If the website is you are working on is dedicated to a company
where welcoming clients is done in person, your success will undoubtedly come from
local SEO . Working on this essential aspect of your
online marketing will allow you to attract more and more customers and make
your brand known to a larger and more varied clientele.
What is local SEO?
The concept of
local SEO refers to the optimization of a company's website
according to its geographical location . The
objective is a to ensure that the website arrives at the top of search engine
results when Internet users from its geographical area perform searches that
correspond to its products or services.
If you have a
restaurant in Lyon, for example, you should optimize your site to appear at the top of
Google results for searches like "restaurant
Lyon center" or "restaurant au center de Lyon". This will
of course allow you to generate more traffic to your site, but also to market
your business to locals who may not have been aware of your presence.
Why is local SEO so important?
Consumer habits
are changing and businesses have no choice but to adapt if they want to stay
competitive.
Many stores now
have an online store to allow their customers to shop without leaving the
comfort of their living room. This technique offers more
choice and flexibility to people who are already customers and makes it
possible to attract new customers who do not yet
know the company.
In addition,
today, it often happens that Internet users decide which stores to go
to after searching the Internet . Take the example of
a new inhabitant who has recently arrived in Paris who does not yet know the
city well. If he wants to have his hair cut, he will probably search for
"hairdresser Paris" on Google and then choose a hairdressing salon
from the first results displayed by the search engine. Thus, a hairdresser
who has not optimized his site for local search will have lost a potential
client.
How to optimize a site for local search?
Local SEO
involves optimizing the content of your website using keywords that
take into account your geographic area , but also the
creation of listings on your business in the main online directories. To
do this, you have at your disposal tools such as rankingCoach or listingCoach which guide
you step by step .
rankingCoach helps you ensure your presence in all the local
directories that matter in your industry . These directories are the modern
version of the classic Yellow Pages which list the addresses of all local
businesses. There are different directories depending on the industry and
rankingCoach helps you create profiles in the directories that are right for
you.
There is also an
essential directory: Google My Business. It is essential
to update your files regularly . Google My Business
allows your business to appear on Google Maps and gain visibility.
To help you work
on your local SEO , rankingCoach has created a software
called listingCoach . This new tool
complements the features of the Pro version of rankingCoach by allowing you to
manage your listings in online directories from a single point: your
rankingCoach account. This service allows you, with a single click, to synchronize
all your profiles simultaneously . In addition,
listingCoach lists all customer reviews that target your website and allows you
to easily respond to them.
Local SEO is
therefore a significant aspect of the online marketing strategy of small
businesses and the complementarity of the rankingCoach and listingCoach
platforms offers you the perfect solution to work on your local SEO.