68% of online experiences begin with a search engine.
When people want to find information about something, they go online and search for it.
Fortunately, agencies offering SEO in Manchester services are there to help you get on the first page of the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) – and in front of those people that are looking for your products or services.
But what if you are a local business looking to get more foot traffic to your physical location? Well, then you need local SEO Manchester.
But how does local SEO differ from traditional SEO (search engine optimisation)? And which should you use for your business?
What’s the difference between local SEO and SEO?
Local SEO and SEO are actually quite similar, in that they are both focused on improving your website rankings online so that your website gets in front of more people where it can then encourage them to contact your business, find your location, and purchase from you.
However, there is one key difference.
SEO is aimed at improving your visibility on a national level – such as in the UK – whereas local SEO is aimed at improving your visibility in the local area – such as Manchester.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Land defines SEO as “search engine optimisation.” It is “the process of improving your website to improve its visibility when people search for products or services related to your business in any of the search engines.”
Traditional SEO strategies involve such techniques as:
- Conducting keyword research and making sure the relevant keywords are used throughout your website
- Creating engaging in-depth content about your industry, the products you sell and the services you offer
- Make sure your website loads quickly
- Streamlining the navigation on your site, so that people can find what they are looking for quickly
- Earning links back to your site from other websites with good domain authority to improve the domain authority of your website
And so on.
What is local SEO?
Mailchimp defines local SEO as “a search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy that helps your business be more visible in the local search results on Google.”
They go on to say “As a local business, you have the opportunity to appear within both the main organic search results and the local map pack at the same time.”
Research has shown that over 80% of local searches actually convert into sales, which is why it is so important to invest in local search if you are a business with a physical store, that wants to boost sales and revenue.
When someone searches for something with a location in it, such as “SEO agencies Manchester”, then Google returns what is called a local SEO 3-pack: a map and the top three websites that are ranking for that search term.
Google pulls this information from the Google My Business (GMB) profiles of the relevant businesses, which is why claiming your GMB listing is really important when we are optimising for local SEO.
In addition to using similar strategies to SEO (as listed above), local SEO strategies also tend to include:
- Claiming and optimising your business profile on local listing sites such as Google My Business (GMB)
- Earning reviews on local review sites (such as Yelp!) and managing these reviews
- Make sure your website is targeting relevant local keywords
- Creating website copy that is location-specific
- Ensuring Name, Address, and Phone Number information (NAP) is listed on your site and in relevant local directories
- Earning links back to your site from relevant high authority local sites
Do SEO and local SEO have an effect on each other?
Hopefully, you understand enough about SEO and local SEO now to realise that it is hard to separate the two. If done correctly, your SEO efforts can help your local SEO efforts and vice versa.
If you already have an SEO strategy in place, for example, and want to start utilising local SEO then this should be possible with just a few tweaks, such as adding location-specific keywords and content to your site to appeal to local searchers rather than just general content aimed at the population as a whole.
However, adding these pages will also have a positive effect on your general SEO results as they will give you more opportunities to rank in more relevant search results. Get started with SEO or local SEO or both today by talking to the team at SEO MCR – specialists in local search engine optimisation Manchester. We are here to help you get the best results from your campaign.
