Effective Local SEO with Verseo
Is your business focused on the local market? Do your customers mostly come from your area? Do you offer services that involve traveling to your clients? If you answered “YES” to any of these questions, local SEO from Verseo is the right solution for you and your business!
At Verseo, we were the first in Poland to implement local SEO for websites, using our own billing model and lead-generating website system.
Local SEO for Your Business
There are industries where proximity matters significantly. Plumbers, hairdressers, tire services, beauticians, Indian restaurants, language schools, travel agencies, insurance agents – these are just a few examples where distance plays a key role. With local business owners in mind, we offer local SEO services. What characterizes local SEO? How does local SEO work in practice?
What is Local SEO?
Local SEO is distinguished by the fact that modifications to the website and link building are carried out with the goal of achieving the best visibility for search results related to a specific location. Google has made changes to its algorithm that allow for a stronger connection between locally operating businesses and search results for their respective locations. For local SEO services, it’s also crucial to select the right keywords that highlight local operations – this makes the SEO most effective.
Google statistics clearly show that mobile traffic plays a significant role in local searches, and this trend is growing year by year. In response to the needs of our clients who generate traffic from mobile devices, we offer an additional service to monitor the positions achieved by the website in mobile search results.
Regional SEO – Scope of Work
Information on the tasks we perform as part of each SEO agreement can be found on the “SEO” subpage. The specific scope of work for a given agreement depends on factors such as the access we receive, the website’s structure, the technology it’s built with, and the client’s approval of the work being done.
How Much Does Local SEO Cost?
With our clients who operate in the local market in mind, we have prepared packages tailored to their business needs. The cost of local SEO depends on several factors. We offer packages for companies in both larger and smaller towns, with broader or more niche offerings. If you’re unsure which package or solution would be best for you, feel free to contact Verseo. Our specialists will present the available options in detail and will be happy to help you choose the optimal solution.
What to Know Before Choosing a Local SEO Package?
Any locally operating company, regardless of its size, the town in which it operates, or the industry (with the exception of industries where promotion is legally restricted or prohibited, preventing the effective provision of SEO services), for which Google provides local search results, can benefit from the selected package. With over 6 years of experience in the online marketing industry and a constantly growing team of Verseo specialists, we ensure that we have an effective SEO solution for every industry!
How to Best Present Your Offer in the Context of Local SEO?
Some examples of good practices that effectively support keyword ranking and positively impact conversions include:
- Address Information on the Website
Due to changes in Google’s algorithm aimed at providing the most relevant results for locally operating businesses, it is crucial to include the company address on your website. This could be the address of the headquarters, a branch, a store, showroom, workshop, salon, etc. If the address is in a small town, it may be a good idea to mention a larger nearby city in the address. If the company has branches in various towns and provides their addresses, there’s no issue in positioning for multiple locations. - Website Size
Local SEO is primarily aimed at service sectors, which affects the typical size of websites in this context. Websites showcasing services are usually not as complex as e-commerce websites – because they don’t need to be. However, this doesn’t mean that a one-page website is ideal for local SEO. This is due to the preferences of search engine bots, which, based on the content on the website, determine the site’s relevance to search engines. A website with more subpages can contain more content, and search bots will recognize it as providing more information relevant to potential clients. A one-page site is seen as lacking in information about the offer and the company itself. - Dedicated “Offer” Section
It’s also helpful if each service offered has its own individual subpage. A very effective SEO strategy is to create an aggregate “Offer” page describing the general profile of the business, along with subpages dedicated to specific services. For example, a restaurant may have separate pages showcasing services like weddings, events, communions, proms, catering for businesses, etc. - Unique Content on Each Subpage
Duplicate content is not well-received by Google’s search bots, and its presence significantly slows down and complicates the SEO process. To avoid duplication issues, create unique, original content for each subpage, including the homepage. - Friendly Subpage URLs
When creating new subpages presenting your company’s offer in more detail, it’s important to ensure the URLs are clean and concise, ideally including keywords relevant to your industry and accurately reflecting the offer. For example, if a company offers Roman blinds and wants to promote in the local Poznań market, a good URL for a page dedicated to this offer might be www.company-name.pl/roman-blinds-poznan. - Appropriate Length of Content
