Local SEO: What It Is and How To Do It (2024)

Local SEO helps brick-and-mortar businesses increase online visibility in a specific geographical area. Its ultimate goal is to improve omnichannel selling by converting more online searches into in-store visits.

But optimizing your online presence for your local target audience goes beyond working on your own website.

In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into local SEO, why it’s important, and how to create a local SEO strategy for your business.

What is local SEO?

Local SEO, or local search engine optimization, helps local shoppers find your retail store in search engine results. You may think you only need to worry about SEO for your online store, but Local SEO is just as important in helping to attract local customers to your physical location. 

Why is local SEO important?

The ultimate goal of local SEO is to help bring more traffic to your local business so you can sell more. As consumers continue to demand omnichannel shopping options, most business owners are managing two storefronts. A physical store and a digital store—also known as phygital retail.

Developing a local SEO strategy will help your digital storefront stand out, but it has many benefits for your business as well.

Increasing website traffic and reach

Local SEO maximizes the number of people who find your website, which results in increasing your overall reach and brand awareness.

Driving more foot traffic to your physical store

Local SEO helps more people find your business, peruse your website, and learn about your business. And once they’ve found this information, consumers are more likely to shop in-store.

Building your brand reputation

When local SEO helps prospective customers find your business online first, it builds brand awareness and trust, and explains why your products are unique. This allows you to give a great first impression and encourages shoppers to visit your business.

Growing a loyal customer base and community

Using local SEO to catch nearby shoppers’ attention can help you build a loyal customer base and community of social media followers. And a more engaged audience helps distill trust in your business and boosts brand awareness.

Standing out from the competition

The majority of local business owners don’t take advantage of local SEO. While it’s a shame they don’t, this gives you the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and outdo your competitors.

Getting more customer leads

Optimizing your online presence for local SEO makes it easier for customers to find your business. If it’s easier to find, you’ll likely receive more messages from potential customers, either by phone, email, or social media. And after the initial contact, it’s easier to nurture leads and convert them into paying customers.

How does local SEO work?

Google uses an algorithm to determine what to bring up in search results for specific queries or keywords. Google’s organic algorithm dictates most search results, but with local search results it works slightly differently and surfaces search results based on more factors than the normal search algorithm.

When you’re performing a local search on Google, there are three main components that Google considers:

• Relevance. Is your content relevant to the search query or keyword?
• Prominence. Does your business stand out, is it trustworthy, and is your content accurate?
• Proximity. Is your business actually close to the searcher?

Here’s a detailed look at each of these.

Relevance

Google’s goal is to surface results that are relevant to the searcher’s query. It’s not only a key factor for local SEO—relevance is vital for standard search as well. It’s an integral component to consider while you’re creating content for local search.

But how can you make sure Google and other search engines find your business relevant? Start by making sure you’re targeting keywords or phrases that potential local shoppers might be searching for.

For example, if you sell kitchen accessories at your boutique located in Brooklyn, New York, you’ll want to focus on keywords and phrases such as “kitchen accessories store Brooklyn” or “kitchen accessories Brooklyn,” or you could drill down even further to specific products that your target customers might search for. “Wooden cutting board Brooklyn,” “salad bowl Brooklyn,” and “ceramic bowl Brooklyn” are a few examples.

The best ways to let Google know about your business’s relevance are:

1. Incorporating the right keywords into your business descriptions and content
2. Creating content that’s relevant to your business and customers
3. Choosing the right category when listing your business on directories
4. Spending time to improve your on-page SEO (more on this below)
5. Adding schema markup to your website to help search engines surface informative results for users
6. Building backlinks from local and other relevant websites

Prominence

In the context of local SEO, prominence is how well your local business stands out from your competitors. Google also looks at whether your business is trustworthy and whether the information and content you publish is accurate.

The more prominent your business is online, the better it is for local SEO. This makes it easier for Google and other search engines to find and validate your company, and a strong and active online presence helps Google flag your business as trustworthy and credible. All of these factors can help you rank higher in organic search results.

Here are a few ways you can improve and sustain your businesses prominence:

1. Getting more customer reviews on your website and on other sites like Google and Facebook.
2. Being active on social media networks and, if possible, getting your profiles verified.
3. Getting local press and/or working with bloggers so there are more mentions of your business online.
4. Building backlinks from local sites or other relevant news websites.
5. Creating relevant content that lives on your website and sharing it across social media.
6. Curating and sharing content from other sources that’s relevant to your business.
7. Listing your business in directories that are relevant to your business.

