Local Keyword Research: Tactics to Rank High on Search Engine

Rank Higher: Using Local Keyword Strategy

An essential part of search engine optimization (SEO) is keyword research. Keywords have a prominent influence on the long-term success of a business. Did you know that 53.3% of the website traffic is engendered through an organic search?

According to HubSpot, 60% of marketers state that search engine optimization (SEO) generates the best quality leads that help them achieve the desired sales.

Local keyword research is the procedure of discovering keywords that the potential audience looks for when they search for local brands and services. Then, ranking on search engines for these keywords directs a targeted local audience to your website landing page and brings more users your way.

According to Google, 76% of users who explore nearby stores or brands on their phones visit them within 24 hours. As a result, 28% of these hunts result in users buying a product. But, again, that's the influence of local search engine optimization and SEO keyword research on the potential audience.

Researching the exact keywords for your brand can assist your business rank better for competitive keywords linked to your brand and service. Local searches may produce lesser search volumes, but more than the search volume, it aims and directs traffic to convert leads to sales.

In addition, local SEO and local keyword research make it easy for the target audience to search for your business on search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. Local SEO steps in when you target to attract the audience in a certain region or specific area.

What Is Local SEO?

Local search engine optimization, commonly labeled as local SEO, is about maximizing search visibility and helping your business become more evident in search results on multiple search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.

Local SEO helps you find a restaurant in your area, a nearby mart, a doctor's clinic contact number, etc. Local SEO is useful for brands that serve multiple organizations and can be crucial to accomplishment or failure.

How Does Local SEO Work? ?

Did you know that 46% of all Google searches to search for local information, and 97% of consumers learn about a business or a product online? Local SEO is simple to augment and usually functions as a typical Google search.

When a user executes a search on Google or any other search engine, that quest's best and optimized results appear. This is because the search engine shows results by scanning the directory, and the easiest way to rate on top is by including a genuine address in a region. This helps nearby users find your business with a store locator on your website.

Why Is Local SEO Important?

Local SEO provides a foundation for unpaid local marketing. As a result, this assists you in boosting your brands' exposure and increasing online sales. Correspondingly, local SEO lets you endorse several types of products and services that your brand markets on your website using diverse SEO techniques.

This means, if your brand offers the service or product being searched and is near to where users are navigating their search, you are more likely to appear on top. Google encounters the demands of its searchers based on Proximity, Significance, and Prominence. In addition, local SEO marketing provides several other benefits such as:

  • It brings more qualified search traffic.
  • It is an efficient marketing solution.
  • It helps local customers discover you.
  • Influences users who are ready to buy.

How Do You Know if Your Business Need Local SEO?

If your target audience is mainly sited in the same area or city your brand operates, you will need local search engine optimization. However, if you are uncertain, the easiest way to detect if your business needs local SEO or not is by merely conducting searches for the keywords your potential audience will look for find the products or services you sell.

When you are conducting searches and the most relevant results you get are localized, your business needs local SEO. Or, if you get to see the results with Google Maps display for your search query, your business needs local SEO.

Local Keyword Research

The first step for SEO keyword research is to find out which search inquiries are helping the users locate your business. Improving your website landing page will be comparatively easy once you find out your site's ranking for keywords.

For example, if your coffee shop is already ranking well for "coffee shop Piccadilly," you can work on improving other search terms rankings. You can divert your consideration to ranking for other searches like "best coffee shop in Piccadilly" or "Piccadilly coffee." By refining your search results for secondary keywords or phrases, you grow your business's reach to added potential audiences.

Why Is Local Keyword Research Significant?

Local keyword research is significant because you need to know what users type into different search engines when they need a product or service similar to what you sell. That may sound understandable, but that is the real problem with local businesses. The majority of business owners think that they already know what searches on search engines will direct users to their business.

Generally, this leads them to aim for the incorrect keywords or sometimes abandon keywords that could influence their bottom line. For instance, if you're an electrician in New York, you have perhaps already figured out the keywords that you could rank for, like "best electrician in New York."

