In this blog post we’re talking SEO, or more specifically local SEO.

Local SEO refers to the words and phrases a business uses on their website that allows them to rank well when a person does a search for companies in a specific area.

Now, let’s get started.

Websites That Might not Need Local SEO

Before we launch off into how you can make your website a prime candidate for appearing in local search results I should probably issue a short disclaimer:

You may not need any local SEO.

Yes, that’s right. Depending on what your business is and who you’re catering to you may not need to have any local SEO. 

Written With Design is actually a perfect example of a business that doesn’t need any local SEO on it’s website. As I’m sure you already know I am a professional copywriter and I started Written WIth Design with the intention of expanding my field of work and bringing in new clients.

Because services like copywriting, consulting, and even website setups can all be done remotely (thank you to the creators of the internet and cell service) my clients can be in a different state or even a different country. Therefore I don’t have to emphasise my location on Written With Design’s website. 

Besides, since I work out of my house that’s all I’d have to show for my location when it comes to pictures… not that google maps hasn’t already beaten me to that.

If you offer services that are conducted remotely or ship your products to your customers then you’re probably safe not devoting very much of your copy to describing your location. That being said you may still want to provide an address in the page footer.

What Websites do Need Local SEO?

First and foremost on our list of businesses that absolutely must have local SEO incorporated into their website is brick-and-mortar stores. 

Just in case someone who’s reading this doesn’t know what I mean by “brick-and-mortar” all that means is that the business is in a building where customers come to get either services or products. 

This includes...

• Grocery stores

• Beauty salons

• Gyms

• Small, personally owned shops

• And more

The goal of a brick-and-mortar business is to get people to physically come to their establishment and give them money. In order for that to happen people need to know that the business is there in the first place.

Let’s use a fictional pet shop as an example.

“Marie’s Tweeters” (I’m hoping there isn’t a real store by this name, if there is I apologize) is a pet store in exampletown Iowa that specializes in selling birds. In order to get business from her local area Marie needs to make sure her website includes lots of local SEO. 

There are lots of ways she can do that, but I’ll just give you three:

• Make sure the name of the town her business is located in is mentioned on every page of her website at least once.

• Have her store’s address on the Contact page, possibly the Home page, and in the footer at the bottom of each page.

• Mention some of the varieties of birds and bird care products that she sells at her pet shop so that when people look up “parakeets in exampletown” Marie’s Tweeters will come up in the search results.

Local Keywords

You live in your area, so as long as you’ve got a good buyer profile all lined out you should already know what keywords will get local people's attention. Mentioning any landmarks or other nearby towns can also help increase your local SEO rankings.

As always the key to finding great keywords, whether they be for general search or focused on your local area, you have to look at things from your customer’s point of view. When they sit down at their computer or pull out their phone to look up an activity or product in their area they’re going to type in something localized.

“Where can I rock climb in boulder Colorado?”

“Pizza shops in Del Rio.”

These bite-sized questions are a gold mine for finding your local SEO keywords and they’re even good for figuring out how you should phrase them.

So, let’s wrap this up. The three steps to making sure your website is optimized for local searches are:

• Deciding where or not you need local SEO.

• Looking at things from a customer’s perspective to find out what their search queries will be.

• Using those search queries, your business name, and services to get effective, natural keywords that you will then place throughout your website.