Two critical post-pandemic factors are influencing local SEO trends. Consumers are buying more items online, and they’re looking for businesses close to home to fulfill those needs.
Through bookings and reviews, Google facilitates over two billion connections between consumers and local businesses each month. Local SEO is such a powerful tool that 90% of customers that find a business through search make a purchase within seven days of that effort. That’s why now is a great time to start tuning up your local optimization efforts for 2022. Here are the tasks you’ll want to consider.
1. Update Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the new name for Google My Business. It allows owners to update or add contact information, images, and more right from Google Maps or Google Search. Even the verifications get finished without taking extra steps, making it a straightforward way to promote your location and company information.
After the Pointy integration, you can even add products to your Google Business Profile, allowing searchers to see your current inventory.
2. Focus on the Attributes
Search engines want to help businesses stand out in ways that satisfy queries efficiently. One of the latest options involves specific company attributes.
If someone looks for a woman-owned or a Black-owned business, Google makes it easier to find local companies that fit the query’s description terms. It’s possible to request estimates, sign up for online classes, or book appointments with this update. You can also find safety, health, and other pandemic attributes available to update in the Google Business Profile. Adding these different information points is a straightforward way to improve local optimization.
3. Keep Getting Positive Reviews
Most potential customers find the information in company reviews to be as influential as a personal recommendation from family or friends. The traditional ways to encourage this local SEO resource still work, such as asking for one after closing a sale or sending a post-purchase email.
If your customers are hesitant to leave reviews, try asking for “feedback” instead. That term can be less intimidating.
4. Optimize More for Voice Search
Consumers use voice search when looking for ultra-specific data points. They expect a quick and accurate answer to these queries. When your website provides this resource through local SEO optimization, it creates value because it meets the user’s intent.
While working on this tune-up option, don’t forget to keep making your site mobile-friendly for local SEO. About three-quarters of all searches exhibiting local intent produce offline, in-store visits in a day or less.
5. Review Local Keywords
Google’s Keyword Planner allows users to filter searches based on location. That makes it easy to see the popular terms in your area, allowing for better targeting. It can also help to include references of region-specific landmarks, but it must be done logically. Don’t just throw out places as a name-dropper. Try to add value to each description.
Local SEO is continuously evolving. When you implement these tasks, you’ll give your website the potential tune-up it needs to continue representing your brand and business.