’m going to tell you how you can improve your company’s Local SEO, and it’s straightforward. There are many excellent guides on how you can do this, but I want to focus on improving your local SEO in Australia, with some real-life Aussie Examples.
These are three things that should be at the top of your Local SEO checklist.
First, a NAP (for backlinks)
NAP is an abbreviation for Name, Address, Phone number. Address is normally referred to as the business address, but having your website address is also essential, as this builds backlinks to your website.
Backlinks are a crucial metric in ranking on Google - the more quality back-links to your website, the higher it will rank in your area.
They can be made from listing your business on local directories, industry-related websites, partners business pages, local newspapers, and the list goes on.
For example, if your business is based in the Gold Coast, search “local directories gold coast”, and there, a list of websites you can post your NAP to.
Can’t find a local directory?
Sometimes, a local directory cannot be found because the area doesn’t have one. If there is a city/larger town nearby, search for the directory said city/larger town, and upload your business’s NAP there.
Use Google My Business
Google My Business is a tool to help manage businesses online presence so that customers can find businesses easily. What does this mean in a real-life scenario?
Let’s say you live in Port Macquarie, and the light switch stopped broke. You don’t know any electricians, so you Google “Port Macquarie electrician”. This is what comes up:
Two of the electricians are closed, one is still open, and one does not say if it is open or not. More likely than not, you would choose the one that you know is open.
This is called commonly referred to as the “3 Pack”, or in this case “4 pack”. It comes up for the top 3 local results. Being present on Google My Business increases the likelihood of being in “3 pack”, and having accurate information optimises the chances that a customer will choose your business.
Mobile Optimisation
Only 43% of Australian small business e-commerce websites are not mobile optimised.
50% of local mobile searches result in the consumer visiting the store.
We know that Google ranks mobile friendly sites higher. With those two statistics, it becomes clear that having a mobile optimised website benefits local SEO, and in turn, increases the chances of customers walking through the door.
What should I do next?
Local SEO is undoubtedly vital to small businesses, and it’s straightforward to achieve. Build backlinks, utilise Google My Business, and have a mobile optimised website - these three are essential, and doing these things will lead to local SEO success.
Created by Zak on 02/01/2020, last edited on 20/05/2021.
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