Key success factors for local SEO rankings: 10 points not to be overlooked

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Local SEO ranking factors

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Local SEO is an essential aspect of online marketing strategy for companies serving a specific geographical area.

To remain visible and attract new customers on the Internet, it is important to know and master the factors involved in local SEO ranking.

In this article, we look at the 10 main factors that can influence the visibility of your website in local search results.

1. Optimising "Google My Business" listings

One of the crucial steps to successful local referencing is to complete and optimise your listings correctly. Google My Business (GMB). These files allow Internet users to quickly find relevant information about your company, such as the address, telephone number, opening hours and contact details. customer reviews.

Tips and tricks :

• • Carefully select the category that corresponds to your activity
  • Regularly check that information is up to date (address, opening times, etc.)
  • Encourage your satisfied customers to write reviews on your GMB page
  • Add images and photos representative of your company to enhance your GMB file

2. Consistency of NAP information

The Name, Address, Phone number (NAP) corresponds to all the information relating to your company on the Web. It is vital that this data is identical and consistent wherever it appears.

Advice :

• • Check that there are no errors or inconsistencies in the addresses of your premises
  • Make sure that your telephone number is correctly displayed on the various online media (GMB form, directories, etc.).
  • Set up a regular validation process to check the consistency of information

3. Responses to customer reviews

Customer reviews are increasingly taken into account by Google in its local rankings. They can be seen as indicators of trust and quality for a business.

Recommendations:

• Regularly ask for customer opinions
• Respond to every review left by a customer, whether positive or negative
• Take account of customer feedback and criticism to improve your product or service offering

4. Social signals

Signals from social networks also play a role in local SEO. They can help boost your company's profile and popularity with the online community.

Advice :

• • Make sure you have a presence on popular social networks (Facebook, TwitterInstagram...)
  • Share interesting and engaging content on a regular basis
  • Interact with your audience to create a community around your company

5. Schema.org markup

To help search engines better understand the content and information on your website, it is essential to use appropriate markup such as Schema.org.

Recommendations:

• • Set up Schema.org tags for the key elements of your site (address, telephone number, opening hours...)
  • Use online tools such as the structured data tags, to check that they have been used correctly.

6. Keyword optimisation

Keyword optimisation is the strategic use of clearly identified terms in your website content to improve your visibility in local search results.

Tips and tricks :

• • Identify the relevant keywords for your sector of activity or geographical region
  • Incorporate these keywords into the titles, meta-descriptions and content of your website
  • Update your keywords regularly to take account of new trends or changes in your business.

7. Quality content

Creating quality content is also central to your local SEO success. Internet users appreciate and share informative, interesting and well-written content more easily.

Advice :

• • Write content specific to your geographical region or business sector
  • Regularly publish articles, case studies or success stories
  • Highlight your local partnerships or the events in which you are taking part

8. User experience (UX)

Ensuring user experience on your website (smooth browsing, fast page loading, etc.) is essential for improving its visibility on search engines and generating revenue. conversions.

Recommendations:

• • Check that your site is compatible with all browsers and devices
  • Improve loading speed pages if necessary
  • Structure your content so that it is simple and easy to read

9. Backlinks

Inbound links to your website are seen by Google and other search engines as a sign of trust and authority in your field. Having a good backlinks is therefore crucial for local referencing.

Tips and tricks :

• • Create engaging, shareable content that encourages visitors to share links to your site
  • Specifically target local websites or websites in the same sector of activity to obtain quality inbound links
  • Make sure that your quotes and mentions on other sites always include a link to your website

10. Local quotes

Local citations are mentions of your business (including NAP) on other websites, even without a direct link to your site. Getting local citations is a good way to improve your company's visibility in local search results.

Advice :

• • Sign up for local directories or specialised in your business sector
  • Ask partners or local players to mention your company in their content
  • Make sure that each quotation is consistent with the information contained in your GMB file.

In short, mastering and applying these 10 local SEO ranking factors will enable you to considerably improve the visibility of your website and attract more potential customers to your geographical area.