Search “best [your product or service] in [your city]” on Google and check the results. If your business isn’t the first website that pops up – or doesn’t appear on the first page – you’re losing valuable potential customers.
About 83% of local consumers use Google Search to find information about local businesses and 90% will make a purchase within one week of the initial search. In addition, “available near me” searches increased by 100% in 2021; “now near me” searches by 200% in 2021 and “along my route” searches by 1,000% in 2020. These figures underpin the importance of optimizing your website for local searches.
Local search engine optimization (SEO) analysis is the first step to success.
We’ll delve deeper into this topic, covering these points:
• What Is Local SEO Analysis?
• How To Perform Local SEO Analysis
• How To Outrank Local Search Competitors
What Is Local SEO Analysis?
According to a 2020 report from Moz, almost half of Google’s two trillion searches per year were local queries. It’s not surprising then that the majority of companies invest in optimizing websites for local searches. About 91% of large, multi-location businesses have a full-time SEO resource.
Dominating the local search results is tough given the fierce competition. Some even grow frustrated at their efforts wondering how long does local SEO take to yield results. To make your marketing campaigns impactful, you need to start looking at your competitors.
Studying their strategies carefully will help uncover what they’re doing right and where they can be better. These insights can help you replicate their strengths and gain a competitive advantage, addressing the gaps they missed.
Local SEO analysis involves examining different elements affecting a website’s visibility in local searches. These factors include:
• Google Business Profile (GBP) completeness
• NAP (name, address and phone number) accuracy
• Local content and keywords
• Positive customer reviews, among other things.
As you evaluate those elements, you should be able to answer the following:
• Which businesses are ranking at the top of local search results
• Why they’re ranking
• Where they’re concentrating their efforts
• Where you can outrank them
With these insights, you can improve your local SEO strategy, making your website more visible to local prospects and translating web traffic to foot traffic.
How To Perform Local SEO Analysis
An in-depth local SEO analysis involves identifying your competitors, evaluating their strategies and finding opportunities to outperform them. Let’s break down each of these steps:
Step 1: Determine Your Competitors on Local Searches
Surely, you already know the businesses that directly compete with your brand so you may be asking, why should I bother identifying them?
Note that the digital market is a totally different realm. Businesses compete not just on the quality of products and services but also on their online visibility. The truth is, you could have the best solutions, but if another brand is more prominent on searches than you, there’s a good chance they’ll attract your target customers.
In digital marketing, your local competitors are those ranking high in search results for queries related to your products and services within your target location. Identifying them is relatively easy. List your main products and services and type them in Google’s search bar along with your location.
For example, if you’re a beauty salon in Los Angeles, you may search “hair extensions los angeles” or “women’s perm los angeles.” See which businesses appear in Google’s top results.
Consider Google’s map pack, which displays the top three business listings in a box accompanied by a map and placed above the organic search results. Businesses featured in the map pack are your toughest competitors, as they appear prominently at the top of the page.
Step 2: Assess How Your Strategies Stack Up Against Competitors
After determining your competitors, assess their tactics for ranking high in local searches. Compare their local SEO strategy to your digital marketing performance, focusing on the following elements:
• Keyword Usage: Keywords drive search engine rankings and are crucial in attracting users specifically looking for products or services within a geographical location, so make sure to analyze competitors’ keywords. If you’re using Google Keyword Planner, change the location to your service area to determine the search volume for specific keywords in your location. Check the competitors’ content to verify their target keywords.
• Backlinks: Similarly, high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites increase search engine rankings. Your competitors may have been mentioned in trustworthy local news websites and blogs, which explains why they’re at the top of local search results. Get a comprehensive backlink audit by using platforms like Ahrefs and Semrush.
• Local Listings: See which online directories competitors are on by typing the competitor’s business name and keywords like “business listing” or “directory listing.” Alternatively, you may use software solutions like BrightLocal, which displays the directory sites citing your competitors, along with the numerical ratings for citation authority and value.
• GBP: See if the competitor’s profile has complete information, photos and videos. Evaluate the reviews and ratings, from the quantity and sentiment of feedback.
Step 3: Find Your Competitive Edge
Once you get an overview of your competitors’ local strategies, list how you can outdo their performance for each element mentioned above. For instance, on keyword usage, you may spot keywords that competitors aren’t ranking for but have a decent search volume. These keywords should be part of your content strategy. For backlinks and local listings, add the trusted, high-authority platforms your competitor tapped to your list of directory and backlink partners.