But, what about the alternate facilities you provide? Do you have a landing page devoted to panel installation? Are you aware of how the audience looking for panel installation search for it? These are all questions that local keyword research and SEO keyword research targets to answer.

What to Research?

It would be best to start the keyword research with tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, etc., to look for the search volume data for your business's location. When you look for local keywords, the key tip is not to bound your search to only your existing location.

You need to inflate the search to embrace diverse nearby locations. For instance, you can expand your search from "most exclusive restaurant Piccadilly" to include "best food in Piccadilly" and "best restaurant near Piccadilly circus," too.

The search volume data for the abovementioned searches or any certain area may be limited. However, the cumulative data for these searches can divert heavy traffic, with users ending up buying something from your business.

Moreover, it could help to research the initiatives taken by your competitors to rank on search engines for local searches to gain a competitive advantage. Input the URL of their website landing page into Google Keyword Planner or any other tool, and you can track the keywords Google is can link with their product or service.

Picking Local Keywords to Use

Google has constantly been improving its algorithms to produce better-localized search results. Previously, Google would flex similar results for people conducting the same search in London as in Birmingham. Today, Google receipts are a local-first tactic when providing the results for a search. In addition, it favors brands with a local citation near the search location.

Local businesses can now rank for more difficult or common keywords with local intent, like "mart" or "florist." However, local brands still face tough competition for lower space.

How to Do Local Keyword Research

1. List the Offered Products and Services 

Before you begin your keyword research, you need to comprehend the products and services provided by your business. Here are some tips for conducting the keyword research process smoothly:

■ Ask or Brainstorm

If you are conducting keyword research for your own business, you may already have a deep understanding of the products or services you provide. You need to make a list of the key traits your service offers before you proceed to the next step.

In case if you are performing keyword research for a client, you need to ask them to make a list of the products and services they offer. This exercise is imperative because people mostly do not intentionally think about all the services or products they provide. For instance, a plumber may provide various services, but they might think of as "plumber" for their job title. The other services may include:

  • Drain unblocking.
  • Boiler repairs.
  • Boiler installation.
  • Boiler servicing.
  • Radiator installation.
  • Burst pipe repair.

The users are certainly looking for a "plumber," but some may search for more precise services. This is why it is important to understand all the services offered initially.

■ Expand ideas

Brainstorming or listing the offered services will hardly discover all the relevant services users are searching for. So, it is important to look for services or products you might not have listed. The simplest way to conduct this is to type your devised ideas into the Keywords Explorer and pick a country from the dropdown.

Once you are done, the report will show all the searches from the database comprising all the words or phrases from the keywords you entered. You can then scan the list and look for the keywords you missed. Before this, you only thought of the keywords that map your products or services.

2. Check for Local Intent

Local search engine optimization is all about making sure the keywords you are looking to rank have local intent. This means that the search term users are looking for local products or services. So, the next step is to check that users looking to benefit from the products or services you offer want to avail themselves locally.

If you live and operate your business in the same locality, the simplest method to conduct the local keyword research is to search Google for the same services as yours. Google will map your location and use it to customize the searches. This will let you know if there is a local intent for the related search by checking the SERP for a few different things.

3. Check Search Volumes

It isn't easy to get precise search volume for local keywords. Almost all the major SEO tools show national and international search volumes. But it is important to understand that search volume is not the only reason to create a page for your service on your website.

Even if the search volume is less or close to none, you shall still develop a page for your visitors. For instance, if you provide a service for boiler installation, it is highly unlikely that the users are looking for this service in a small town.

But it is important to develop a page for visitors who found you through Google or any other search engine using a broad keyword or phrase like "plumber." Search volumes are only important to know which pages to prioritize than the rest.

4. Group and Map Keywords to URLs

SEO keyword research isn't just about what users might type to search. It is more about developing a strategy on how your business will target those keywords. Eight out of ten times, your website's homepage is not going to rank at the top for all the services you provide.

