Can you imagine the hassle of finding an electrician if every Google search returns global SEO results?
How many pages of search results do you have to browse to find a beautician in your area?
On the other hand, think how inefficient your digital marketing strategy would be if your local business had to compete with every competitor worldwide for clicks.
Fortunately, Google has provided a solution to this problem through local SEO.
By allowing you to target only customers in your area, it’s a fast and easy way to get information about your business to the people who are most likely to support it.
But what if you have multiple locations in multiple cities?
Is it possible to rank for keywords targeting multiple cities without breaking your local SEO?
But before you go on to tweak your site for local search, there’s one caveat: If you do it wrong, it can really work against you. So it’s important to make sure you do it right.
It’s a bit more complex than plain old search engine optimization, but fear not – we’re here to guide you through the process.
Follow the instructions below, and you’ll be ranking in search of all your locales before you know it. Ready to get started?
Why Is Local SEO Important?
If local SEO has the potential to “hurt” you, why do it? Here are two good reasons:
Local SEO Attracts Foot Traffic
Imagine you’re out of town for your cousin’s wedding.
The night before the big day, you’re in your hotel room craving a cheesy pizza.
You pick up the phone and Google… what?
No, you might use location-specific keywords on Google, like [best pizza in Louisville].
When you get the results, you don’t say, “nice to know,” and then go to bed.
No. Instead, you take the action that drives search in the first place. In other words, you pick up the phone and order pizza.
Or you wake up, jump in a taxi and eat at that spectacular pizzeria.
And you’re not the only one doing this.
In fact, every month, searchers visit 1.5 billion locations related to their search.
And you’re not one in a million people doing local searches either.
Nearly 46% of Google searches have local intent.
So the next time you’re thinking about skipping local SEO, think again.
This could actually be your ticket to getting that random out-of-vacation guy to check out your pizza place. (Or a beauty salon. Or a hardware store – you get the point.)
Local SEO Ranks You Higher On Google
We’re all well informed on the SEO KPIs you should track to rank on Google.
With local SEO, you hit both birds with one stone. Note that this is based on the distance/relevance of the locator’s location to the business.
City Pages: Good Or Bad For SEO?
Once upon a time, in the dark ages of SEO, city pages used to include local keywords to rank higher on Google.
Say you create a page and write content about flower delivery.
Then, you’ll copy your content to several different pages, each with a different city keyword.
So, the pages for [flower delivery Louisville], [flower delivery Newark], and [flower delivery Shelbyville], each with the exact same content.
As is often the case, it didn’t take long for Google to become aware of this spammy tactic.
When launching Panda Update, it makes sure to flag and penalize sites that do it.
So city pages can hurt your SEO and penalize your site.
How Do I Optimize My Business For Multiple Locations On Google?
1. Use Google Business Profile
Remember, Google’s mission is to organize and provide the most relevant and reliable information available to online searchers.
The goal is to give people what they are looking for.
This means if they can verify your business, you will have a higher chance of ranking on the SERPs.
When you sign up for a Google Business Profile, you confirm to Google exactly what you offer and where you are located.
In turn, Google will be confident about sharing your content with searchers.
The good news is that Google Business Profiles are free and easy to use.
Just create an account, claim your business and fill in as much information about it as you can.
Photos and customer reviews (as well as replying to reviews) can also help you optimize your Google Business Profile account.
2. Get Into Google’s Local Map Pack
Ever do a local search and get three featured suggestions from Google?
Screenshot of a search for [plumbing near Florida], Google, November 2022
Yes, this business is very lucky.
Chances are prospectors will choose one of them and look no further for their plumbing needs. Bad luck, everyone.
Of course, this makes it invaluable to be one of the three listed in the Local Map Pack. And with the right technique, you can.
Here are three things you can do to increase your chances of hitting one of the three coveted slots:
Sign Up For Google Business Profile
As discussed in the previous point, Google prioritizes verified sites.
Give Google all of your information, including your company name, address, telephone number, and hours of operation.
Photos and other media also work very well. And remember, everyone loves pictures.
The better your review, the higher your chances of being featured on Google Local Map Plans.
3. Build Your Internal Linking Structure
Did you know that changing your internal linking structure will help improve your SEO?
Of course, external links pointing to your site are great.
But you don’t control them. And getting to them requires a little effort. If you can’t get it yet, internal linking should help you:
All of this will help you rank higher on Google and increase your chances of being found by someone doing a local search.
4. Build Your NAP Citations
NAP is an abbreviation of name, address and telephone number.
In general, it stands for your online business information.
The first place you want a NAP to be is your website.
A good rule of thumb is to put this information at the bottom of your homepage, where visitors expect to find it.
Screenshot from allweekplumbing.com, November 2022
It’s also great for listing your business information in online data aggregators.
This aggregator provides data to top sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Microsoft Bing.
Here are some big ones that you shouldn’t miss.
Listing your website in all the top aggregators sounds boring, but it’s worth it if you want to get a feature like this.
Screenshot from Trip Advisor, November 2022
Important note: Make sure your NAP is consistent across the web.