Content on both subpages and the homepage is crucial for SEO. It’s important to ensure the text is comprehensive, divided into paragraphs, and visible in its entirety. A “read more” approach is not optimal from an SEO perspective, although it is better than having no content at all. Content marketing works well with local SEO. - Use of the Town Name
It’s important to use the name of the town you want to promote in your website content and the context in which you want to dominate search results. - Use of Company Address
Including the company’s address in the town in which you want to promote your business is essential for local SEO. It’s not ideal to include only an email address and phone number in the CONTACT section, occasionally with a prompt to use a contact form. While we understand that some local businesses offer services that involve traveling to clients, the address of the business is still valuable for local SEO. Given changes in Google’s algorithm and its preferences, it’s a good practice to include this information if you want effective local SEO and high visibility in search results. - Google My Business Profile
It’s worth having a profile on Google My Business. This tool is especially useful for locally operating businesses. However, it’s important to note that having a Google My Business profile does not directly affect SEO ranking, nor is its visibility factored into search results. The goal of this is to improve the company’s online visibility, and a well-maintained Google My Business profile definitely helps with that. It also provides a lot of useful information for potential clients. - Google Maps
Another space where your business should be present is Google Maps. Although SEO in Google Maps isn’t possible – Google decides who appears in Google Maps search results (we mention this because there are some people misled into thinking there is a Google Maps SEO service) – it’s still important to make sure your business profile is complete and that there are reviews for your business (for example, encourage customers to leave reviews). This may encourage Google to list your business on the map. - Quick Contact on Mobile Devices
Ensuring easy contact via mobile devices is important. You should make it possible for clients to call directly without needing to manually input the phone number. This convenient solution positively impacts conversions. - Directions to Your Business
Providing directions to your company’s location is very desirable for locally operating businesses. Any assistance with navigation, public transport options, and parking information is a big help for potential customers and can encourage them to use your services. - Published Reviews on the Website
SEO specialists view reviews as an additional source of content on the website, which can be updated frequently (regularly adding new reviews and testimonials signals to search bots that the site has changed and should be reindexed, which can positively impact SEO). For potential clients, good reviews can also encourage them to use your company’s services. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to publish reviews on your website and create a separate section for customer feedback (an “Reviews” or “Testimonials” section would be a great solution).
How Long Does a Local SEO Contract Last?
Regardless of the chosen local SEO package, we always offer a 12-month contract. From experience, we know that this period allows businesses to feel the benefits of the SEO process. However, this does not mean that results will only appear after 12 months; often, SEO results can be visible much earlier. The speed at which target keywords appear in the top search results depends on various factors, such as the website’s structure, selected keywords, search engine dynamics, backlinks, and collaboration between the agency and the client. Not all factors are within our direct control.
How to Choose Keywords for Good Local Market Visibility?
We recommend mixing general, specific, and long-tail keywords. This combination allows you to reach diverse customer groups and supports the SEO process. Based on our experience, longer and more detailed keywords tend to rank faster, offering visibility even at earlier stages of the SEO process. It’s also important to include the name of the town in the keywords. Unlike Google Ads (formerly Google AdWords), where you can set the location for an ad, local SEO is achieved by providing relevant data on your website (e.g., in the CONTACT section) and using local keywords.
When choosing keywords, ensure they match the content on the website. It’s impossible to effectively rank for terms that don’t appear within the website’s content. This is tied to how search engines work, with a heavy emphasis on content relevance.
Why Do We Recommend Monitoring a Minimum of 15 Keywords?
Effective SEO ensures visibility for an unlimited number of keywords related to your industry and the offer on your website. We monitor how many keywords rank in the top 10 and top 50 results on Google. To meet our clients’ expectations, we provide daily, detailed monitoring of the most important keywords specified in the SEO contract. We check their positions and provide results in a dedicated panel, accessible to our clients throughout the contract.
We also perform optimization work for these most important keywords. A key aspect of SEO is ensuring that specific subpages are optimized and linked correctly. We particularly focus on monitoring the proper functioning of these subpages. If any issues arise, such as display problems or issues with crawling, we inform our clients. Problems with subpages or website functionality can negatively affect SEO results.
