Search engines play a critical role in online search as more than half of all visitors to websites tend to arrive there from a search engine and 91% of users report that they always or most of the time find the information they are seeking when they use search engines. Therefore, optimizing the business website to improve its ranking on the search engine result page (SERP) is crucial for today’s businesses.
Aside from that, a recent survey indicates that many users believe that companies whose websites appear at the top of SERPs are the top companies in that field. Research has also shown that users do not look past the first two or three pages of the result set. In this digital age, anyone can make a website for their own website. But, the more daunting task lies in making the website visible to potential customers. If businesses are not marketed strategically in the digital age, they could be left behind in the global marketplace. Thus, the need for local search engine optimization.
Local search engine optimization is a part of search engine optimization (or SEO) that focuses on improving a local business’s visibility in local search engine results. The results that appear in local search results typically answer a “near me” intended question, meaning that a searcher is searching for something “in [CITY]”—or the search engine has understood that there were geographic constraints to the search. By using local search optimization strategies, businesses can improve their visibility in these local search results for terms related to their business and their products or services. With the right SEO tools, unknown small companies can appear ahead of large, well-known companies.
- Georanker
Georanker has a unique feature that tracks the ranking of websites by multiple locations across the world. It displays this information through heat maps with distinct colors to show locations where the website ranks high.
Users can utilize this information while planning targeted campaigns to improve or maintain this ranking. The local rank tracker shows users the exact position of their targeted locations. It also has a citation tool that allows users to determine the sources of the citations their competitors use.
- Semrush Listing Management Tool
The Listing Management tool makes it easier than ever to add and update your business data to the most prominent directories within and outside of the US. Once your listings are live, you can use the tool to track and make updates to them to ensure they remain accurate and unified across platforms.
This comprehensive local SEO tool also allows you to monitor customer reviews, how well your business ranks in your target city, and your current local search performance across your target cities. You can even configure the tool to send you location reports via email, so you can stay on track without having to log into the tool.
Semrush is a comprehensive tool set for increasing web presence and learning about marketing trends. SEO, PPC, SMM, Keyword Research, Competitive Research, PR, Content Marketing, Marketing Insights, and Campaign Management marketers can benefit from our tools and reports.
- Keyword Tool
Keywordtool is a great place to start doing localized keyword research for smaller businesses, as well as businesses that already have a multi-pronged digital strategy. It works well across platforms and has keyword data specific to Amazon, YouTube, eBay, Instagram, and more.
If you’re only looking to monitor Google rankings (or any other data specific to Google Maps/Google My Business), this probably isn’t the tool for you. But Keywordtool’s ability to drill down on keyword and search volume data and filter it by city (with a fair amount of smaller towns and cities included) is what makes this tool great. We recommend using it to find related terms when you’re doing initial research on a locale.
- Local SEO Checklist
A good place to start if you want to learn about the basic elements of a complete local SEO strategy is localSEOchecklist. Here you will find subpages on a huge range of website fixes to help you understand exactly what is necessary when improving your chances of being found by local customers online.
And the best part is it’s completely free!
This website is great for those business owners who find it beneficial to understand exactly what changes need to be made to their existing site. Even if your technical SEO knowledge is limited, this will at least explain the fundamentals that need to be addressed before you ask a local SEO team to make improvements to your site. If you’re feeling particularly diligent you can even tick off each point using the localSEOchecklist as a benchmark.
- BrightLocal
Do you have active competitors who are also trying to stay ahead when it comes to local SEO? You need a tool that will tell you where you need to stay competitive. BrightLocal is one of the best tools that will simultaneously help you improve your own local SEO strategy, alongside identifying your competitor’s rankings on all major search engines, so you can make sure you stay ahead.
BrightLocal comes with many tools to make it easier for you to improve your local SEO strategy including local search rankings monitoring, citation locator and building, a local search audit, customisable SEO reports and a local SEO dashboard to review your current status.
I have been using BrightLocal for about a month now and so far I am very impressed with the kind of features it offers for local SEO and the kind of reports that are available.
Matthew F.
Key Takeaway:
With a collection of tools at your disposal, you can easily maintain your local SEO strategy while also fine-tuning your online listings. While these tools might help you identify current difficulties with your online listings, it’s typically more beneficial to hire a team of specialists to handle your continuing approach.
Don’t forget to share your thoughts and read the related blog: The Ultimate Google My Business Optimization Checklist (2022)
