You have an online presence and yet you’re missing out on business. If these words ring true then what you need is a solid local SEO strategy. The kind of strategy that makes your business pop up whenever someone carries out those ‘near me’ searches. Luckily, you can improve your local SEO game with the best digital marketing agency in Kolkata and the world.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is slightly different from general SEO in the sense that it is region-specific. It is done so that consumers can easily find your brick-and-mortar business whenever they search online. People use keywords like ‘shops near me’, ‘gyms near me’, or ‘restaurants near me’ to find what they need. The best local SEO services in Kolkata can help you figure out such local SEO needs.

How Important is Local SEO?

You’ll be surprised to know that almost half the business searches online happen locally. There are 9 billion searches on Google every day, of which 46% are local. This means the success of your business depends a lot on how you approach your local SEO campaign.

With the massive opportunity to reach such a wide audience, you simply can’t ignore your local SEO needs. It is wise to do this professionally and get the best local SEO services in Kolkata or anywhere in the world.

Covering the Basics of Local SEO

Local SEO is a lot more than ‘near me’ keywords. Here’s how the best local SEO company in Kolkata and agencies around the world cover your local SEO needs:

1. Optimising Google My Business

   Since most of the searches happen on Google, you’ll need the Google My Business tool.

   • First step is the creation of your Google My Business Page.
   • Second step is verification of your business. Location tagging, photos and video posts are a part of this process.
   • Then comes the reviews and feedback from customers for optimisation.

   If Google thinks your business is the real deal, it may reward you with a prestigious sidebar space in the local search.

2. On-Page SEO for Local Search

   It deals with making your web pages efficient for better conversion.

   • Knowing the local search terms is important in this step and keyword research comes in handy.
   • Then you need relevant content based on these target keywords
   • Page optimisation with relevant images and FAQs is an important task.

   The best local SEO company in Kolkata and the world will help you optimise content for user intent. You’ll have dedicated landing pages highlighting your localised services for better reach.

3. Building Local Citations and NAP Listings

   Local citations and NAPs go a step further in locating your business and making it search engine-friendly. NAP is an acronym for Name, Address, and Place. It is crucial for consumers to find and contact your business for orders.

   A common mistake while doing NAP listings is doing it with just an image. You need to do it with HTML text because it’s easier for the search engine to crawl. The latter can’t crawl for images.

4. Mobile First Search

   People do most of their online searching on their mobile phones. So, obviously, your website and landing pages should be mobile-friendly.

   A website with a poor mobile user experience is bound to decrease engagement. Make sure your content loads quickly on mobile and your website has the right UI/UX for comfortable viewing.

   Optimal loading speed and responsive design is a must for mobile-first indexing which in turn is preferred by search engines.

5. Voice Search

   Voice commands are a common thing nowadays and many people opt for a voice search instead of typing. This calls for tweaking your local SEO strategy to include natural-sounding conversational keywords for better visibility.

   Voice-enabled devices are a big hit and it’s ushering a trend of voice queries on Google. You can stay ahead of the curve by optimising your local SEO for voice queries like using long-tail keywords.

6. Reviews and Reputation

   Online reputation plays a big role in the success or failure of a business. With so many choices available to consumers, the best way to stand out among the crowd is through good reviews.

   • Positive reviews and testimonials help improve your local search ranking
   • A whopping 97% of people read reviews before buying anything online

   Encouraging your customers to share their satisfactory experience with images and videos is thus important to build a good reputation.

7. Creating Localised Content

   Content is the ultimate pulling force and that’s what you need from the best digital marketing company in Kolkata. The latter will help you craft localised content that clicks with your local audience.

   • Publish original content highlighting your products and services
   • Cover your audience’s pain points and give them the solutions they seek
   • Use a combination of short texts, images, and videos to make it relevant and trustworthy

   This will surely improve your local search rankings and establish your uniqueness.

Local Backlinks

Building local backlinks brings more traffic to your website and is an effective local SEO strategy. It is the practice of acquiring links from local websites to create multiple channels of traffic.

• Google uses local SEO backlinks to assign your page rank
• A few quality local backlinks are enough to boost your rank
• These backlinks act as a vote of validation from the local community

The best local SEO company in Kolkata and across India has the right tools to build your local SEO backlink directories.

Leveraging Social Media and Community Engagement

It goes without saying that social media presence increases your reach. Billions of active users are present on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok daily.

• Create and optimise your social media pages with your contact details and website link
• Highlight your products and services on social media with appropriate CTAs
• Engage with your audience regularly to build trust

Having an active social media presence creates a band of loyal followers and more business enquiries.

Local Schema and Google Map Embedding

Local schema is highly important as it helps Google display your business locations with accuracy. Adding schema markup inevitably leads to better visibility at multiple locations of your business.

Local schema is a structured data markup code that communicates your key business details directly to Google

It is essential when your business has multiple locations

The structured information makes Google Map embedding easier which in turn removes any doubt and confusion

Conclusion

Local SEO is a part of the broader SEO strategy and something no business can afford to ignore. It involves a lot of things which go beyond the commonly-held notion of ‘near me’ searches. This includes optimising the profile with NAP details, publishing locally relevant content, and taking care of local backlinks and schema. Make sure you have the best digital marketing agency in Kolkata, India, or in the world to build your local SEO strategy.