Local SEO is a process of optimizing your site so that you can secure higher local search rankings. Over the third of all searches in 2016 will be local and if you include non geo-targeted niche keywords that trigger local results and this number nears 54 percent!
As Google continues to gain better understanding of its users search intent they’re now more interested in showing local results for most of the non-local specific search terms as well, making local search the leading type. That means when searching for words like “top bakeries”, you could get list of local as well as organic results.So the bottom line is that if you have a business that can easily service local customers, or has some physical address, you surely need to optimize for local search. Whether you are the local small business or the big company in your region, you can take benefits of local SEO service.
In case you don’t know much about local search, a geo-targeted search term is one that also includes location such as “painters in St Louis”. When you include a location, it automatically triggers local results pack in most occasions.
Well, Local Search Pack delivers local results that include an exclusive listing of 7 local businesses related to your search term. These listings are returned after top 3 organic results and all ads that appear right on the top of the page. The ranking of websites in the local pack are based on numerous known variables.
Over the past few years, Google has shown favoritism towards smaller, more agile, and newer companies. While its rankings in most cases depend on brand history and its authority, Google now wants to deliver people what they want-that often means showcasing more popular, nimbler brands. Google offers many free tools, such as Webmaster tools, analytics tools and so on-with the sole aim to increase online visibility of local businesses.
Google now provides more individualized results so local SEO strategies aim to achieve just that. With its customized and predictive search features, search engines can generate specific results based on what people are searching. As long as you’re logged into your Google account, your geographic location and search history both play a role in type of results you see. Now users demand more individualized results, so demand for local optimization will grow. You can easily find a local SEO guide that can provide you strategies to rank high on local SEO.
With each passing year, number of online searches performed using mobile devices is increasing, and most of them are being performed on the go. With increasing usage of wearable devices, such as Apple Watch, now users prefer on-the-go searches even more frequently, with even more immediate needs. As proximity based searches become popular, local searches on Google and other search engines will be based more on all hyper specific location(s), rather than just on neighborhood or regional specific bases.
Every year, millions of new websites come online and millions of new businesses stabilize as profit bearing enterprises. So in response, potential search visibility is now actively dropping in some areas, with some features like Knowledge Graph taking over search engine result pages (SERPs) and long standing blue chip brands now dominate national search landscape.
Competition is becoming fierce; so many businesses will focus on smaller target niches to achieve relevant visibility. One of the best ways to achieve that is to optimize locally, so it’s apparent that local SEO will grow in importance as competition increases.
