As a business that’s vying for prime position in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), you’re using every Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) trick in the book - but are you focused on local SEO?
Local SEO is becoming vital, especially when searches for “X near me” have surged 500% over the last few years, according to WebFX.
Couple that to 78% of local mobile searches convert into offline sales; and you’re probably wondering why you haven’t amped up your local SEO already!
So what is Local SEO and what do you need to consider when writing landing pages to take advantage of local SEO?
What is Local SEO?
Local Search Engine Optimisation or Local SEO is an SEO technique focused on catering to searches within a discrete geographic area, instead of just generic keywords. For example, “hairdressers near me” or “Plumbers in Ultimo” are search engine queries that businesses that have good local SEO will rank highly for. Businesses with multiple locations or are Service Area Businesses (SABs) benefit most from local SEO. A leading technique that chases these queries is having a area-specific or local landing page.
Getting Your Data Ready for Local Landing Pages
You may learn more about your existing visitors' origins and online behaviour by using Google Analytics, Google Trends, or SEO software such as Ahrefs. Make a list of potential local search terms for these people using this information. Leverage your position as a local businessperson to your advantage by asking clients about their search habits and the phrases they use to describe the services or goods you provide.
Thinking About Site Structure
You will either have a single local landing page or an overview page with multiple pages beneath, depending on the number of locations. It makes sense to include these pages in your navigation in order to guarantee that they will be found. Is there room on your menu to put "locations" as an item? Or do you want to include your overview page or a few significant landing pages in your site's footer?
Consider where in the navigation of your site your visitors would want or expect to discover your places. Link internally to your landing pages from other website pages or blog posts wherever it is possible to do so naturally.
Elements of a Good Local Landing Page
Elements of a good landing page are universal - that means having the right keywords in your meta and title tags; having clean URLs; internal linking; a definite call to action; social proof such as testimonials, preferably from someone in the area; a contact form; and your name, phone number, and email address so people can contact you directly.
A good local landing page should also include an interactive map of your location or service area; special local offers if applicable; and local schema markup too. This all enhances your local SEO.
Remembering Landing Page Localisation
Repeating the same information over and over can get tedious to write; and it also means duplicate content that search engines will penalise. The object of the landing page is for people to find your business when running a local search. It should be obvious that you are located or service that area. That means you’ll also have to be mindful of localisms and other peculiarities of language. If you’re a fast food wholesaler, a “potato cake” in Melbourne is a “potato scallop” in Sydney. Let’s not forget the eternal barney over what constitutes a “pint” in Australia.
Writing authentic and authoritative content needs a local flavour - and if you don’t know what that is, do your research by visiting the area (if possible) or making a list of consistencies in language among other local sites to use in your own landing pages.
Looking to supercharge your local SEO with specialised local landing pages? Get started with award-winning SEO copywriting from I Sell Words.