One mistake can seriously damage your chances of being featured on Google Local Map Plans or on sites like Yelp and TripAdvisor.
5. Use Schema Markup
Sometimes called structured data or simply schema, schema markup on your website can significantly impact your local SEO results.
But if you’re not a developer, it can seem intimidating.
Don’t worry – it’s not as hard as you might think.
A collaboration between Google, Yahoo, Yandex, and Microsoft, Schema.org was founded in 2011 to build a common vocabulary between search engines.
While it can be used to improve your search result display, help you show up for relevant queries, and increase the time a visitor spends on a page, Google is very clear that it does not impact search rankings.
So, why are we talking about it here? Because it increases the likelihood of your content being used for rich results, makes you more attractive and increases click-through rates.
Additionally, schema provides several different property options relevant to local SEO, allowing you to select relevant schema categories.
By choosing Schema.org/bakery for your cupcake shop, you help search engines better understand the topic of your website.
After choosing the right category, you need to select the sub-properties to ensure validation. This includes the business name, opening hours, area served, etc.
Schema.org/areaServed on your local landing page must always match the service area set up in your Google Business Profile, AND your local landing page must mention those same cities in its page content.
For a full list of required and recommended schema properties and information about validating your structured data, see this article. Using the plugin, you can also find more information about Schema markup for WordPress.
6. Optimize Your Site For Mobile
If you woke up in the middle of the night to find your bathroom was flooded with water from a burst faucet, would you:
If it’s 3am, you most likely chose number 2.
People don’t just choose their smartphones over their computers at 3am.
Nearly 59% of all site traffic comes from mobile devices.
Screenshot from Statista, November 2022
As usual, Google took notice and switched to mobile-first indexing.
All of this means your site must be optimized for mobile if you want to rank well on Google, especially for local SEO.
Here are six tips for making your website mobile-friendly:
Bonus Tip: Make Your Most Important City Pages Unique
If you want to name all the cities in the area you serve, simply list them on the page – you don’t need a page for each city to rank in most cases.
To create distinct pages, write original content for each county or city.
You can simply list all the cities you serve on one page.
Or you can go ahead and create individual pages for each city.
When you take this step, make sure that each page’s content is unique.
And no, I don’t mean simply changing the word “hand wrestling” to “hand wrestling.”
You will need to do additional research about your target location, then go ahead and write information that is specific and useful for readers in that area.
This is an excellent example of 7th State Builders.
Adding information about a town or city is also a great way to build your client’s trust.
A OnePoll survey conducted on behalf of CG Roxane found 67% of people trust local businesses – by identifying with your understanding of a situation and problem somewhere, you are insinuating that you are local – even if you have multiple locations spread across the country.
They will see how much you know their area and trust you to solve their area-specific problems.
Important note: Make sure this information is present on all variations of your website.
With Google’s mobile-first index implemented, you don’t want to drop in rankings just because you failed to optimize for mobile.
5 Tools To Scale Your Local SEO
What if you have 100 locations? How do you manage the list for them?
Here are some tools to help you measure your local SEO efforts.
Ready To Target Local SEO?
Hopefully, I’ve made it very clear on this point – local SEO is important. And just because you run multiple locations in different cities doesn’t mean you can’t get them to work for you.
How you do it is up to you. Do you want to create one landing page for each location? Or do you want to list all your locations on the same page?
Whatever you choose, be aware of the power of local SEO in attracting customers to your neighborhood.
Make sure you do it right. If, after reading this section, you are still unsure what steps to take, imagine yourself as a customer.
What type of information will you be looking for?
What will convince you that your business is perfect for their needs?
There’s a good chance location will be one of the driving factors, and the best way to take advantage of that is with local SEO.
Featured Image: New Africa/Shutterstock
The highest salary an SEO can earn is ₹8.0 Lakh per year (₹66.7k per month). How does SEO Salary in India change with experience? Entry-Level SEOs with less than three years of experience earn an average salary of ₹2.6 Lakh per year.
How do I rank high on local SEO?
Local SEO Tips
- Optimize for Google My Business.
- Engage on social media and add posts to Google My Business.
- Make sure your name, address and phone number are consistent online.
- Optimize online directories and citations.
- Do a local SEO audit.
- Improve your internal linking structure.
How do you rank for local keywords? Research Local Keywords Consider the different locations and areas you serve and where your customers come from. If you have a delivery service, include the name of the area, county, city, etc., in your blog posts and site content. People tend to look for businesses near them first.
Why is SEO dying?
SEO is not dead in 2022. SEO is still a very powerful digital marketing strategy. SEO will continue to change as Google updates its algorithms, but that’s to be expected. If you are considering SEO for your website, now is a good time to start.
Is SEO a dying industry? No. SEO is not a dying industry. The SEO industry continues to evolve as it has over the past few years. To be successful with SEO today, you need to understand what SEO strategies work and avoid those that don’t.
Is SEO still relevant 2022?
The fact that SEO works so well even in 2022 as a method of delivering better commercial results for business websites and their owners, combined with the need for ongoing research into what works, makes it still relevant as a digital marketing method, but so much more. as a valuable service and gift…
Is it worth learning SEO in 2022?
