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Boost Your Local SEO: Part 1

Picture of Ryan Schweighart
As you may know, local search engine optimization (SEO) is different than traditional SEO.
One of my clients operates a local business. As a result, we are working to boost their organic search ranking and get their business in the Google map pack. The map pack consists of the top 3 results shown next to the map when you complete a search in Google.
 
I have come across a number of free articles/videos on the topic of local SEO. Some are good. Some are bad.
I'm really enjoying this punchy consolidation by Greg Gifford hosted on SEMRUSH Academy. So far, I'm only part-way through the course. This is the reason for part 1. Next week, I will post part 2.
 
This breakdown of topic importance for local SEO compared to original SEO has been my favorite knowledge nugget, so far.
It helps prioritize our plan of attack to boosting our result rankings.
ranking factors for local SEO
 
For my client, our priority is focused on the map pack. As a result, we are optimizing their Google My Business (GMB) listing and link signals. GMB and links will be the focus for the rest of part 1.
 
It is important to note one of the most important factors in map pack ranking is proximity. We cannot do anything about this. All we can do is optimize the other factors and potentially cast a wider net.
 

Google My Business

One of Greg's hot-takes is - your Google My Business profile is your new homepage. I would agree, especially for local businesses.
To get started with your GMB profile, ensure you have claimed your location. Here are the other tips Greg mentioned in the lesson.
 

Google My Business Tips:

  • List your actual business name, no keyword stuffing
  • Populate all business information and keep it up to date - local phone, address, hours, etc.
  • Upload photos and videos regularly
  • Use the posts and Q&A section
Speaking of posts and Q&A, Greg mentioned some tips for those in a separate lesson, which indicates he and the folks at SEMRUSH think it's pretty important.
 

Posts and Q&A Tips for Your Google My Business Profile:

  • Posts should almost always be promotional
  • Ideal image size is 1200x900 pixels
  • Include a call-to-action
  • Use the Q&A section to post your top FAQs
Note ANYONE can ask a question and ANYONE can answer a question in the Q&A section. Be the business authority and answer all the questions. Ensure your answer has the most upvotes. Get friends, employees, family, or anyone to upvote your answer to ensure it's the top one.
 
Don't forget to track everything using the insights portion of your GMB profile. The insights section can also be a basic keyword research tool telling you what the top searches were for people that found your business.
 

Link Signals

Google looks at links like popularity votes. In comparison to local SEO, traditional SEO prefers quality links from authoritative sites. Fortunately, just about any link pointing to your site is good for local SEO. This does not apply for spammy comment links. Those are always bad.
Local links trump industry relevant links, in Google's eyes.
It does not matter if the links are follow or nofollow.
It does not matter if the site linking to yours has a low backlink authority.
 
So how do we get local links?! Start by checking your competitor's links. In addition, Greg offers a number of other ideas.
 

Ideas for Building Local Links:

  1. Local meetups
  2. Event sponsorships
  3. Local bloggers
  4. Your employees
  5. Neighborhood watch sites
  6. Google research - search for "[your city name] inurl:sponsorships"
 
That's it for part 1 of local SEO. Be sure to check out Greg's course over on SEMRUSH academy.
There are a few more details he provides to the content I covered above.
 
Stay tuned next week for the rest of Greg's tips on optimizing local SEO.
 
Let me know what's worked for you in the comments below.
Have other resources? Please post those in the comments.