Local content is the foundation of a successful local SEO campaign. In fact, some businesses have experienced an increase of 300 percent in their website traffic and organic visibility after implementing location-specific content on their websites.
As you craft a powerful local marketing campaign, consider adding local content to your list of tools. Here are a few suggestions for crafting material that will contribute meaningfully to your local SEO performance specifically and your local store marketing campaign in general.
Start with your local keywords.
Any local SEO approach has to start with relevant local keywords. These are the search terms that local consumers will use to find your business. For example, a boutique baby apparel store in Lafayette, IN, might use the search term “boutique baby apparel, Lafayette, IN.”
Finding the best search terms to use in your local marketing campaign will require some research. You can use free tools like the one available through Moz, and/or a professional digital marketer to pinpoint the best terms for your business and area. All of your content should then use one or two of those terms for maximum local SEO success.
Write about local events.
The goal of local SEO is to position your website as an authority in your area. In order to achieve that goal, you should write about local events.
Doing so naturally incorporates your location and relevant keywords into your content, where search engines can see it. Writing about local events also provides meaningful insights into your area that your website visitors can utilize.
The most persuasive way to position yourself as a local authority is to actually be an authority on these events. Consider these tips for creating content around local happenings:
Highlight your company’s local partnerships.
Forming local partnerships is an effective non-digital local marketing strategy, particularly when these partnerships benefit the community as a whole.
Imagine that you run a boutique baby apparel shop. Team up with the local women’s shelter to provide outfits for babies in need. Offer a gift card to a local restaurant for customers who buy certain items or spend a certain amount at your store.
Using your local content to highlight these partnerships achieves multiple goals.
Each of these achievements makes it easier for search engines to rank you as a relevant and reputable leader in your industry, and makes your business more appealing to local clientele.
Match content to area trends.
Since your content caters to a local audience, match it to local trends in search preferences. The best approach is to look up keywords as topics on Google Trends. From there, you can see when those search terms perform best throughout the year and base content on those findings.
For example, if you want to boost interest in your baby apparel boutique during off-months, consider writing content tailored to that time of year. If you want to build on seasonal interest in baby-related items instead, use your research to identify the weeks or months when your content will have the biggest impact on local parents-to-be.
Expand on customer reviews.
A 5-star customer review on Yelp is an accomplishment that will drive local SEO forward. However, you can do more with that review than simply ride the wave of positivity that it generates. You can turn it into powerful local SEO content for your website and social media.
For example, find satisfied customers and interview them for a video for your website or Facebook page. Flesh out their experience for an in-depth case study highlighting the benefits your company offers. You can even add their review (with their permission) to your testimonials page, where it will boost your company’s authority for search engines and website visitors alike.
The key to successfully expanding upon customer reviews is to choose customers who are (1 Likeable and (2 Whose stories have a unique twist. Their stories will naturally generate more local interest and action than more generic narratives.
Create an FAQ page.
One easy way to create optimized local SEO content for your website is to craft an FAQ page, particularly if you tailor these FAQs to your location. For example, incorporate local search terms like “boutique baby apparel, Lafayette, IN,” into your FAQ content.
A successful FAQ page will do more than use local keywords. It will also use structure and phrasing that position it for use in Google snippets and voice search results.
Consider writing these in a natural spoken manner, and structure them clearly. Then search engines can quickly identify them as easy ways to provide quick answers to local consumers.
Build upon your FAQ page.
One you have a strong FAQ page on your website, consider building on those FAQs in order to further develop local SEO content. In particular, consider expanding upon each question to develop a blog post, social media post, video, or case study.
For example, say one of your FAQs is “Why should I buy from a boutique baby store instead of a big box store?” This question could make for a powerful video from a happy customer, an in-depth blog post, or even a Facebook post eliciting responses from your community. In each of these cases, your FAQ becomes a catalyst for further localized content.
The right content can lead to local SEO success. These are just a few suggestions for material that can support your local SEO efforts.
For more suggestions, and help, reach out to Distinct Web Design. We offer a full suite of local marketing support, including assistance with creating and implementing a local SEO campaign. We can help you research keywords, as well as develop powerful content that gets the attention of search engines and your target audiences alike.
The best part? We connect you with a local marketing advisor who understands your area and can leverage that knowledge to develop a powerful and effective local store marketing campaign.