This is why most local brands create separate pages devoted to each service. But all the services you offer may not require a separate landing page. For instance, your business provides three different services: boiler installation, combi boiler installation, and oil boiler installation.

All these services can be associated on one page that could be boiler installation. However, if you create three separate pages for these services, the users might get confused and bounce to some other service. Alternatively, you can Google and check how your competitors advertise these services to stay ahead of them.

 How to Choose the Right Local Keywords?

Now that you already know the importance of keyword research and the significance of local search, the next step is to choose the right keywords. Let us take you through a three-step approach to guide you for local keyword research:

Step 01 - Identify Industry Keywords

Your primary aim is to leverage frequently used phrases users use for your business. This is because they will type the same phrases or keywords to search for your product or service. Therefore, you need to think like an end-user. What would you search for if you were in their place? What would you type in the search engine to get the results for the business you operate?

You need to brainstorm and accumulate a list of all the local keywords and phrases related to the market you operate in. This list will form the initial substance of your primary keyword research. For example, if your business is a bakery, your initial list may comprise of keywords like:

  • Muffins
  • Baguettes
  • Wedding cakes
  • Pastries
  • Desserts
  • Biscuits

Step 02 - Use Keyword Modifiers

The second step to locate the right local phrases or keywords is to create modifiers that your potential audience will utilize in their searches. Modifiers consist of phrases or words that can label an event, a trait, a type of product, or other words to your business. Some of the examples of modifiers words include:

  • Birthdays
  • Weddings
  • Under $100
  • Best
  • Roses
  • Instant delivery

Step 03 - Research Local Keywords

It would be best to leverage phrases or keywords for your local SEO that relate to your geographic or physical location. You may consider multiple locations and regions that your service can provide or where your audience may belong.

If you operate a delivery service, you can incorporate the names of the region or city in your articles and website content. Users incline to look for services located near them primarily. Therefore, consider the areas that your potential customers live or work in when choosing the local keywords. For example, if you are a florist, you may target phrases like:

  • Best florist in London.
  • Exotic flower shops in the Brixton area.
  • Florist near Greenwich, London.

How to Stay Ahead in the Local SEO Game

The local search engine optimization world is persistently changing and evolving. However, certain established methods exist to stay ahead of the rest and achieve the top rankings. Let us take you through:

■ Google My Business

The top way to achieve top ranking is by creating a Google My Business listing account. Local brands can use Google My Business optimization to boost their local seo strategy. Additionally, Google utilizes the information collected from Google My Business account for the Knowledge Curve and can help to improve local search.

■ Content with Local Focus

You need to target long-form content, city or region-based content, and educational content for the potential customers. A good piece of content generally helps in local advancements, news, and market trends depending on the market you operate in and your primary function. The most significant thing is to write engaging content that the potential customers seek.

■ Citations

An important constituent of any SEO strategy is links and citations. Both citations and brand mentions add validity to your products or services as users cite your business in their content. In addition, brand remarks and reviews on review websites like Yelp, Bing, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and other high-quality websites also send robust SEO signals.

■ Reviews

Did you know that 88% of users believe in online reviews as much as they believe individual endorsements from their friends? A business needs more constructive and positive reviews than negative reviews, and the real struggle lies in obtaining reviews. You need to inspire your customers to segment their user experience with your brand on social media platforms and recommend it to other users to gain more customers.

■ Result Monitoring

Tracking the results is an important part of the marketing tactic. Without monitoring the results, you cannot examine if your investment and your efforts are paying off or not. The last way for this process is to monitor whether the local keywords you have targeted have enhanced your local rankings and made an attempt to climb the rankings.

Conclusion

Local keyword research can be tricky and time-consuming. However, this is just the first step to climbing the rankings. Local keyword research is all about ranking for the keywords with local intent and can help your potential audience explicitly look for your business and services.

You need to make sure you examine your local keywords and conduct local keyword research before you begin to work on all of your SEO initiatives. The local keywords will help you appear at the top in the search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Google's local pack. Once you rank high on search engines using local keyword strategy, you will easily convert the leads to sales.

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