Proximity

After relevance and prominence, the last ranking factor for local SEO is proximity. It’s also the most important local SEO ranking factor.

As a local business, you’ll want to make sure Google is pulling up your business in local results when people in your town are searching for relevant topics.

There are three ways shoppers might search for a local business including:

• Non-geo-modified
• Geo-modified
• Near me 

To let Google know your proximity, it’s important to consider the user’s search intent and optimize for the various ways a potential local customer might search for your products.

Here are examples of each type of search:

Non-geo-modified search 

In this type of search, the user does not include the location in their query. It’s a broader search, but should still be considered while optimizing content. For example, “kitchen accessories” could be a target keyword phrase for your kitchen accessories boutique.

Geo-modified search

This type of search includes the location, such as the city, general area, or neighborhood, the shopper types in. For example, “kitchen accessories in Brooklyn” could be a target local keyword phrase a potential customer uses if they live in Brooklyn and are looking for kitchen accessories.

Near me search

In a near-me search, the user indicates they want search results for nearby businesses. For example, “kitchen accessories near me” or “buy kitchen accessories near me” could both be phrases that the shopper types into Google Search.

The key is to make sure Google knows where your business is by listing your address on your website and adding location details to your business listings, social media, and anywhere else your business has an online presence.

As noted, building local backlinks, creating local content, listing your business in local directories, and more will all help you appear in local search results.

Local pack vs. organic results

When a user types a query into Google search, various types of results come up on the first page. These include paid ads, organic results, pack results, and more.

As they both appear around the top of the page and both are surfaced in local searches, there’s common confusion between pack results and organic results. Here are the differences.

These search results are sometimes referred to as 3-pack results and appear above organic results at the top of Google search results. The section includes local businesses based on the search query.

The search results are shown on a map and list specific details about each business, such as its address, business hours, and contact information. Each result also has a star rating, making the 3-pack section crucial for attracting local customers.

Similar to the local pack results, organic results are also surfaced based on the search query used. But these results typically show up below the 3-pack results. Unlike local pack results, these listings don’t include detailed information about your business, like contact details, hours, and star reviews.

When most people think of SEO, they envision organic results, which isn’t wrong. Improving organic search results is the foundation of SEO.

So, which type of results should you focus on? In short, both. It’s possible to rank in both sections, so it’s worth trying, as it will give your business more visibility in search results. Each type of result requires different strategies, but they’re both equally important for attracting customers to your local business. 

How to do local SEO: 8 tips

Now that you understand what local SEO is and why it’s important for local businesses, it’s time to get started building your local SEO strategy.

You don’t have to implement all these local SEO tips in one day, but now you’ll have the knowledge to gain a competitive advantage over businesses that don’t understand the importance of SEO.

1. Optimize your website for local search 

In North America, over one-third of consumers discover brands via their website. Optimizing your website for local search is key to making it easy for customers to find the products they’re looking for.

But what does this mean exactly? Website optimization might feel daunting, but it doesn’t need to. Here’s how to start.

Create local content and publish it to your blog

Local content consists of nearby places or things that are relevant to your business and fall on your target customers’ interest graph. This way, while they’re searching for something that’s relevant to them they can potentially stumble across your website and discover your store.

Add your business name, address, and phone number to the HTML of your website

Adding your NAP to the HTML of your website and to the Find Us page, or in the footer, will help with SEO and also make it easier for local customers to find your shop. It’s important to make sure this information is always updated across all channels, including your Google listing, social media, and anywhere your business is online.

Publish landing pages to target specific keywords

To reiterate, it’s best to focus on one target keyword or phrase per page. For this reason, creating landing pages for SEO is a way to target more keywords and create more entry points onto your website. Shogun is the preferred landing page builder of Shopify merchants and it has the reviews to prove it.

2. Do local SEO keyword research

If you’re creating content for your website or updating business listings for organic search, it’s important to do keyword research to determine which words are relevant to your business, the average search volume, and the competitiveness of each keyword or phrase.

Do competitor research

You can do this by going to the brand’s website and studying each page to see what type of content it’s focusing on. You can also plug links from various pages into this SERP simulator tool to see what keywords are included in the meta details. (SERP stands for “search engine results pages.”)

There are also tools you can use to spy on your competitors to see which keywords they’re ranking for, which words you also rank for, and if there are keyword gaps. I’ll explain more about these tools below.

Type keywords or phrases into Google Search

Go back to the example of a boutique that sells kitchen accessories. If you go to Google and type in “kitchen accessories” you’ll see a “People also ask” section. This will give you insights into the most commonly asked questions about kitchen accessories. If you’re writing a blog article you can incorporate some or all of these questions into the post.

