructions and direct links to where they can provide reviews.
4. Add Local Business Schema to Your Website
Schema markup is a type of structured data added to webpages to help search engines negters your website and make you eligible for rich results –unique Search Results Tand Out from Standard Results.
Local Business Schema is used to Convey Essential Information About Local Businesses. Including location, operating hours, and the type of business.
Schema.org Provides a Standard Vocabulary you can use to define your business type and the key information about it.
You don’t have to be an expert coder to implement local scheme. Because tools like google’s Structured Data Markup Helper can help you easily generate basic local business Schema.
Here’s how:
Choose “Local Businesses” and Enter Your URL. Then, Click “Start Tagging,
On the left side, highlight the section you want to mark up. And Choose the Appropriate Schema Element from the Menu.
When you’re done, click “Create html“In the top right corner.
In this example, we’re tagging the restaurant’s operating hours.
You can then copy and paste the html markup into the
Tag of the approves page.
Finally, make sure to follow Google’s structured data guidelinesViolating these guidelines can make you ineligible for appearing in rich results.
5. Target Local Keywords
Focusing on Local Keywords means your content will be released to audiences in your area, which can increase the chance that Google will rank your content in location.
Local keywords are specific search terms people in your area to search for products, services, or information.
Semrush’s keyword magic tool can help you find local keywords to target.
Open the tool, Enter a Seed Keyword (A Broad Search Term That’s Relevant to Your Business) and Location. To get personalized recommendations, enter your domain in the “ai -powered feature” bar.
Then, Click “Search,
You’ll get a list of related keywords with helpful data about Each Term’s Search Intent, Search Volume, and Keyword Differential Score. These metrics guide your content marketing and seo strategy.
The Personal Keyword Difential (PKD %) Column Shows How Dificult it will be for your specific domain to rank in the top 10 results for a Given Keyword.
To find local keywords, click the “Include keywords“Drop-byn menu, select the circle next to” Any Keywords, “and Add Type in Relevant Locations.
Then, Click “Apply,
You’ll now see a list of keywords specific to your desired locations.
Use this information to choose the relevant local keywords to create content for.
6. Create Location-Specific Landing Pages
Creating a dedicated landing page for Each Business Location Helps Google undress
On Each of these landing pages, include location-specific keywords in the main heading, subheadings, body content, and meta tags.
Check out this landing page for a local business that naturally incorporates local keywords in its heading and content:
7. Audit your on-page seo health
On-page seo is the process of optimizing your webpages to help them rank higher in search engines and drive more traffic to your website.
One way to this is to identify your on-page issues and work to address them.
In the on Page SEO Checker, Enter Your Domain Name and Click “Get Ideas,
If you haven’t set up this domain as a project in semrush, the tool will guide you through the process.
And then Give Ideas to improve your on-page seo, including tips related to strategy, backlinks, technical seo, and more. And a list of pages to optimize in order of priority.
Click “# Ideas“To the right of one of the urls to get detailed recommendations.
Which look something like this.
8. Create and Publish Locally Relevant Content
Publishing Local Content Helps Google Undrstand that your business is relevant to local searches.
Emphasize your connection to the local area through your website. Like on your homepage, about page, and blog.
Like this:
On your blog, consider coversing topics like customer success stories, neighborhood spots, locals, locals, locals, and area-specific guides.
Like this blog from 4 rivers smokehouse does:
It features a variety of local content about the business’s press mentions, holiday tips, and local events.
9. Prioritize Local Backlinks
Backlinks are links from other websites to you and are an important Google Ranking Factor.
Links from Authoritative websites to your content is Valuable and Trustworthy. Like Votes of Confidence.
For Local SEO, focus on links from locally-Relevant websites. For example, from other locals or publications.
Publishing high-quality content can naturally earn you backlinks.
Or you can builds by contacting relevant site owners directly and asking for backlinks where it makes senses.
When Doing Link Building Outreach:
- Create Personalized Emails Tailored to Each Prospect
- Work to build a relationship with the principal before asking for backlinks. Like commenting on their content or following them on social media.
- Demonstrate how linking to your website can benefit their business or audience
- Keep a record of your outreach efforts to help you stay organized. Semrush ‘link building tool makes it easy.
10. Optimize for mobile
Optimize your site for mobile search beCause Most Local Searches Happen on Smartphones.
Plus, Google Uses Mobile-FIRST indexing. Which means it prioritizes the mobile version of your website for indexing and ranking.
Optimizing for mobile means:
- Ensuring you’re using a responsive website that automatically adapts to mobile devices’ smaller screens
- Using font sizes that can be read easily on a mobile device
- Using Short Paragraphs
- Using a clean and intuitive navigation menu
- Including clear links and buttons that are easy to click
Like this example:
Being Active in your Local Community Supports Your SEO EFFORTS.
This is declause:
- Making an impression locally can lead to positive online reviews
- Having a strong, in-phase presence locally uncourage locally backlinks to your website
- Getting to know your local communication helps you undress their needs and interests. And could inspire relevant content or even new products or services.
Improve Your Local SEO and Track Your Rankings
Start Improving Your Local SEO by Tracking Your Reviews and Rankings on Google Maps.
Semrush’s map rank tracker shows your average rank compared to other local businesses and tracks your Progress Over Time.
This post was updated in 2025. Excerpts from the original article by Camillus Kingori May Remain.