Many small business owners and marketers consider the box ticked in terms of local search engine optimisation once they’ve got their Google Maps listing verified and some geo-keywords dotted across the pages of their website.
While these tactics prove fruitful and we’ve seen some of our clients get a lot of local business from their Google Maps listing, gaining a stronghold on local SEO keywords takes a bit more work.
If there are a number of competitors vying for prime search positions in your local region, as is often the case unless you operate in a very specific niche, you will need to unleash a secret weapon.
That specific secret weapon isn’t anything startling – it’s a blog!
Many businesses vying solely or largely for local custom dismiss their need for a blog and feel they would have nothing to write about.
This is a huge missed opportunity.
Blogging is without a doubt the fastest and most cost-effective way to dominate local SEO search results and dominating local search results = conversions.
“76% of local searches resulting in a phone call enquiry and 50% of consumers visiting a store within one day of performing a local search.”
Let’s dig into the specifics around exactly how blogging can help your rise to your local search ranking dominance.
Optimisation for a greater scope of keywords
If you operate a small business, your website is only going to host a couple of pages describing your key services and geographical areas of operation.
Within the content of these pages, there is only so much scope for keyword optimisation (referencing keywords searched for in your local area e.g. cosmetic dentist Sligo, car valeting Brentford or landscaping Henderson Nevada) without constituting as keyword stuffing.
This is where your blog has a key role to play.
Your blog offers a great place to add new, additional content around your local keywords each week, providing optimisation opportunities and search ranking opportunities for a much greater scope of local SEO keywords.
Give other websites several different reasons to link to your website
According to Moz, link signals are still considered the most influential factor in local organic search rankings in 2017.
With a website consisting of service web pages only, there are few opportunities to earn backlinks, other than traditional directory or supplier link building.
By blogging about your expertise, your business has a far greater chance of attracting backlinks from other websites in your geographical area and your industry, which is golden for your local SEO strategy.
Increase frequency of social shares
Another important influential factor for local SEO is the level of engagement your website content receives on social media from particular geographical areas.
After all, this indicates one of the most undeniable insights for Google to judge just how relevant your website is to users in certain regions.
Engaging blog content demonstrating tips relative to your area of expertise, your business or your community are hot property for social media.
This is the type of content people are most likely to share across social channels, passing on excellent local SEO benefits to your search engine rankings.
Blogging = search ranking success = sales
Search engine rankings aside – and they will benefit a lot from blogging – your website blog is an opportunity for you to assert the personality and knowledge of your team among your target audience.
Not only will blogging ensure your website gets found for local searches but your blog, as a hub of tips, project/product case studies and local community stories, will pitch your business as the local leaders in your industry.
This perception of your business is what will ultimately lead a searcher to take the next step and pick up the phone or visit your store. Blogging for local SEO = search success = sales. It couldn’t be simpler!
Get in Touch With Us For More Info
As one of the most results-driven SEO companies in Sligo, Roscommon, Galway and the surrounding areas, our team of content writers are blogging ninjas that can help you to keep a blog that engages your readers and produces results.
If you’ve convinced yourself that writing just isn’t for you and having a blog section on your website is out of the question, we’d love to help you out. Get in touch with us today for more info.