Want to Learn More About Local SEO for Your Business?
Get in touch with Verseo specialists now for a free quote for your website! Choose a local SEO package tailored to your company’s needs and internet marketing budget. If your expectations for local market promotion differ from our package suggestions, feel free to contact us. Tell us what your business needs, and we will find the best solution for you.
Table of contents
You are reading now:
Local SEO
- Effective Local SEO with Verseo
- What is Local SEO?
- What to Know Before Choosing a Local SEO Package?
- How Long Does a Local SEO Contract Last?
Local SEO for Websites – FAQ
Local SEO refers to a set of onsite and offsite actions aimed at increasing visibility for a selected set of keywords, but only within a specific area, such as a city or district. The core of this solution is based on displaying information to potential customers about the location where they are currently situated.
Nowadays, smartphones with internet access serve as the primary database and service platform. It’s with these devices that you search for a good restaurant or replace summer tires with winter ones in your vicinity. You enter a search query with the desired city, and in a few moments, you receive a list of available businesses and services. Interestingly, this also happens when you search for a term like “hairdresser” without specifying a city. This is made possible by geolocation, which allows the geographic location to be determined via GPS or the device’s IP address.
Today, hardly anyone uses paper maps anymore, as they have been replaced by technologies that not only guide users to their destinations but also point out interesting places along the way. Geolocation determines the user’s current location and allows ads, businesses, and services to be tailored accordingly. It is also helpful for local SEO optimization.
Geolocation influences search results, but it is not the only factor that companies or services should consider when optimizing their websites. The optimization of the site for keywords related to city or region names, i.e., local SEO, remains crucial.
For example: imagine you are in a foreign city, and you need to use the services of a hairdresser. In the past, you would have asked local residents and chosen the best service provider based on the first or most common answers. Today, in a much shorter time, you can use a search engine to find a specialist in the area and read reviews about them. As you can easily guess, a well-executed regional SEO process combined with a high-quality product or service can bring numerous benefits to a business with a regional scope.
Not every product or service is capable of dominating the global market, but that doesn’t mean it can’t achieve success within its own industry. In many cases, when a business operates primarily on a regional scale, it doesn’t make sense to optimize for broad keywords that would ultimately lead to a high bounce rate. Who should opt for local SEO? Local SEO is beneficial for all types of businesses, but it’s particularly advantageous for small and medium-sized enterprises and services, as it allows them to stand out in a competitive market.
Research conducted by Searchengineland.com revealed that 80% of smartphone and tablet users conduct local searches. Considering these statistics, it becomes even more important to focus on the visibility of your website within a regional context.
Efforts aimed at effective local SEO should be a priority, especially for small businesses targeting a local audience, such as those in the restaurant industry, construction and repair services, hair salons and beauty services, florists, auto repair shops, as well as specialized services. Appearing high in local search results significantly increases the likelihood that a customer will choose the service offered.
On-site local SEO
If you own a business domain, it’s essential to optimize its content for local search. Especially for businesses targeting local customers, there are several key factors for local SEO that must be considered, such as:
- Using location-specific phrases in the “About Me” section that refer to the business and its location, e.g., “beautician Poznań.”
- Providing the exact business address along with contact details (it’s advisable to use schema markup).
- Keyword saturation in the content that appears on the website, making sure to include terms related to the city.
- Optimizing headings and meta tags.
- Adding a Google Maps marker, which will help clients easily and accurately locate your business.
Off-site local SEO
Off-site activities, or external efforts that influence SEO optimization, should also be tailored for local search. One key aspect here is link building, where links direct or reference the business. When implementing off-site SEO, you should focus on:
- Acquiring links from local sources, such as news sites, city or municipal websites, or other region-specific websites.
- Adding your business profile to online business directories, including the business address and contact details.
- Encouraging positive reviews on Google and social media platforms.
- Participating in local and industry-specific online forums. The content published should provide valuable, meaningful insights to avoid being flagged as spam.
