Local SEO is an online marketing technique that increases the visibility of businesses for geographically-related searches on search engines. Implementing this strategy is essential for the following reasons:

• 1 in 3 searches on Google is a local search
• 4 in 10 people do a local search everyday
• 70% of online searchers will use local search to find offline businesses

How To Rank On Local Search Results

Here is a primer on how to dominate search results locally. Learn how to boost your ranking with these seven (7) helpful tips.

1. Get your business on Google through Google Places. Getting listed on Google Places is one of the factors that guarantee SEO rankings locally. This is a way to let Google know anything and everything about your business. It is critical then to optimize your page here:

• Use product, service or location-based keywords in the business title and description.
• Choose an accurate category listing.
• Fill out both required and optional text fields.
• Upload images of your office.

2.       Create a Google+  Local Page. Google+ Local is quite similar to the regular Google+ pages in a sense that you can create and manage circles, start and join hangouts, and share diverse content like posts and photos. The only difference is that it allows your customers to easily connect with you more. For instance, if you’re a digital company that offers SEO in Cebu and nearby areas, a map that features your physical address, local phone number and hours of operation is included. Apply these strategies:

• Get your page verified.
• Complete and optimize your profile.
• Work on getting more Google +1’s.
• Upload videos with high-quality content.
• Encourage good reviews from customers and top reviewers in your niche.

3.       Be consistent on your NAP. NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone number. The presence of NAP on your Google+ Local or Places page isn’t enough. You have to maintain consistency and ensure that they are all the same including the ones provided on your website.

4.       Claim your citations. Get listed on search engines and social media – Google, Bing, Yelp, Facebook, and Foursquare. Look into directories where you can get your business added locally.

 5.       Work towards getting third-party online reviews. Local-wise, the quality, velocity and diversity of review signals can greatly influence your performance.

• Select review sites that have high-domain popularity and Google search ranking and high authority inbound links pointing to them.
• Obtain high customer ratings and positive reviews at a consistent rate.

6.       Acquire authoritative backlinks. The quality and authority of your backlinks are still big indicators to rank well on Google locally. Hence, attract links from local and national newspapers, local relevant and influential websites, high profile bloggers and professional industry associations.

7.       Take advantage of the social media and mobile-related signals.

• Gain mentions of your brand via Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other networks.
• Promote content shares, comments and likes.
• Encourage check-ins from mobile social networking apps such as Facebook and Foursquare.