When you scroll down to the bottom of the search results page you’ll see a “Related searches” section. This is also a great place to look for additional long-tail keywords that you might consider using.

You can use this tactic to search your product type and location in Google and then analyze the results in the same way.

Choose the right keywords to target

Choosing the right keywords to target isn’t only about search volume. Looking at competition and SEO difficulty are equally important. Smaller businesses can benefit from targeting keywords that have lower search volume and competition, as those words are generally less saturated.

Make a list of 50 to 100 words and/or phrases and then you can easily get started with keyword research without any expensive tools or apps.

💡PRO TIP: Use Google Trends to see if certain keywords are gaining popularity and create content to target them before your competitors.

3. Set up your Google Business profile

Now look in more detail at creating your Google Business profile (formerly Google My Business). You can also create listings on Apple Maps and Bing Places for local SEO benefits. The key is to optimize each listing by adding all your business details, keeping them up to date, and making sure each listing is verified.

Google Business is free and makes it easier to connect with local customers on Google Search and Maps. You can create a listing that displays business information like contact details, a link to your website, hours, a map, photos, videos, coupons, reviews, and more.

Use your profile to attract and interact with nearby customers when they search for local businesses. Your store will have visibility on Google Maps and Search, and you can post photos of products, respond to reviews, and keep your business information up to date.

Google Business also provides you with insights so you can improve and boost customer engagement.

You can claim your listing and get started with GMB here. Below is a checklist to help you optimize your Google Business listing:

• Complete all sections of your listing so potential customers can find what they are looking for.
• Include keywords your customers might search for in your business description.
• Publish new photos regularly to make your business more attractive to potential customers.
• Answer customer questions quickly to avoid losing out on sales.
• Read and respond to reviews to show customers you value their feedback.
• Keep your business hours up to date to avoid disappointing visitors.
• Use the local posts feature to share special offers, new products, and COVID updates.
• Add your product catalog to your Google My Business listing for free.

4. Ask customers to “check-in” on Facebook at your retail location 

Facebook check-ins are almost the same as a friend making a personal referral to a business, plus it shares all the information about your business that a potential customer is looking for. The total number of store check-ins will also be visible on your Facebook business profile. 

And if a Facebook check-in is viewed on a mobile device, the user can click a map that will pull up driving directions to your business.

Encouraging customers to check in will help build awareness of your business and can result in your customers’ friends and family visiting your local shop.

5. Get local citations 

In the context of local SEO, a local NAP (name, address, and phone number) citation refers to any online mention of a local business’s details on local business directories, websites, apps, social platforms, and more.

The format of these mentions can be structured (like in business listings) or unstructured (like in a blog post or as part of a narrative).

NAP citations are crucial for local SEO for the following reasons:

• Relevance: Search engines like Google use NAP information to evaluate the credibility and relevance of a business. Consistent NAP information across various citations helps establish trust and authority, making your business more likely to rank higher in local search results.
• Local search ranking: Having accurate, consistent NAP citations can significantly influence your local search ranking. This is because search engines cross-verify and validate the data from multiple sources to ensure it’s consistent.
• Visibility and traffic: Besides impacting your local rankings, NAP citations also increase your online visibility. More visibility can lead to more website traffic, more customers, and ultimately, more sales or conversions.
• Local listings: Accurate NAP citations can help your business get listed in the coveted Google Local Map Pack—the small list of businesses that appear at the top of Google’s search engine results page (SERP) for local queries.

Ensure your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistently listed across all platforms. Inconsistencies can confuse both search engines and potential customers.

Start by getting your business listed in major online directories like Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places. Then, target locally relevant directories or niche directories related to your business.

Regularly review your listings to ensure they’re accurate and up to date. If your business moves or changes its phone number, update your listings immediately.

6. Encourage online reviews

Reviews heavily contribute to your online reputation and are important to help customers make informed decisions. Search engines account for this behavior in their ranking algorithms.

Positive reviews can increase traffic to your website and build trust with potential customers. They can also influence a business's ranking in local pack rankings on search engines based on their quantity, quality, and recency.

To get more reviews:

• Ask for them from customers and business partners
• Use email, text messaging, or social media to request them
• Place QR codes on flyers, receipts, or other marketing materials that link to your review page

Add a personal touch when requesting reviews. Keep the message simple, yet thoughtful and follow up respectfully, if needed.

