Local SEO

All right, every search for something like best tacos near me and been like, how do those top spots get there? We’re going deep on local SEO today. How to make those search results work for you. Absolutely. So if you’re ready to really own your local market, this is the deep dive for you. You know, it’s wild how much local search has just blown up. Mobile searches open now near me. Those have jumped like over 400% just year over year. So people like right now are looking for businesses just like yours in their area at this moment. 400%. That’s huge. It is. Really shows how important this is for any business, no matter how small you are. Yeah. And the interesting thing is local SEO, it’s not just about like fighting for space in your neighborhood, right? OK. It can actually make your whole SEO strategy better, reaching people locally and globally. So it’s not either it’s like local SEO boosts everything. Exactly. Makes sense. So where do we even begin with this stuff? Well, think of it like building a house. You need that solid foundation and for local SEO, that foundation is three things. Your Google Business Profile, Local Listings and Customer Reviews. All right. I’m hooked. Let’s break them down starting with Google Business Profile. GBP, I’ve heard it called. Yeah. Sounds important. It’s essential. It’s like your shop’s front window, but on Google Maps and De-search. Right. It’s often the very first thing potential customers see about you. So you got to make it count. Not just a listing, they’re more like a mini website almost. Exactly. And here’s a pro tip. Adding a new photo to your GBP every single week, that signals to Google that you’re active, you’re engaged. Google loves rewarding businesses like that with better visibility. Oh, it’s a good tip. I’m already thinking what pictures I can use. So it’s not just setting it up. It’s keeping it fresh. Exactly. Updating regularly with photos, responding to reviews, even using Google Post to share updates or offers. Like keeping your actual store looking good. Got to do the same online. That’s it. All right. What about those local business listings? What’s the deal there? Consistency is key for those. Your business name, the address, the phone number, what we call NAP. NAP. Has to be exactly the same on every platform. Oh, wow. Yelp, Facebook, any industry websites, your own website, everything. So like if my address is slightly different on Yelp than my Google profile, yeah, that could hurt me. It absolutely can. It confuses the search engines, confuses potential customers. Yeah. Like would you trust a business with mismatched contact info everywhere? Probably not. It starts to look shady. Right. So it’s about building trust with those engines, showing them everything’s accurate and it’s consistent. Efficiency is a ranking factor then. Huge one. Shows you’re trustworthy, reliable. OK. Got it. Point taken. Yeah. All right. Third part of our foundation, those customer reviews. Yeah. We all know how much those stars matter. Oh, they’re powerful, especially locally. It’s what we call social proof. People are way more likely to trust a business with good reviews from other customers. Like a friend recommending it, but on a bigger scale. Exactly. And the more detailed those reviews are, the better. Encourage customers to say what they love, not just give stars. So a five-star review that just says, great, it’s nice. Yeah. Well, one that talks about the friendly staff, the delicious food, that tells a story. Exactly. Pills more trust, like a mini testimonial. Yes. Those details add so much credibility. People can really imagine having that same good experience themselves. OK. So we got our foundation. Google business profile, local listings, those all important reviews. The foundation. Now we can get to the fun part. Yeah, let’s hear it. Tools and services that can like supercharge your local SEO. Oh, I love a good tool. There are some amazing ones out there. Streamline your process, give you insights you wouldn’t believe. Real competitive edge. All right. Give me some names. What are we working with? So one you’ve probably heard of. Bright local. Oh, yeah. I’ve heard that name. Powerful platform. Does local SEO and online reputation management. Contract your rankings, manage citations, even analyze your competitors. OK. Now we’re talking. What kind of insights are we getting with Bright local? One of the coolest features. It’s called the local search grid. Local search grid. So picture this. A grid that visually maps out your competitors Google business profile categories. OK. You can see which categories are bringing them the most traffic. So you can see what’s working for them. Yeah. And maybe try some of those same things. Exactly. It’s competitive intelligence, you know, seeing what keywords, what categories are hitting with customers in your area. That is incredibly