Your competitor’s Google Business Profile may have had additional categories that make them more relevant to users’ search queries. If you’re offering a wide range of products and services, adopting this strategy can help you be discoverable for each aspect of your business.
How To Outrank Local Search Competitors
With better insight into competitors’ efforts, you can strategically develop your plan to improve visibility to local prospects’ searches and effectively generate leads. These strategies should be part of your campaign:
Populate Content With Relevant, Long-Tail Keywords
Keywords should be part of your web copy, meta tags (title tags and meta descriptions), blog posts’ headers (H1 and H2) and business listings in third-party directories. If possible, aim to incorporate long-tail keywords, as these are more specific and typically have lower competition. Long-tail keyword users are more likely to convert easily because they have a clearer intent.
Optimize Your GMB Profile
GBP affects your search engine rankings, so make sure it’s complete and accurate and puts your business in a positive light. Optimize these elements:
• Basic Business Information: Provide key contact details, such as business name, address and phone number. Include your website URL and business hours. If you’re a multi-location franchise, each franchise location must have its own GBP reflecting its unique address and operating schedule.
• Business Description: Write a short yet compelling overview of what your business does. Potential customers should quickly understand your products, services, special offers and unique selling points.
• Relevant Categories: Select the categories that apply to your business. This allows Google to show your business to relevant search queries.
• High-quality Photos: Showcase your products and services, office or shop and team members in professional images. This enables prospects to see you as a legitimate business.
• Posts: Google Business Profile lets you add posts to your profile, such as updates, photos, offers and events. Restaurants can put their menu, while eCommerce brands can create a products section. Maximize this feature to provide more information and further entice customers.
• Reviews and Questions: Keep an eye on customer feedback and queries left on your profile. Thank customers who left positive reviews. Meanwhile, for negative feedback, empathize with the customer’s experience, apologize and offer a solution. Pay attention to questions as well. Ideally, you should answer them within a day or two. If possible, incorporate relevant keywords in your responses.
Ask Customers To Leave Reviews
In relation to the last point above, don’t just wait for reviews to come. Be more intentional in soliciting customer feedback, especially from happy customers.
In the eyes of Google, positive customer reviews mean that a business is a reputable, legitimate entity. For potential customers, excellent testimonials cultivate credibility. They’re more likely to trust your products and services when they see that previous customers were satisfied. Meanwhile, bad reviews aren’t necessarily bad – as long as they are addressed promptly and professionally.
Take advantage of online reputation management solutions that let you send automated text messages and emails asking for customer feedback. Look for platforms that notify you whenever there’s a new review, so you can immediately check the customer’s message and address accordingly.
Build and Manage Local Citations
Multiple brand mentions in local directories and websites signal to search engines that you’re a trusted resource in the local market. This will rank your site better on relevant local searches. In addition, citations generate direct traffic to your site as users browsing through these third-party platforms click on your link.
This is why your local SEO campaign should include generating and managing local citations. Ensure that key business information (name, address and phone number) is consistent across different platforms to reinforce legitimacy and trustworthiness.
Publish Local Content Regularly
Local content lets you naturally insert relevant keywords and offer valuable information that resonates with your target local community. As you develop your editorial calendar, prioritize these types of local content:
• Local Guides: Create listicles of things to do and places to be in your vicinity.
• Local News: Share the latest updates in your community and how it affects customers or the business.
• Customer Testimonials: Put a spotlight on previous local customers’ experiences.
• Community Involvement: Talk about your partnerships with local businesses or charities.
Pitch these pieces of content to local third-party platforms to earn more backlinks and increase referral traffic.
Get Tangible Local SEO Results By Partnering With Thrive
Local SEO analysis lets you examine your efforts while evaluating competitors’ strategies, putting you in a better position to launch an effective campaign that outperforms top players in the market.
That said, local SEO is a long-term strategy. How long does local SEO take for tangible results to be seen? It can take six months to a year but could be longer if the efforts aren’t consistent.
What’s more, increasing visibility on local searches encompasses various marketing disciplines, from keyword research and link building to content creation and reputation management. Without a comprehensive local SEO plan, you risk losing visibility and valuable customers to aggressive competitors.
This is where Thrive Internet Marketing Agency comes in.
Our results-driven, full-service marketing agency offers various local SEO solutions proven to improve online local presence and increase local prospects. We are a strong team of SEO specialists, content writers and link building experts equipped to launch a holistic, consistent campaign. Before implementing strategies, we run a comprehensive SEO audit to determine which aspects of web performance we can improve.
Contact us today to know more.
