If you own a local business and you’re not investing in local SEO, you’re leaving money on the table. Most of your customers use Google to search for local businesses like yours. Showing up when your ideal customers search for local keywords related to your business will increase your online visibility and income.
Want to attract more customers from your local area? Discover the power of targeting local keywords for organic traffic. In a recent #serpstat_chat, SEO experts engaged in a thought-provoking discussion on this topic, sharing valuable insights and strategies.
Martin Tolovski, Keyur Shah, and Jeremy Rivera provided expert advice on effectively targeting local keywords and driving organic traffic. In this article, we will explore their tips and provide practical examples and strategies to help you optimize your website for local search results.
How does targeting local keywords differ from targeting global keywords?
A1: Local goes specific. We’re talking not only cities, but neighbourhoods too! Targeting locally is essential for anyone that’s looking to serve a local customer base, your nearest bakery doesn’t need global keywords.
Мartin Тolovski
A1 Local keywords and global keywords are two different types of keywords that are used in SE. Local keywords are those that are relevant to a specific geographic area, while global keywords are those that are more general and can apply to any location
keyur shah | SEO
A1. This is the shifting of the sand, when the desire is universal but the service or product is geographically provided. It doesn’t matter if someone in Arkansas wants icecream, if your popsicle stand is in California. You gotta filter down, filter down, and down again.
Jeremy Rivera
What factors should you consider when choosing local keywords for organic traffic?
A2: I’d go with user-generated content and local reviews. These are people that build the local brand’s reputations, and I’d check if their authentic reviews use relevant local keywords that I can include in my strategy.
Мartin Тolovski
A2 When choosing local keywords for organic traffic, you should consider the following factors: ✓ The intent of your target audience ✓ The competition for those keywords ✓ The search volume for those keywords. ✓ The relevance of those keywords to your business
keyur shah | SEO
A2. #serpstat_chat You really need to add a HUGE caution to the volumes your uncover for your relevant terms and phrases. “Eyebrow threading parlor” might enjoy a high enough search volume for the term, you’re gonna get skewed monthly volumes when adding a small town to it
Jeremy Rivera
How do you analyze the competition for local keywords in your industry?
A3: I’d start with SERP results, Google Business profiles, and again, reviews and ratings. However, I’d also check their title tags and meta to see how they make immediate impact on search, and how I can do better.
Мartin Тolovski
A3 Here are some steps on how to analyze the competition for local keywords in your industry Identify your competitors – you’ll need to identify businesses that offer similar products or services in your area
keyur shah | SEO
Q3. You have “the talk” with client: “Who are you always losing a sale too? Who do they buy from when it’s not you” – This gives you insight to ACTUAL LOCAL competitors. #serpstat_chat But SERPs can be cross contaminated with aggregators, bloggers, maps, videos from NON-LOCALs
Jeremy Rivera
How do you incorporate local keywords into meta tags and headers?
A4: Meta tags: – Placing the local keyword at the beginning – Keeping the title tag within 50 characters to ensure it displays in SERPs – Making it compelling to entice users Headers: – Primary keyword in the H1 tag – Secondary in H2, H3 – Implementing schema
Мartin Тolovski
A4 Here are some tips on how to incorporate local keywords into meta tags and headers: ✓ Use relevant local keywords in your title tag ✓ Use local keywords in your meta description. ✓ Use local keywords in your headers ✓ Use local keywords in your page content
keyur shah | SEO
A4 One can incorporate local keywords into meta tags and headers with good writing skills. Write so it makes sense.
Debi Norton
Do you need separate landing pages for local keywords?
A5: It’s complex. But again, a dedicated landing page can be a great source for local information, and if we know that search engines value accuracy, especially in local searches, then a trust-worthy landing page can pay off!
Мartin Тolovski
A5 Whether or not you need separate landing pages for local keywords depends on a number of factors, including: The size and scope of your business. The number of locations you have. The level of competition in your industry. Your budget.
keyur shah | SEO
A5: I assume this differes on the groundwork of what the product or website is. I believe a case by case basis is best here.
Damian Schmidt
What role does content creation play in targeting local keywords?
A6: Pivotal. You’re practically invisible to people outside your neighborhood without content.
Мartin Тolovski
A6 Content creation plays a vital role in targeting local keywords. By creating high-quality content that is relevant to your target keywords and location, you can help to improve your website’s ranking in local search results.
keyur shah | SEO
A6: Local content creation can help build brand awareness, establish thought leadership within an industry, drive traffic to a website or social media profile, and ultimately generate leads or sales for a business.
Damian Schmidt
What are the common mistakes to avoid when targeting local keywords?
A7 Not using localized keywords. When people search for local businesses, they often use keywords that include their location.
keyur shah | SEO
A7: Targeting all word order variations for low competition keywords. It will likely be a waste of time and money for small SEO budgets.
Sweepsify
A7: Duplicate key phrases and web page for the identical product or website. Content that does no longer resonate with the neighborhood audience. IE. British English vs American English
Damian Schmidt
How do you track the performance of your local keyword-targeting efforts?
A8 There are a few metrics to track the performance of your local keyword-targeting efforts. ✓ Track the right keywords ✓ Track your website traffic ✓Track your rankings over time ✓ Track your website traffic ✓ Compare your rankings to your competitors.
keyur shah | SEO
A8: How about the standard metrics? – organic traffic – keyword rankings – click-through rates – conversion rates – other metrics relevant to the business to evaluate the effectiveness of your local SEO strategy.
@serpstat Rank Tracker can help with tracking
Olena Prokhoda
A8 Tracking local target efforts – the SERPS tell all. Then there are always tools.
Debi Norton
Let’s recap on targeting local keywords for organic traffic.
We explored the differences between local and global keywords, factors to consider when choosing local keywords, strategies for incorporating them into meta tags and headers, and the role of content creation in local SEO.
For more in-depth guidance on local keyword research and SEO strategies, check out our comprehensive guide on local SEO best practices. You can also explore tools like SERPstat Rank Tracker to help you track your keyword rankings and monitor your local SEO performance. Here’s also a course that covers local SEO basics:
Remember that optimizing your website’s ranking for local search results is simply one benefit of targeting local keywords.
It’s about building a relationship with your local audience, establishing the legitimacy of your brand, and generating significant traffic and conversions.
