Local SEO is important. It has been for many years and will be for many more. If your business focuses on a local area, tapping into this can be the difference between the success and failure of your website.

However, it is essential to remember that achieving high ranking local search results requires the implementation of specific SEO strategies.

Changes in Google’s ranking algorithms are frequent and the past few months have seen the following

• Reduction in number of page 1 maps rankings available
• The increased importance of reputation management
• GMB dashboard updates
• Increased need for a citation profile

This all pulls together to ensure that effective local SEO requires a varied approach and should be left to the professionals!

Local Search Is Harder Than Before

With fewer slots up for grabs in the first page Google Maps listings, it used to be fairly simple to achieve a first-page ranking. However, as these numbers were reduced, finding additional ways to optimise both your website and your Google Maps listing has become harder and more important than ever before.

It was not too long ago that simply claiming and optimising your businesses ‘Google My Business’ listing would likely be enough to obtain a high ranking but with the drop from seven slots to three slots, local businesses are facing much stiffer competition.

Your Location Is Still Hugely Important

Google knows precisely where the person making an online search is based at the moment they make their search. It is this location that impacts the specific results that show up in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

Google is now beginning to take this further by narrowing down the radius of the displayed results to ensure that locally-based businesses (and therefore more relevant businesses) obtain higher rankings.

This is good news for businesses that are located away from the centre of a town/city as this is helping to level the playing field with businesses who have a prime location.

Your Reputation Is Still Crucial

This is not exactly a newsflash! There can be no doubt whatsoever that businesses have been trading off their reputations for many years. The consumers’ addition of reviews to your website, your Google Maps listing, your Social Media accounts and your directory listings can play a critical role in helping to shine a light on the level of service that your customers can expect to receive.

Please Note – Not only do these reviews play a pivotal role in the way your business is viewed, but they are also a key signal to Google whether your business is trustworthy – or not.

Contact Us

If you would like to put your website in the hands of a company who will take it forward, please contact Footprint Web Design on Tel. No. 01883 372488 today.

Currently Browsing: What Are The Key Factors Shaping Local SEO?

If you have paid any attention to our blog over the past few years, you will know how strongly we feel about the importance of local SEO.

For the uninitiated, local SEO is a tailored solution designed to achieve maximised visibility in search results in key local areas. For businesses providing any type of service (electrician, plumber, gardener, driving school etc), we don’t believe that we are going overboard by saying that this strategy can take your business to another level or leave it lagging behind if you choose not to implement it.

Which Areas Does A Local SEO Campaign Target?

Covering a wide variety of areas which must be targeted, a typical local SEO campaign will include amongst others:

• The creation of an optimised GMB listing
• Mobile friendly/first website
• Geo-focused content
• Online reputation management
• Citations and NAP consistency
• Social media campaigns
• Local link building
• Google LSAs (Local Services Ads) (possibly)

By placing an emphasis on the most beneficial areas of SEO, our local SEO marketing techniques can often take less time to produce effective results, therefore quickly helping to increase the levels of traffic to your website.

Footprint Web Design’s expertise in all aspects of SEO offers the chance to receive a swift and effective ROI.

• Top of the Google’s Listings with Footprint Web Design Local SEO –Footprint Web Design and our team of SEO experts possess all of the skills needed to get your business to the top of Google’s natural listings and to appear on Google Maps & Places. These are vital if you want people locally to easily find your small business.
• Achieving Fast Results –Google’s PPC (Pay Per Click) platform, Adwords, offers the most effective method of quickly attracting business on the internet. We will get your PPC Marketing up and running for you and have customers finding your business and services in the shortest possible period of time.
• Social Media Interactions With Customers –Social Media for business is the fastest growing method of opening lines of communication between a small business and its customers. By allowing you to offer updates, receive feedback and get in on what your customers want – all a very low cost – social media platforms are quickly becoming one of the primary advertising methods for businesses throughout the UK.

Further Information

If you’d like to speak to us regarding any of our services, including our online marketing services, please give us a call on 01883 372488 or contact us via Facebook and we’ll be happy to talk you through your options.

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