Search results on Google are organized according to several parameters, some as important as others. But users’ query behavior is constantly changing and search results are increasingly influenced by location. Hence the importance of improving its local referencing to be well positioned on local geolocalized queries.
What is local SEO ?
Local referencing (or local seo) is a web optimization technique that appeared during the 2000s. The local seo is a set of practices that allows to position a website on search engines. Search results are nowadays strongly influenced by geographical location(Source Wikipedia). What is réellement ? When a person makes a query on Google, for example, they get results based on their geographic location: their country, their city, and even the neighborhood they are in at the time of the query. Queries are even sometimes targeted according to the area they are used to visiting. Google’s robots use an algorithm and technologies that allow this local referencing. Whether you are a web agency in Cannes, a lawyer in Nice, or a hairdresser in Antibes, local referencing will allow you to appear on these geolocalized keywords.
1. Google My Business: essential for your local SEO
If your site does not yet appear in local search results, it may be because you have not yet created a Google My Business listing. This listing is essential to boost your presence on Google in your region. It has a double role in terms of referencing. First, it places and positions your business on Google maps. Secondly, the card will allow you to have a graph that appears on the right side of the results on Google. For a good local SEO, you must therefore take care of your Google My Business listing. To do this, a form is submitted to you at your request. Essentially, here are three points to help you fill it out.
The identity of the company
These are the elements that uniquely identify your company. You must clearly show the name of the company (the sign) and its address (Nice or Cannes for example). In addition to these two indispensable elements, you must mention the telephone number you have posted on your website. Add your keywords on which you wish to position yourself in the description of your listing, your opening hours and the links of your social networks.
The “category” part
This part is crucial. It must be carefully described. It is for you to be as clear as possible about the category of your site and the activity of your company. This is why it is advisable to register your company in several categories at the same time. An organization can provide services in a specific category while having indirect interests in other areas.
Validation
It is necessary to continue. You will receive a code by phone or by mail. It is this code that you must use to validate your form. Finally, it is important that you take your time to fully understand the Google My Business platform in order to complete all the necessary modules. Don’t forget to add a photo of your company. Take care to name the photo by name containing a keyword related to your business and its geographical location. What will make the difference with other companies is the amount of concrete information you record.
Comments
The comments on your GMB file are very important for your local SEO. Ask your customers to leave you a comment (preferably target your happy customers). There is even a link to be retrieved from your Google My Business listing allowing you to directly access the form to add a comment. Think about it in your communications (newsletters, transactional emails etc…). Don’t forget to reply to the comments left by your customers in order to maintain the link with them.
Use ALL the tools offered on Google My Business
Take good care of your Google My Business page by making regular updates, by adding your price lists, your products… Do not neglect the creation of articles. The goal is to make Google understand that you are an expert in your sector at the level of local businesses and to take a maximum of space on the right side of the screen!
2. A local-oriented SEO optimization
The local referencing of your site does not only depend on the Google My Business platform. Above all, you must think about optimizing the pages of your website. Otherwise, despite all the efforts you would have made, you will have a hard time being among the best Google results locally. It is therefore necessary to have a good SEO strategy. To help you, here are some good attitudes to have for an SEO optimization.
The creation of landing pages by city
It is not the first reflex, but it is one of the best options to improve your local SEO. It involves creating several pages, each one for a place where you want to be referenced. It is not about creating a single page for the only city where you are located. You have set up your business in a city, but also in a neighborhood and close to an area that is highly sought after on the internet. In this case, there are at least 4 landing pages to create. You can even create them for neighboring cities. This is recommended. This allows you to target a larger audience in your catchment area. Remember to put a Google map on each of these pages will also allow you to ensure that the page is well positioned in search results.
The schema.org structured data
The implementation of schema.org tags is essential for your local referencing. They are not intended for your visitors but will allow search engines to know more about your activity. You can use the following script and place it in the HEAD tag of your website.
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "http://schema.org",
"@type": "LocalBusiness",
"name": "My Company",
"description": "The description of my company",
"image": "https://www.monsiteweb.com/monimage.jpg",
"logo": "https://www.monsiteweb.com/monlogo.jpg",
"url": "https://www.monsiteweb.com",
"telephone": "04.93.00.00.00.00",
"sameAs": ["https://twitter.com/","https://linkedin.com","https://www.facebook.com"],
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"streetAddress": "My company address",
"addressLocality": "City of my company",
"postalCode": "Postal code",
"addressCountry": "France
}
}
</script>
If you use WordPress, you can install the Rank Math SEO plugin that allows you to enter all the information for generating structured data local business.
3. A quality netlinking strategy
The influence of backlinks on SEO is very large. To improve local SEO, local backlinks are also important. In practice, you will need to create quality articles that other websites, e-commerce, blogs and institutions in the geographical area where you would like to be referenced, relay. Backlinks are not easy to obtain, let alone local inbound links. That’s why many sites prefer to buy them directly. Nevertheless, there are a few tips to get them.
- Integrate an organization that brings together companies by area of specialization and especially by geographical location. Once you are a member of such an organization, you can ask other members to relay your content on their sites.
- Plan events where local elected officials are present. With a little luck, your company’s actions will be relayed by the local press.
- Create a digital bridge with companies that are in the same geographical area as your company. Think about building relationships with bloggers and influencers in the city. For example, if you are in Cannes, a Cannes influencer can propel you.
4. Quotes for your local SEO
When the name of your company or website is mentioned on several other sites, whether in an article or in a comment, it has a certain reputation that the Google search engine considers important. Thus, if it is local sites on which you are mentioned, it has a positive impact on your local SEO. The sites will tell you if your services are of quality or if the contents of your pages are good. It is then up to you to take care of every detail in the sense of the quality of the services of the company and the website. In addition, you should know that one of the main factors that Google’s algorithm considers for local SEO is the citation. To find out if you are listed where you would like to be listed, you will need to do a complete audit of your site. You can use dedicated tools to do so. Start with local directories (yellow pages, yelp …) And you, what are your techniques for your local SEO?
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