Yes, SEO is priceless—in 2022, in the future, in the past, and always will be. As long as websites and search engines exist, SEO is necessary. SEO 10 years from now will likely be very different from SEO today, but you should always make sure that your website is sending the right signals to search engines so you can be found.
Is SEO in demand 2022?
SEO is a promising career in 2022 as it gives you access to a wide variety of opportunities. You can work from home, accept clients, and even start and develop your own website. Plus, the three most popular websites, Google.com, YouTube.com, and Amazon.com, are the biggest search engines.
Will SEO be replaced by AI?
AI will completely change SEO as we know it. From optimization to link building, it will have a significant impact on every aspect of SEO. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more sophisticated, search engine optimization will have to adapt.
What is replacing SEO?
Answer Engine Optimization to Replace Search Engine Optimization.
Is AI used in SEO?
Search optimization AI analyzes the relationship between site, page content and search engine rankings. The result is a fast, actionable and even automated tactic for optimizing competition. Here’s how: Identify Opportunities.
What’s replacing SEO?
Answer Engine Optimization to Replace Search Engine Optimization.
Does SEO exist in the future?
The future of SEO in 2023 also includes creating evergreen content. Content is a critical component if you want to be successful with SEO in 2023. If you don’t create content, you won’t rank anywhere in search results.
What is new in SEO 2022?
In 2022, Core Web Data tops the list as it is not only a ranking factor, but also continues to become a stronger factor every year. Core Web Data is a set of ranking factors that Google uses to view the overall user experience on a given website.
What are the 3 pillars of SEO?
The Three Pillars of SEO: Authority, Relevance and Experience.
What are the three pillars of SEO? In contrast, SEO is supported by three distinct pillars: discovery, relevance and authority. Make sure your website keeps these three future SEO concepts in mind, and you’ll have a content marketing strategy that will increase your place on search engine results pages (SERPs).
What are the core principles of SEO?
Original, relevant and unique content on every page is a pillar of good SEO. Content length, structure, and use of relevant keywords help crawlers understand what your site is ranking for. It’s especially important to pay attention to this area with regard to above-the-fold content.
What are the 3 core must haves of basic SEO?
Focusing on these three pillars of SEO – authority, relevance, and experience †will increase the opportunities for your content and make link earning easier. You now have everything you need to know for SEO success, so get to work!
Is 80 SEO score good?
The range for a good SEO rating is between 80 and 100. This shows that your site meets the highest quality standards for technical SEO, content, UX, and mobile usability. Some SEO experts will tell you to shoot with a score of 85 or higher.
What is a good website score? According to Google, a score above 90 is considered good. Anything below that likely needs improvement to avoid the risk of ranking lower in Google search results.
Is Local SEO effective?
Local SEO is very important because it helps you: Increase your online visibility. Bring more foot traffic to your physical location. Attract more targeted traffic, which increases your chances of conversion.
Who benefits from SEO & Why? The most obvious benefit of search engine optimization in general is the ability to increase your ranking in Google search and other search engines. All businesses â local or otherwise â crave that #1 spot because they have the best chance of attracting new website visitors.
Is it worth paying for local SEO optimization?
You will find that search engine optimization is invaluable for your small or local business. If you are in the market for SEO services or are looking for a second opinion, feel free to contact us today for a free consultation.
How much should I pay local SEO?
What is the Average Local SEO Cost? For a one-time project focused on analysis, research, cleaning and optimization, the average price for a Local SEO project is between $300 – $1500 with an average price around $750.
Is local SEO worth it?
Local SEO helps increase your online visibility so that you get noticed by new customers. Optimizing Google Maps and Google My Business can lead to more direct calls, leads and sales. Optimizing your website for localized terms means you attract better targeted traffic and leads.
Why is local SEO good?
Simply put, local SEO is where you focus on increasing your ranking and visibility in local search results like Google’s Map Pack/Local Pack. Organic SEO is how you increase the ranking of web pages in organic search. How your website ranks in those organic results can also positively affect your Local Plan ranking.
What is the benefit of local SEO?
Local SEO helps increase your online visibility so that you get noticed by new customers. Optimizing Google Maps and Google My Business can lead to more direct calls, leads and sales. Optimizing your website for localized terms means you attract better targeted traffic and leads.
What is local SEO and why does it matter?
Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of increasing search engine visibility for local businesses, especially those with a physical location. By following local SEO best practices, businesses can increase organic traffic from searches made by customers in nearby areas.
Does local SEO work?
Any business that has a physical location or serves a geographic area can benefit from local SEO. If you search Google for important keywords related to your business and a map with 3 lists appears underneath (also known as a map package), then local SEO can help you grow your business.
How long does it take for local SEO to work?
Many SEO companies will tell you that it takes 4 to 6 months to start seeing results. That’s generally accurate, but keep in mind this is when you start seeing results, and SEO results grow over time. Any results you get in 6 months should be significantly less than what you get in 12 months.
How much should I pay local SEO?
What is the Average Local SEO Cost? For a one-time project focused on analysis, research, cleaning and optimization, the average price for a Local SEO project is between $300 – $1500 with an average price around $750.