For businesses trying to reach more nearby customers, optimizing your website and online presence specifically for local SEO is critical.
Implementing location-based optimizations can help your website attract more foot traffic, increase local brand visibility, and boost conversions from local searchers.
This comprehensive guide covers key tips and strategies to adapt your website for local search and deliver the best experience to nearby prospects searching for your products or services.
Why Local Site Optimization Matters
Optimizing for local SEO provides advantages like:
- Increased visibility in map packs – Appear prominently when people search for local businesses.
- Higher local rankings – Rank better for searches including city, neighborhood and zip code keywords.
- Stronger local relevance – Signals to search engines your business serves a specific area.
- Connects your physical location – Drive visits, calls, directions and check-ins to brick-and-mortar location.
- Build authority in region – Establish your brand as a recognized local leader that customers can trust.
- Adapts to mobile – Caters to the 70%+ of local searches happening on smartphones.
- Boosts conversions – People searching for options nearby convert at a higher rate when intent is clear.
Optimizing specifically around targeting and fulfilling local searcher intent is hugely impactful. Here are tips for adapting your website to focus locally.
Offer Location-Specific Content
Create dedicated landing pages and blog posts optimized for geographic intent:
- Location homepages like “seo-company-miami” or “steakhouse-chicago”
- Neighborhood pages like “car-detailing-in-south-miami”
- Category + city pages like “divorce-lawyers-in-houston”
- Comparison pages like “best-gyms-in-dallas”
This geo-targeted content shows search engines you cater to specific regions and improves local findability.
Localize All Website Copy
Subtly adapt website copy to include location mentions where relevant:
- List your city, state and zip code in bios, descriptions and text content.
- Mention serving the broader metro area/region.
- Reference local landmarks, sports teams, events, etc.
- Embed location info in schema, image titles, alt text, etc.
Including natural location references reinforces the geographic area you serve.
Feature Location Prominently
Make your location extremely visible throughout the site:
- List full address, zip code and region in contact info, bios, footer.
- Show map of location on Contact page.
- Link to directions from Contact page.
- Provide click-to-call phone links.
- Display hours open with easy access to real-time data.
- Feature geo-tagged images of premises on About Us, Services etc.
Prominence signals close relevance to local customers searching.
Target Local Keywords
Conduct keyword research to uncover geographic and local intent keywords to target:
- “[service] [city]” – e.g. “Denver orthodontists”
- “[service] near me” – e.g. “car repair near me”
- “best [service] in [city]” – e.g. “best restaurants in Seattle”
- “[city] [service]” – e.g. “Miami accounting firms”
- “[zip code] [service]” e.g. “60654 dental clinic”
Optimizing for these types of keywords caters to local intent.
Get Listed On Local Directories
Register your business on key local directories and review sites customers use:
- Google My Business
- Yelp
- Yellowpages
- Foursquare
- Localeze
- Citysearch
- Local events calendars
Complete profiles consistently with business name, address, phone, description and images.
Encourage Customer Reviews
Positive local reviews build social proof. Prompt happy customers to leave 5-star reviews on:
- Google My Business
- Yelp
- Industry-specific sites
Respond professionally to address concerns raised in any negative reviews.
Showcase Local Involvement
Demonstrate community involvement and local connections:
- Blog about local events, news and issues.
- Highlight local partners, sponsors and charities you support.
- Embed social feeds showcasing local activity.
- Share press mentions in local publications.
This engages locals and helps build authority.
Optimized Google My Business
An optimized Google My Business profile establishes your local presence on Google.
- Complete profile with keywords in description
- Correct NAP listing
- Engage with reviews and Q&As
- Responsive posts and updates
- Search-friendly images
- Categorization for discovery
Full GMB optimization improves local pack rankings.
Conclusion
Optimizing online assets for local intent signals helps connect your business with high-converting customers searching for precisely the products and services you offer in your region.
Localization should be a priority for any business with a physical location and local customer base.
Consistently executing these best practices makes your website stand out in the eyes of prospects who live nearby.
Have any other local SEO tips? Let me know in the comments!