When we think about local SEO services, Google My Business springs to mind. This tool helps companies attract customers based on where they are located – both for organizations and clients.
The concept may look simple. However, there are many efforts and aspects you have to consider if you want to appear on what is called the Google 3-Pack: the three first results (business listings) that appear on Google SERPs (Search Engine Results Page), as we see in the example down below.
Local SEO is a group of efforts to maximize Google My Business (GMB) search traffic. With Local SEO, you are optimizing a website to appear on the page results of a specific geographic region.
When you search words like “near me” or “in São Paulo city”, the Google algorithms trigger a local search and change how results should appear, focusing on the location.
Generally, Local SEO efforts are more efficient when a business has a physical address.
You can always apply local SEO logic to the optimization of websites, by using search terms that include the service/product you provide + location. However, if you don’t have a physical address, you won’t be able to have a Google My Business page and will fall behind competitors that do.
That is the main reason why we don’t recommend a business without a physical address to engage in Local SEO practices. For Google to find out how close your business is to the users, it must have a defined physical address.
A study made by Milestone pointed out that local searches contribute to 22.6% of website traffic. In addition, according to Google, 76% of people who made a local search visit the places listed within 24 hours. From 76%, 28% of the trips to places result in purchases.
There is an infinite amount of data proving why local SEO is important, but the main reasons are because this strategy allows people to have more information about the business they are looking for, including:
As a consequence, people have more information to base their shopping decisions on.
And if you are among the Google 3-Pack options, your business will also gain more authority and visibility which can increase the conversion rate. The three options appear above the organic search results, so it’s an extremely valuable place to be.
A Local SEO company will base its efforts on three main Google My Business ranking factors. These factors are taken into consideration to make the best match according to what people are searching for:
Proximity or Distance: the distance a user is from the location of the Google My Business profiles. When you search for something near you, Google automatically gives back local business based on your location.
Relevance: if someone searches for hiring a plumber in São Paulo you want your site to be optimised for those keywords.
Brand Awareness or Proeminence: Google analyses how famous a business is online and offline (content syndication, press releases, citations).
Now that you understand what local SEO is, it is time to know how it works in action.
To conquer proeminence, relevance and proximity ranking factors, your company needs to dispose the following information:
Seems a lot, right? Buckle up, there is more! But don’t worry, you can always hire a Local SEO agency to do all the work for you.
Let’s take a look at some On Page SEO and Off-Page SEO strategies to ramp up the power of the Local SEO services even more.. Remember, all of these are signals you are giving Google to rank your site higher, thus placing you above your competitors.
When doing business in Latin America, both local and other more generalistic SEO strategies are extremely important, as most internet users have the habit of looking for businesses on Google when deciding to make a purchase so they don’t fall for scams, for example. So if your business isn’t visually appealing enough or better competitors appear before yours, the chances of your target audience choosing you are extremely low.
Local SEO services are essential to improving your business in the digital universe, making your website or ecommerce more attractive to your audience. To make sure you are going for the right strategies, count on a local agency to support you. Sherlock Communications is a Latin American PR and marketing agency that will help you thrive in the region. Get in touch today to request a custom proposal.