helpful. I can already see how that would be useful. It’s a game changer. Any other cool tools in Bright local? They’ve got a citation tracker keeps those NMPs consistent across all those directories we talked about. Right. Imagine checking hundreds of websites by hand. Nightmare. Yeah. This tool automates it all. Citations stay clean, consistent, easy. I am all about streamlining. So that’s a big plus. OK. Bright local is on the list to check out. What about Semrush? I know that’s a big one in the SEO world generally. Semrush is fantastic. Yeah. Really strong for keyword research and review management too. Yeah. Like having a whole team of SEO experts working for you behind the scenes. No, that’s a tempting image. Right. So their keyword magic tool, it’s incredible for finding those local keywords. Like what people are actually searching. Exactly. You see right into the minds of potential customers. What are they typing in? Genius. Yeah. So that I can make my website, my Google profile, match what they’re looking for. Exactly. You understand what people want in your area. Then you can tailor your online presence perfectly. That’s powerful stuff. And what about this review management? I know those are important, but keeping up with them on like 10 different sites? It’s a lot, right? Semrush has a tool for that. Oh, good. Monitor’s reviews across platforms, Google, Yelp, Facebook, all in one place. Convenient. You can respond, track the overall sentiment, even spot trends in what people are saying. Makes it much more manageable for sure. Right. Takes the stress out of online reputation. There’s one Semrush feature I’m curious about. The map rank tracker, is that what it’s called? Oh yeah, the map rank tracker. Tell me about that one. So with that, you see exactly where your business ranks on Google Maps for specific keywords. Ah, so you can see who’s at the top and figure out how to get up there with them. That’s it. Crystal clear view of the competition helps you spot areas to improve. Okay, Semrush is climbing the ranks in my book. Yeah. Can’t forget about Yelp though, right? Still a big deal for some businesses. Oh, absolutely. Yelp is still super relevant, especially for places like restaurants, cafes, salons, those service-based industries. Yeah, makes sense. Their listings often show up high in local searches and their review system. People really pay attention to that. So even though we’re focusing on Google, got to keep Yelp in mind too. For sure, in fact, they can work together, your Yelp and your Google business profile. Oh. Make sure your info matches on both, encourage reviews on both. Such it. It’s about being visible everywhere. Exactly. All right, so we get these awesome tools. Bright local, Semrush, Yelp. Great tools, but at the end of the day, they’re just tools, right? Meaning. We got to know how to use them strategically. Right, it’s not magic just because we have them doesn’t mean results happen automatically. Exactly. So let’s get into some strategies, actionable things you can do to boost your local SEO success. Love it. Let’s get tactical. All right, back to our foundation, remember. That Google business profile. Oh, yes. Optimizing that, it’s non-negotiable. That’s your online storefront. Treat it as importantly as your actual location. OK, so what do we do to optimize it? Give me specifics. First thing, all your info has to be accurate up to date. Name, address, phone number, website, hours, categories, everything. Sounds simple, but I bet it’s easy to miss something. You’d be surprised. So many businesses have mistakes or old info on their GBP. Double checking everything then for sure. Absolutely, and don’t forget, lots of high quality photos. Show off your business, your products, your services. Like when you see those restaurant listings. Oh, yeah. With the mouth watering food pics, the nice interior shots. Makes you want to go there. Exactly. Same idea for your business. Give people that visual appeal. It’s like a virtual tour of the place. That’s it. All right, so accurate info, good photos, what else? Responding to reviews, that’s crucial. Even the bad ones. Especially the bad ones. Answering them professionally, helpfully, can actually turn a bad experience around. Oh, interesting. It shows you care that you’re willing to address problems. So even bad reviews can be an opportunity. Exactly, showing off your great customer service. OK, point taken. What about citations? We talked about them, but how do we manage those actively? Citations are key, but doing them all by hand is a pain. Especially if you’ve got multiple locations where you’ve been around a while, citations could be anywhere. Oh, for sure. That’s where a tool like Bright Local Citation Tracker comes in handy. Right, makes sense. Finds the ones you’ve got, finds opportunities for new ones, makes sure they’re all accurate and matching. So