What Is Local SEO and Why Is It Important in 2024? Local Ranking Guide

Local SEO is crucial for local businesses looking to drive foot traffic from online searches.

This ultimate guide covers everything you need to know about local SEO in 2024, from what it is to why it’s important, how Google determines rankings, and actionable tips to optimize your strategy.

Table of Contents

What Exactly is Local SEO?

Local SEO is the practice of optimizing your online presence so people can find your local business when searching on Google and other search engines. It focuses specifically on ranking your website and online listings higher for local searches in your city and surrounding geographic area.

The goal of local SEO is to help local customers find you and connect your digital presence to your brick-and-mortar location. This drives new customers to visit your physical store, restaurant, office or other local venue.

Local SEO targets rankings for searches that include local intent keywords like:

“pizza place in Kempapura”
“plumber near me”
“Yoga studio in Bangalore”

By optimizing your website and listings for these types of geo-targeted search queries, local SEO helps funnel website visitors into physical store visits and buyers.

Why Invest in a Local SEO Strategy?

As a local business owner, investing in local SEO should be an integral part of your broader marketing strategy. Here’s why it’s so important:

90% of Customers Use Search Engines to Find Local Businesses

The vast majority (9 out of 10 people) turn to search engines and online listings when looking for local products, services and businesses.

If your business doesn’t show up prominently for relevant local searches, you’re missing out on visibility with potential customers.

Higher Local SEO Rankings Drive More Calls and Store Visits

Higher visibility in local search results translates directly into more phone calls, direction requests and people walking through your doors.

For instance, rankings in the Local 3-Pack can increase calls by over 30%. This makes local SEO hugely impactful for lead generation and local conversions.

Helps You Stand Out From Competitors in Your Geographic Area

With effective local SEO strategies, you can rank higher than competitors in your local area. This makes your business more visible and discoverable than others vying for local customers. It’s essential for standing out locally.

Given how vital local SEO can be for driving real-world store traffic and conversions, every local business should focus on improving their local search presence.

What Do Local Search Results Look Like?

To understand local SEO, it helps to recognize what local search results look like on Google. When someone searches for a local business or service, Google shows a Local 3-Pack listing at the top:

This Local 3 Pack highlights the top three ranked local businesses located closest to the searcher. Tapping on any of the listings provides more details like address, phone number and directions to that local business.

Ranking in these top Local 3-Pack spots makes your business far more visible to nearby searchers. Being listed in this prime local real estate is why local SEO matters.

Further down the search results, you’ll also see a map highlighting other local companies, options to refine your search area, Local Finder site links and regular organic listings mixed in:

Local 3-Pack
Maps
Local Finder
Organic Search

This shows your business everywhere a potential customer might see it for a relevant local search.

How Google Determines Local Rankings

When optimizing for local SEO, it’s helpful to understand how Google determines which businesses rank best for local searches.

Google weighs three primary factors when ranking local businesses:

1. Proximity

How geographically close a business is to the searcher’s location or intent. Nearby companies will be ranked higher in local results.

2. Relevance

How well a business matches what the searcher is specifically looking for. A relevant and specialized local company ranks better than irrelevant options for that search.

3. Prominence

How well-known and prominent a local business is overall, determined by things like total reviews, ratings, online presence and local popularity. More prominent brands stand out locally.

If your business nails these three ranking factors – proximity, relevance and local prominence – it signals to Google that you meet local searchers’ intent extremely well. As a result, you’re far more likely to rank higher in local Pack listings and results.

Keeping these criteria in mind is key when optimizing local SEO. Next we’ll cover actionable ways to boost your presence across all three.

6 Local SEO Tips to Improve Your Local Rankings

Ready to jump into local SEO? Here are six impactful tips that can dramatically improve your local search optimization and rankings:

1. Optimize Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the foundation of local SEO. This free listing allows customers to find your hours, contact details, directions and more on Google.

Complete and optimize key sections like:

Business name, address and phone number – Accurately display your official business info
Category & services – Help Google understand what you do
Introduction – Feature unique local keywords to stand out
Store photos – Show customers what you offer
Attributes – Highlight what makes you special
Service areas – Define areas you serve

An optimized Profile boosts your [local pack] rankings substantially.

2. Encourage Customer Reviews

Reviews and ratings on your Google Business listing help greatly with local SEO prominence. Aim for at least 20+ recent high-star reviews. Respond openly if any are critical.

The more 5-star ratings and positive local feedback, the better your local reputation. This correlates to higher rankings.

3. Localize On-Page SEO

Also optimize your website for local intent signals. Localize key landing pages by incorporating your city, neighborhood or region. Work these organically into page titles, headers, content and alt text for images.

Interlink localized category and service pages to reinforce relevance. Every page can support your local SEO this way.

4. Target Local Keywords

Include precise local keywords throughout your on-page content and Google Business profile. Geo-modified long tail keywords like “Indian restaurant in Kansas City” or “furniture store Omaha NE” help search engines understand your local service area(s) and specialties.

5. Get Involved Locally

Showing community involvement helps establish local relevance. Sponsor events, appear on local TV/radio, get featured in news articles or give back to local charities. Then showcase and link to this involvement online.

6. Earn Quality Local Links

Natural local citations and links from directory sites (e.g. Yelp), newspaper sites and local organizations also boost perceived prominence. Build a diverse portfolio of local backlinks pointing users back to your website and Google Business Profile.

By improving these critical local ranking factors – proximity, relevance and prominence – both on and off your website – you can dramatically boost local SEO and conversions.

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Local SEO helps optimize online visibility to drive local store traffic, calls and sales for businesses targeting local audiences.
Over half of all searches have local intent making this an important channel.
Optimizing your Google Business Profile and website for proximity, relevance and prominence boosts local rankings.
Getting positive local reviews, targeting local keywords and earning local links improves prominence.
Localizing content and getting involved locally enhances relevance.

For more assistance with executing a winning local SEO strategy tailored to your business, please contact us. Our local search experts offer a free 30 minute consultation.