Local SEO
What is Local SEO
Local SEO is a search engine optimisation that helps rank websites for local terms such as plumber london. Most businesses serve specific local areas, thus will have fewer benefits from ranking for a more general term such as a plumber. For example, in big cities, London, this can go much further than just the city name and include keywords for targeted searches to specific locations, plumber wimbledon, plumber SE1, or even using the underground station names. Your keywords will depend on how wide your service area is and how local your customers want the service.
Is Local SEO easier?
Local SEO has less competition. However, if your local competition is more than ten other businesses, you might not end up on page one by doing nothing. In London, for example, many businesses would benefit from ranking for “your service London”, though since London keywords are very competitive, it will take longer and may require more effort to reach page one. To get faster results, it is best to target smaller locations. Smaller keyword locations will also help to build the website authority towards the ‘London’ keyword.
What About Non Local Keywords?
In the UK, over 10% of the non local searches (e.g. emergency plumber) come from people based in London. It is even more, harder to rank for non local keywords than London local keywords. Competition in London is also relatively large and strong, as it has bigger businesses that can spend more. Therefore, once your website outperformed the competition and became an authority in your niche in London, it will be a much small step to rank for non local terms.
Google Map Listings
Google Map Listings take an extra place in ranking on page one in Google. It is currently called Google My Business listing. The Google map listings can give the best converting traffic from the local listings. Therefore, it is crucial to rank Google My Business listing in the top 3 positions. Since 2014, ranking for Google Map Listing require you to have a website with authority and rank on page one in the organic listing. This makes ranking your Google Map listing as an extra to an SEO.
Why Local Terms are Better
Even if your business serves the entire UK. If your services are searched locally, you will find that all local terms put together have far more searches than few non local searches. A keyword plumber may show a Wikipedia description of what a plumber does, and a person looking for plumbing services is more likely to search for it locally.