it’s building new citations and de-cleaning up old messy ones. Exactly. Consistency builds trust with the engines, helps your rankings. OK, GBP optimized, citations managed. What’s next on our list? Let’s talk about getting those reviews. We know they matter, but how do we get more of them? Yeah, I’m always looking for tips on that. Well, first step, honestly, just ask. Just straight up ask. Don’t be afraid to gently encourage happy customers to leave a review. Isn’t that like pushy, though? Not if you do it right. Make it easy for them. Give them links to your GBP, your Yelp, write on their receipts, invoices, even signs in your store. Train your staff to mention it casually, too, at the end of a transaction. So it’s about making it as convenient as possible for them. Exactly. And remember, more detail is always better. Encourage them to really describe their experience, what they love, what stood out, why they chose you over someone else. Right, those details make it feel real. Exactly. Adds that credibility, helps potential customers see themselves having that good experience. OK, so we’ve covered a ton today. The basics of local SEO, these powerful tools like Bright Local, Semrush, and then actual strategies to use it all. It’s been a good deep dive. It really has. But before we wrap up, one last thing I want to touch on. Becoming toolmasters. Yes, actually using those tools we talked about. Exactly. It’s one thing to know about them, another to really use them well. I encourage everyone listening. Explore these tools, see how they can benefit your business. Most of them have free trials or freemium plans. You can test them out, see what fits your needs, your budget. That’s a good point. Don’t be intimidated by them. They’re supposed to help you, make things easier. Now, for everyone listening, I have a challenge for you. A challenge. Like this week, pick one of the strategies we talked about and actually implement it in your business. I love that. It doesn’t have to be huge. Start small. Exactly. Maybe you’ll commit to adding that new photo to your GBP each week, or you’ll try out one of those tools and see what you learn. Small steps, big results. That’s local SEO in a nutshell. Key is to take action and stay consistent. Take action, stay consistent. I love it. All right, I think that’s a perfect place to wrap up our deep dive into local SEO for today. We’ve covered a ton today, the basics of local SEO, these powerful tools like Bright Local, Semrush, and then actual strategies to use at all. It’s been a good deep dive. It really has. But before we wrap up, one last thing I want to touch on, becoming toolmasters. Yes, actually using those tools we talked about. Exactly. It’s one thing to know about them, another to really use them well. I encourage everyone listening, explore these tools, see how they can benefit your business. Most of them have free trials or freemium plans. You can test them out, see what fits your needs, your budget. They’re really intimidated by them. They’re supposed to help you make things easier. Now, for everyone listening, I have a challenge for you. A challenge, I like it. This week, pick one of the strategies we talked about and actually implement it in your business. Ooh, I love that. It doesn’t have to be huge, start small. Exactly. Maybe you’ll commit to adding that new photo to your GVP each week, or you’ll try out one of those tools and see what you learn. Small steps, big results. That’s local SEO in a nutshell. Key is to take action and stay consistent. Take action, stay consistent. I love it. All right, I think that’s a perfect place to wrap up our deep dive into local SEO for today. I feel like we’ve really covered a lot of ground today. You know, from those basic building blocks to some seriously powerful tools. Yeah, definitely a lot to unpack there. I’m feeling way more confident about my local SEO game now, that’s for sure. And remember, you don’t have to do it all at once. Right. Pick one thing, master it, then move on to the next. Slow and steady wins the race, I like it. Exactly. But before we go, I want to leave you with one final question to think about. Okay, I’m listening. Think about your business right now as it stands. What’s one action you can take based on everything we’ve talked about that could really make a difference in your local visibility? I like that. Maybe it’s finally claiming the Google Business Profile or really diving into keyword research with Semrush, you know? Yeah, that’s a great question to leave everyone with. It’s all about turning knowledge into action. Absolutely. So there you have it, folks, your deep dive into the world of local SEO. We’ve broken it down, shown you the tools, and given you some actionable steps to really level up your business. Now it’s your turn to take it and run with it, go out there and dominate that local market. Yeah.