Geolocation, which allows for determining the geographical location of a website user, is a very important factor influencing search engine results. In the past, the displayed results were also dependent on the country-specific domain of the search engine. This meant that when you entered a specific query through google.pl, you received exactly the same ranking of websites, regardless of the location from which the search was conducted. Today, the results are tailored to the specific location, aiming to facilitate the search for information from the user’s perspective. Of course, users do not have to rely solely on the search engine and can specify the area for which they want to receive information. All they need to do is use a so-called geolocated query, such as “pizzeria Bydgoszcz.” Regardless of whether the user is currently in Warsaw or another city, Google should display the ranking of such restaurants in Bydgoszcz.
It is worth noting, however, that the geolocation performed by the search engine is precise enough that, in large urban areas, it can show websites of businesses located in a specific district. The fact that many internet users still enter the phrase + area in the search bar may be due to their habits or prior planning of a visit to another city. Nonetheless, this type of result personalization is a crucial SEO factor, over which the person responsible for regional positioning of a website has limited control.
As a website owner, you should obligatorily create a profile in the Google My Business service, thereby ensuring visibility on Google Maps. Additionally, beyond XML sitemaps, you must also have a KML file (a so-called geo-sitemap), which is used, among other things, by the Google Earth application. With it, you ensure that your business or location will be accurately represented in search results. Furthermore, you must also focus on regional SEO through other actions: internal (proper website and content optimization) and external (acquiring backlinks and encouraging customers to leave reviews).
Google My Business is an online business profile that impacts local SEO. It is another essential action that business owners should focus on if they want to reach users in a specific region. This link, connected with Google Maps, redirects to the company’s homepage and positively influences not only local SEO but also the credibility of the brand.
Setting up this service is very simple – and importantly, it works regardless of whether you have a business website or not. All that is needed is to create a profile by following the provided instructions. The profile must include the business name, type of activity, physical address, contact information, business hours, and optionally, the main website address. Such a profile increases the chances of the business appearing in SERP searches and makes it easier for potential customers to verify and, ultimately, take advantage of the offered services.
Google My Business also influences customer interactions, as users can leave ratings and reviews. This factor helps improve the quality of services and identifies what is working poorly and what should be maintained in the business. However, it is important to remember that a large number of negative reviews can negatively impact the business, making it seem unreliable in the eyes of customers and, as a result, being overlooked. It is essential to encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on the company’s online profile to ensure a good reputation.
As highlighted above, setting up a profile in Google My Business is absolutely essential if you want to improve your business’s local SEO. This action not only enables your business to appear in standard search results and on maps but also helps increase the credibility of your business in the eyes of Google.
Creating a profile is not a complicated process, but it does require verification through a special PIN (in most cases, sent by mail to verify the actual address). Once this step is successfully completed, you will have your own Google identifier, allowing users to check your address, phone number, business hours, as well as view available photos and customer reviews.
When providing contact details (i.e., all the information that may help your customers get in touch with a company representative), you must ensure consistency. It is important that the same address, phone number, and email address appear on the “Contact” page, in the terms and conditions attachment, and across all external sources. This consistency will make it easier for algorithms to associate your contact details with your business, ultimately benefiting your local search rankings.
Of course, if you want to achieve a high ranking in local search results, you cannot forget about proper website optimization. This involves many of the same actions as general SEO, such as having a correct site structure, internal navigation, and unique content. However, local SEO optimization requires a few additional, mandatory actions:
- Placing a Google map (indicating the company’s location) in the “Contact” section,
- Including the company name, address, and phone number in the “Contact” section and footer,
- Describing contact information using structured data,
- Naturally including the name of the specific area in the content on the site, in headers, and in meta descriptions.
Additionally, you must not forget about external links to your website, which play a crucial role in both general and local SEO. For local SEO, it is especially important to secure links from local websites, such as regional classifieds portals or local newspapers.
Regional SEO can bring significant benefits to your business in a short period. However, it requires website owners to meet several conditions, including proper website optimization, effective link building, and encouraging customers to leave ratings and reviews. There is no doubt, though, that such actions can lead to reaching a wide audience in your area and, ultimately, to the rapid monetization of the results.
The cost depends on the area in which you want to promote your business. At Verseo, the cost of local SEO in the smallest package starts at 599 PLN. In our local advertising price list, you will find example packages that include not only SEO but also PPC and Social Media services tailored to local businesses.
Sounds good? Contact us! We will provide a tailored quote for your business!