The Blog

Globalisation has had an undeniable impact of businesses and supply chains, but local customers are still vital to any business. This blog aims to help you understand just what local SEO is and how you and your business can benefit.

As you might gather from the name, local SEO allows your business to target customers in a specific region. For small/medium enterprises in any sector, this ability is crucial. Google is increasingly ranking local businesses higher in the search results. It makes sense, if you’re a barber in Glasgow, you’re going to have very little custom from people in Southend, no matter how fantastic your fade. So, if someone types in “barbers near me” that’s what they’re looking for. A local business, it’s important to tailor your local SEO to ensure your business shows up.

Even if you have multiple locations, you can still utilise local SEO, but it will take a little bit more work. Use the tools provided by search engines, like Google My Business.

As a small business, you probably already use customer testimonials. They’re an effective, easy way to gain credibility for your site and show off your skills. Why not use these in a way that feature the location you’re trying to target? Keep them current and you’ll benefit from local SEO and get the usual gains from traditional testimonials.

Keeping your data current and consistent. If anything is incomplete or inconsistent, there could be penalties from search engines that negatively affect your SEO. Other aspects of local citations, such as an email address and your business hours, give customers extra confidence in your authority in the local area. If your details change, make updating them on your site and social media platforms a priority.

Ensure your site is optimised for Geo-targeting. If there’s not much to excite local people looking for nearby products and services, it’s unlikely google will take interest either. Find a subtle balance that lets people know you’re nearby without sounding spammy.