7. Update your on-page SEO

In SEO, it’s crucial to make sure each page of your website has a header, title tag, and meta description. If the page has images, you’ll also want to add alt image text.

Once you determine your target keyword or phrase for each page, make sure to include it in the copy that you add to each of the meta detail fields. This will help Google understand what each page is about and pull up relevant content in search results.

That’s why Shopify makes it easy for you to optimize your ecommerce website by including fields for adding meta details to each page. This way you can incorporate your target keywords and improve SEO.

8. Build local backlinks

Backlinks are links from another website to yours. And getting local press or working with local bloggers who backlink to your website can impact SEO. Backlinks show search engines that other local businesses find your content valuable, conveying that you’re relevant and authoritative in a specific area.

Reach out to local publications and bloggers to get mentions or features. You can get listed in a roundup or guide, which can give you a good backlink. The key is building an authentic relationship with businesses so they show you off to their audience.

You can also start a blog that covers local issues and topics relevant to your community. This positions you as a local resource and can help build backlinks back to your website.

9 local SEO tools

1. Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner pulls up historical metrics to help you analyze the average monthly search volume and competition of the keywords that are relevant to your business.

To do this, you can log in to your Google Ads account and follow these steps:

• Go to Tools & Settings.
• Click on Keyword Planner.
• Click on “Get search volume and forecasts.”
• Add keywords from your list.
• Click on “Get Started.”

You can also use the “Discover new keywords” feature to help spark ideas for keywords to target and content to create.

💡PRO TIP: Targeting the most competitive keywords is not always the best strategy for small businesses. Chances are you won’t be able to outrank larger businesses, so go for the keywords that have decent search volume and low to medium competition.

2. Answer The Public

Answer The Public is a place to go to look for content ideas for a specific topic or keyword. You can get a quick view of the questions the public is asking about your keywords and then answer those questions through a blog article or on a landing page.

3. Google Trends

It’s not enough to use only Google Trends, but it’s a great SEO tool to use in tandem with the other ones. Google Trends gives you a graphic visual of how variations of your keywords are currently trending.

4. Google Search 

A go-to SEO tool is Google itself. Once you’ve created a list of relevant keywords, start plugging them into Google search to see what content Google surfaces. This will give you a good indication of the type of content you should create, as you’ll already know it’s what Google likes.

5. Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest essentially combines Google Keyword Planner and Google Search into one platform. Its Keyword Analyzer tool is helpful for getting keyword overviews (similar to Google Keyword Planner), but it also provides you with links to the search results for each keyword.

Within the Keyword Analyzer function, you can get keyword overviews, ideas, and lists, as well as content ideas for each keyword or phrase that you type into the search bar.

You can also use Ubersuggest’s Competitive Analysis tool to spy on your competitors. After you create a project, there’s an option to plug in the websites of your competitors and get an overview of common keywords and the keywords gap. This can help you determine which keywords you may want to target to outrank competitors.

6. Quora

After you’ve completed your initial round of keyword research, Quora is a great place to see what questions (related to your keywords) are most frequently asked, and in most cases you’ll also find answers. I don’t use Quora as much as the tools I’ve already listed, but it’s a great option when you’re stumped on content ideas and need inspiration. 

Using the same “kitchen accessories” keyword, you’ll find an entire section in Quora where people are asking questions about kitchen utensils and accessories. You may have to take some things with a grain of salt, but scrolling through the questions and answers can help spark content ideas. 

7. BrightLocal 

BrightLocal’s platform has various features designed to help businesses improve local SEO. Some of its features include audits for your Google Business listing, a local search grid, and this local search results checker, which is a great tool to track the status of your local rankings.

8. Moz Local

Moz Local is a local SEO and reputation management tool. You can use its platform to manage and sync online business listings and manage your online reviews, and it integrates with Google and Facebook, making it easy to publish business updates and social media posts.

9. Shopify partner apps for improving local SEO 

There are many Shopify partner apps available to merchants that can help you optimize some of the processes and improve your SEO rankings. Here are a few commonly used SEO tools from the Shopify partner apps library:

• Booster helps ensure your meta tags are relevant, and sends a weekly SEO health report via email.
• Avanda is great for beginner or advanced SEOs and can help you drive organic search traffic and improve image search. It’s a set-it-and-forget-it app that has auto-management features.

Improving your SEO as a local business owner

Now that you understand the importance of local SEO for online and in-store traffic and how it can help improve omnichannel sales, it’s time to put it into action.

But, before you put your local SEO hat on, remember, the key is to make sure your content is relevant and trustworthy, and that your location details are always up to date on your local business listings, website, and social media.