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In today's digital age, local search engine optimisation (SEO) has become a game-changer for businesses looking to attract nearby customers. Whether you're a small business owner or a marketing professional, mastering local SEO techniques can significantly impact your bottom line.

In this comprehensive guide, we'll share insider tips and strategies that have helped our readers learn how to optimise their online presence, leverage local search algorithms, and outrank competitors. Discover why partnering with the best digital marketing company in Kolkata can transform your local SEO efforts and drive more customers to your doorstep. 

Understanding Local SEO

As you may know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, which digital marketers use to show their brand higher in SERP, or Search Engine Result Page, organically when a user searches for information related to the brand’s products, business, and services. But when it comes to local businesses, they don’t need people worldwide to find their business online. 

They only want nearby searchers to find them, so they offer their services and gain profit. Here comes the importance of local SEO. Local SEO refers to particular strategies that the best digital marketing company uses to promote and attract more businesses from local searchers. 

Factors That Matter for Local SEO 

If you are a newbie to marketing your brand online, it’s challenging to understand the essential factors that make your effort as effective as possible. Keep in mind that local SEO is a combination of both on-page and off-page activities that help businesses enhance their local presence. 

Simply put, local SEO helps Google understand the location and services your business offers and makes it understand that your business is popular and trustworthy. Google considers three factors when ranking particular businesses in Google Maps and local packs, including: 

• Distance
• Relevance 
• Prominence 

In addition, Google also assesses other factors, such as:

• Quality
• Usability 
• Relevance 

How Does the Best Digital Marketing Company Do Local SEO? 

GMB (Google My Business) Optimisation

The Google Business Profile is one of the most important ranking factors when it comes to Google’s Local Pack results. It’s easy to create a profile, so businesses should enter as much relevant information as possible. Remember that whatever information you fill in must match the website details. 

• Verify Your GMB Listing 
• All the business information, including address, name, and phone number, is accurate. 
• Respond to customer reviews. 
• Include high-quality photos and mention your business hours. 

 

Local Backlinks 

The best digital marketing company acquires backlinks from directories, local websites, and blogs to improve your site’s authority. Also, the businesses must participate in local community sponsorships and events to gain valuable links and get recognised by local sources. For example, your business can join local business groups and engage with local influencers and bloggers. 

On-page SEO 

Digital marketers optimise the website content with local keywords so that the pages rank higher in the SERP. For example, they use keywords in meta descriptions, title tags, headers, and body content. Also, you must share news articles, blog posts, and event announcements to cater to local users. 

Find Local Keywords

Before doing anything, you must find a set of high-volume local keywords to rank your business because nearby people will use these terms to find them. For instance, if you are an electrician in Kolkata, the keywords could be:

To find the keywords to drive highly targeted local traffic to your site, the best digital marketing company first has to research the competitors using the keyword gap tool, Google Autocomplete, and Google Keyword Planner. 

Build an NAP Citation

Businesses must list their businesses on Google Business profiles, but they should also use business directories and NAP (name, address, phone number) citations. As you know, Google assesses authority and prominence as ranking factors; therefore, having citations and business listings makes your business more trustworthy to Google and increases the chance of ranking. 

The best digital marketing company recommends businesses build profiles on several directories depending upon their locations, including: 

• Foursquare 
• Angie’s List 
• Yellow Pages 
• TripAdvisor 
• Yelp 

Keep in mind that citations on high-quality websites enhance your ranking, while citations on spammy sites can lower your ranking. 

Local Schema Markup 

Nowadays, the best digital marketing company uses schema markup to help Google understand your business better. Schema markup is known as structured data, which Google or any search engine uses to monitor your Google Business Profile insights for views, clicks, and calls. So, you must use schema markup on the website for events, products, local businesses, and reviews. 

Mobile Optimisation 

Once you know which keywords to rank for, it’s time to optimise the website for local SEO. Digital marketers must use several local SEO-specific elements on the website, besides using location-specific keywords. 

Apart from creating a contact page, creating pages for local keywords, including business addresses, and adding local schema, you must make sure that the site is mobile-optimised. Nowadays, most users search for something using their smartphones. So you must ensure that the website works great on every device. 

Top Local SEO Ranking Factors in 2024

Remember that local SEO does not only optimise Google’s organic search results but also optimises Google’s local pack. According to statistics, the top local SEO ranking factors are: 

Local Pack 

• Google Business Profile 
• On-Page
• Reviews 
• Links
• Citations
• Personalisations 

Local Organic Page 

• Links
• Behavioural
• GBP
• Personalisation 
• Citations
• Reviews 

How Can You Monitor Your Local SEO Results? 

There is no doubt that the local keyword ranking of your site changes regularly. Therefore, you should hire the best digital marketing company to monitor your progress according to your local SEO strategy. Remember that analysing local SEO will help you track success and adjust strategies. 

• You must track the ranking on Google Maps to see where your business profile ranks on Google Maps.
• Track local ranking in SERP to check performance in different zip codes.
• Build your local visibility.
• You can use Google Analytics to track website traffic from local searches. 
• Analyse competitor performance in local search results. 
• Check your NAP (name, address, and phone) consistency across online directories. 
• Keep an eye on customer reviews and ratings across platforms. 
• Monitor your Google Business Profile insights for views, clicks, and calls. 

These methods will help gauge your local SEO effectiveness and identify areas for improvement. 

Why is Local SEO Important for Businesses? 

According to research, approximately 98% of people search online to find information before purchasing products or services. By optimising local search, companies can stand out on Google Maps, increase their visibility in location-specific queries, and appear in Google's Local Pack. Ultimately, local SEO translates to higher conversion rates and a stronger local customer base in today's digital marketplace. 

Local SEO Checklist 

These are the particular steps that the best digital marketing company strictly follows to enhance your brand’s online presence and boost local SEO. The following are: 

• The site should be mobile-friendly. 
• The loading speed is fast. 
• Claim your Google Business profile. 
• Build business citations. 
• Optimise your Google Business profile. 
• Get more backlinks for your site. 
• Encourage online reviews. 

Find Your Brand’s Voice with Us!

We hope now you understand what local SEO marketing is and why this is beneficial for small to large businesses. However, businesses should do social media marketing and standard SEO simultaneously to improve their overall ranking. 
Remember that the best digital marketing company in Kolkata can help you in three areas, including off-page link-building and brand mentions, on-page optimisation, and strategy creation. If you want to boost your online presence, schedule a free consultation with SB Infowaves to learn how we can help you with local SEO services.