Ranking on Local Search: Super boost Your Online Presence With Local Keywords

The Key to Ranking in Local Search

Local search has been a real game-changer for entrepreneurs. Nowadays, users don’t need to include their geographical location while searching for places, products, or services. Google has a separate algorithm for local results, which means that local businesses have higher chances of showing up in the local search results if they optimize their website and presence accordingly.

One of the critical elements of a successful local SEO strategy is local keywords. They outline where your business is located and help Google determine which searches are more relevant for your lead generation efforts. 

This blog will share how you can leverage local keywords to lure in more users to your website.

What Are Local Keywords?

Local keywords contain geographic information about your business location and the areas it services. They are also known as geo modifiers because they include the city, state, or zip code where your business is located or the phrase “near me.”

For example, terms such as “family lawyer near me,” “family lawyer in Sarasota, Florida,” “family lawyer Sarasota, Florida,” “Sarasota, Florida family lawyer” are all local keywords.

How to Create a Winning Local Keyword Strategy

1. Use the Best Local Keyword Research Tools

Choosing the right keywords for your local SEO campaign demands leveraging some of the most reputable keyword research tools available, including Ahrefs, Answer the Public, SEMRush, Google Keyword Planner. Consider the pros and cons of each one as we review them below:

Ahrefs

This SEO tool provider is one of our favorites. With a rating of 4.6 and 277 reviews on G2, this is for sure one of the best and most popular tools you can use. Ahrefs offers both paid and free tools to help build a solid SEO strategy overall, including:

• Webmaster tool: This software will help you identify which keywords your website ranks for and compare it against your online competitors.
• Keyword generator: As the name suggests, this tool helps you find keywords you can potentially rank for. 
• SEO toolbar: Ahrefs SEO toolbar is a free extension that provides you with helpful information about pages you visit, including an on-page SEO report, broken link checker, and SERP positions. This is great for running a quick competitor SEO analysis. 

There are many other free tools Ahrefs has built for SEO specialists and business owners looking to build a solid SEO strategy, such as their keyword rank checker, their keyword difficulty checker, and many more. They also offer a paid keyword research tool that integrates all of their free tools in one and provides extended features and information.

Answer the Public

This software is a listening tool that allows marketers to know how people search around topics to optimize their content accordingly. Answer the Public offers both a free version and paid version for SEO specialists and business owners.

Google Keyword Planner

This software made by Google is a free tool that will provide you with a range of the monthly searches a specific keyword has. Google keyword planner (formerly known as the Google Keyword Tool) can provide you with the exact keyword search volumes only if you run Google Ads. In other words, paying will get you access to more accurate data.

2. Master The Local Keyword Research Process

Once you’ve chosen the keyword research tool of your preference, you can move on to the fun part. If you don’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place! Below we’ll share our SEO specialists’ tips and tricks to create a winning local SEO keyword list:

• Identify what your clients are looking for when they first contact you and your business’s primary source of revenue to know which keywords to focus on. 
• Analyze your competitors’ strategy and determine if you should incorporate some of the keywords they use into your strategy.
• Test different combinations of local keywords while researching. For example, you could compare the keyword difficulty and search volume of “HVAC contractors in Las Vegas, Nevada” and “Las Vegas HVAC contractor.”
• Use keyword modifiers that indicate the quality of your services (i.e., best, top); when people can use your services (i.e., summer, valentine’s, emergency); the type of services you offer (i.e., family law, criminal law, etc.) and special deals. 
• Focus on researching for keywords with high purchase intent. 
• Find the sweet spot between choosing local keywords with high search volume and low competition.

3. Place Your Local Keywords Strategically

Ensure you add local signals (a.k.a, local keywords) within your meta title, meta descriptions, H1, and at least one of your H2s. Also, incorporate similar keywords throughout the rest of your H2s and content body.

One might think that adding as many local keywords as possible to your content will help you rank higher. However, this will only hurt your ranking. The more keywords you use, the less human your content is, providing a poor user experience. Instead, keep a keyword density between 1% and 2%. In other words, the most you should repeat your keyword is twice every 100 words.

3 Additional Strategies To Enhance Your Local Presence

1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Claiming a Google Business Profile (GBP) account enables you to appear on the local results of both Google Search and Google Maps. This listing shares your business NAP (name, address, and phone number), website, reviews, opening hours, photos, services, and updates/posts.

As people search for your business name or the services you offer, your GBP listing could be displayed, increasing exposure, website traffic, and leads. Additionally, GBP includes its analytics to track all activity within your listing.

2. Build Local Citations

Citations enable both link building and lead generation. Business owners gain visibility from local directories’ users and website backlinks (links from local directories to their site). We recommend fixing NAP inconsistencies in the business directories where you are listed and keeping a close eye on your review rating.

3. Use PPC to Accelerate Results

One of the main advantages of PPC is that it generates leads faster than SEO, helping you dominate the local search results while your site ranks on the first page of Google Search.

In addition, a remarketing pay-per-click campaign can help you stay top of mind among previous website visitors, helping generate leads directly from your PPC efforts or later on through branded searches.

Local Keywords Are Your Foundation for Growth

Over the past years, local search has grown exponentially, helping local businesses get found online. To illustrate this, 46% of all Google searches seek local information, and 96% of users have searched online for a local business. 

Local keywords are the glue keeping your website’s organic traffic high. If you’re not using them, we highly recommend starting with the research process and tweaking your copy to integrate local keywords within your website content. 

Ready to Dominate Your Local Market?

A strong local keyword strategy is the foundation for getting found online. But it's just one piece of a complete local SEO plan. The Olly Olly team can build that entire system—from your keywords and content to your Google Business Profile and citations—to get you results.

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