What is Local SEO?

Why does Every Irish Business need to
Prioritise Local Search?

Asking yourself “what is local SEO?” should be at the forefront of your mind when considering your SEO strategy. Local search is crucial if you plan on targeting users in a specific part of the world. In many cases, this degree of specificity goes much further than targeting a key region. Many businesses are now leveraging local search to focus on individual towns and cities.

When you consider that approximately 46% of Google users are looking for local results, the importance of local SEO becomes apparent. The key aim of local SEO is to improve visibility and rankings in the context of local search results. Often, this is achieved by implementing tools like the Google Map Pack.

Other features you should be embracing include Google’s Local Pack. This SERP feature appears predominantly at the top of the first page of Google after a search is carried out. It’s vital for local businesses looking to engage a regional audience. When combined with effective organic SEO, Local Pack rankings can drive significant traffic to your website.

Your general approach to organic SEO can also improve your local search performance. By using the region-specific keywords and phrases, your pages are more likely to rank well for searches with local intent.

What is local SEO? At first glance, it seems largely indistinguishable from an organic SEO strategy. Admittedly, these two things share a lot of connective tissue, but you’ll need to approach each with different tactics to ensure your pages are as optimised as they can be.

Below, we break down the key things you need to consider if you’re putting local search at the heart of your SEO strategy.

What is Local SEO and Why is it So Important?

Simply put, local SEO is a unique approach to search engine optimization that aims to improve your rankings in local search results. Google dominates the search engine market, accounting for around 92% of queries. As such, any strategy should be employing Google’s best practices.

If your focus is SEO in Dublin, this means utilising tools like Google’s Map and Local Packs. Both tools will make it easier for you to rank highly for local search queries. Your rankings will also benefit if you’re receiving a significant volume of relevant search queries.

What is local SEO and how does Google facilitate it? It’s all down to algorithms. Google algorithms effectively determine whether a query has local intent. In other words, Google decides whether a user is looking for a service or product based in their vicinity. If you’re employing Google’s Map Pack, you’ll benefit from being prominently displayed at the top of a search engine results page.

Investing in organic search is still important, but local SEO results will often place above all other results. Adding address details and contact information also goes a long way in bolstering your relevance. Customer reviews and reliable ratings can also improve local search performance.

You Don’t Need a Website to Benefit from Local Search

One of the main advantages of Google’s Map Pack is that you don’t need a website to benefit from local search. Provided you’ve created a Google Business Profile and added relevant contact and address details, you’ll still appear in local search if algorithms decide a search has local intent. Google may also pull information from elsewhere, making it essential that you’ve added your business online directories

What’s the Difference Between Local SEO and National SEO?

What is local SEO and how does it differ from applying standard national practices? This is a fair question. A standard approach means you’re deriving traffic from across the country, regardless of the exact location of the searcher. While this approach can prove fruitful, you’re usually dealing with increased competition.

In some instances, a national SEO strategy is the best way to go. This includes larger retail operations that have the logistics in place to deliver goods across the country. If your business model can’t cater to a nationwide market, local SEO is the way to go.

The key difference between the two approaches boils down to keywords. When implementing a nationwide SEO campaign, you’ll be using general keywords with zero focus on location. By contrast, local SEO strategies will include considerable mention of location-specific keywords and phrases. Generally, this will involve embedding the names of towns and cities into your page content.

Although local SEO seems like a good fit for larger enterprises looking to grow can also benefit from it. Any organisation operating nationwide is advised to consider a hybrid model.

Local SEO Advantages

As discussed, the clear benefit of local SEO is to increase rankings in a local search context. If you’ve struggled with SEO in Cork by being too general, refocusing with a local search campaign can help you nab that number one position.

However, this is by no means the only benefit of a local SEO strategy. By maintaining higher Google rankings, you’re more likely to experience increased footfall to your physical premises. Sustained higher rankings also mean your website will enjoy increased authority over time.

Being successful with local SEO is also vital for lead generation. By securing that top spot on Google, you can expect more calls and queries, which can convert to sales and increased revenues. Even if your operation is small compared to others in the region, a strong local SEO presence can give you an edge on the competition.

Securing a strong local SEO position is also a must for established businesses. Maintaining this enviable palace on local search results is great for your reputation and can help you secure new opportunities.

Make Use of Local Business Directories

Make Use of Local Business Directories

Understanding local SEO is only half the battle. Unless you’re utilising things like local business directories, you may struggle to achieve any success from your local search campaigns.

We’ve talked a little bit about Google My Business, but there are other local business platforms with high domain authority to consider. Facebook is an obvious one, with more than 93% of brands and businesses active on the platform.

Irish Directory, Golden Pages, Yelp, LinkedIn Directory, and Yahoo Local are other worthwhile platforms to explore. To ensure you’re using these as effectively as possible, check to see if a platform can be tailored to provide results for your particular corner of the country.

How Do Local Business Directories Impact SEO?

By now, most of your local SEO questions should be answered. However, we haven’t yet explored how local business directories can benefit your local marketing efforts. Although this strategy is an off-page one, it can have a direct effect on how well you rank on search engine results pages.

This is because search engines analyse websites like directories and listing platforms to gather information about your business. If you’ve listed your business on many individual platforms, you benefit from an increased online presence. The greater your online presence, the higher you can expect to rank.

When adding your business information to online directories, consistency is key. Be as comprehensive as possible when adding information to each platform. You also need to ensure information is regularly updated. If search engines detect mismatched entries, you run the risk of harming your local search rankings.

Another major advantage of using these directories is that most platforms allow customers to add reviews and ratings. Positive write-ups boost your reputation and provide rich content that can be used to drive up your rankings.

The Importance of Local SEO

If you can answer the question “what is local SEO?”, you’ve no excuses for not using it. Almost half of all Google users are actively looking for local results when they enter a query. If your organic and local SEO efforts are second-rate, you stand little chance of meeting search criteria.

With a solid local SEO strategy, even the smallest of businesses can outcompete larger enterprises in a particular region. Furthermore, local SEO strategies are easy to implement. Many organic search tactics can be employed, albeit with a few noticeable tweaks.

Consistently maintaining the top-ranked position in local search will also improve your domain authority over time. If you’re eager to generate new leads that convert, local SEO can help you achieve your objectives.

However, local SEO isn’t all about on-page factors. A dedicated off-page strategy will also bolster your local search efforts. Make sure you’re adding your business information to as many online directories as possible. This demonstrates relevance to search engines, but also means you benefit from user-generated content like ratings, reviews, and photo uploads.