Changing times and local SEO

A recent article in the Economist on the 29th of April 2020 featured a survey about travel plans. How they have, forcefully, changed for most people and how it influences the hospitality industry. “ The bigger a country’s COVID-19 outbreak, the bigger its shift away from foreign travel” shows the report from WTO ( World Tourism Organization).

People would still want to get out, even though closer to home, which means that more and more people will be looking for a domestic vacation. Being in any industry, this gives the perfect opportunity to advertise locally for your products or services! Local SEO with other words.

What is Local SEO?

This is a strategy where you market your products or services, not on a national level, bur on a regional level. This is something that can be essential for small businesses! Where national SEO focuses on ranking on a national level, the local SEO is focused on ranking on a regional level.

This basically means driving more website traffic, leads and conversions regionally. Think of it as a strategy where you as a small business owner have a hard time competing with huge companies on a national or international level but can be heard and seen locally. A study made in 2017 also showed that 35% of all search traffic is local. So what are the measures to be taken to reach this goal?

Tip to Make Your Local SEO Successful

1. Google My Business- If you don't have an account create one. If you have one, optimize it and use all the perks that come with it.
2. Optimize for Voice Search - The magic here is long-tail keywords. We tend to do searches differently when we use voice search.
3. Create local content-Stories, blogs, news, events, anything that is locally connected. Put it out as much as possible!
4. Optimize your website for Mobile - This is really important. Most of the local searches are from a mobile device.
5. Use local keywords, you know what they are! If not, use Google Keyword planner.
6. Create a dedicated page for each service or product that you offer.
7. Take advantage of all online directories and other places where you can be seen.

Local SEO has always been important, in changing times like this it is even more important. Adapt to the changing times and go local.