Local Search Results: Is Your Business Missing Out?

In the UK, over 96% of people have internet access. Of these, 87% shopped online last year, and 81% used the internet to research goods or services. This means, as a local business, you need to have an online presence. Furthermore, you need that online presence to work for you. One of the best ways to make sure this happens is with local search engine optimisation (SEO).

Local SEO And Why it Matters

SEO uses keywords to organically drive traffic to a website, where visitors can hopefully be turned into customers. For some businesses, Amazon, for example, it doesn’t matter where these customers live. For others such as restaurants, some bricks and mortar shops, and services, however, their customers must be local. Without them, it’s impossible for businesses to grow. This is why local SEO matters.

Improving Your Local SEO

If you aren’t appearing in local searches, you need to improve your local SEO results. This is a lot simpler than it might sound, especially if you follow these five simple steps:

1. Follow the Rules: Possibly the easiest way to improve your local SEO results is to follow the rules laid out by Google and Bing. Each provides step-by-step guides on how to update your website to include local SEO keywords.
2. Build Citations: Searches often pull up a list of results from sites such as Checkatrade or Yell.com. You need to ensure, therefore, that your company is included on these sites.
3. Raise Your Profile: As well as citations; you can also raise your internet profile by attending local events and networks. The aim here is to get your company mentioned in any press releases or attendee lists, which then show up in online searches.
4. Get Reviews: People are more likely to click through to a site if it has good reviews. Therefore, Google and Bing tend to put these sites at the top of their rankings. What’s more, these aren’t just reviews posted on their sites. Instead, they are pulled from multiple sources such as Trip Advisor, Rated People, and Facebook. Always ask your customers to give you a review if they are happy with your work.
5. Use Social Media: Facebook isn’t just important because Google and Bing use it for reviews. It’s also a good way to interact with your customers. Remember, however, Facebook isn’t the only social media platform, and you should use the ones that work for your business be that Twitter, Instagram or TikTok.

Getting Help With Local Search Results

If you’re unsure about how best to implement these steps, or simply don’t have the time, then there is support available. For our clients, we recommend using a service such as Bright Local. Bright Local is a platform that makes it easier to control your SEO, business listings and online reputation. It costs just £25 per month and comes with a free 14-day trial too.

If you need further support in boosting your SEO, then our team can help. You can request your FREE SEO consultation here.