Webinar: How to supercharge local SEO strategies for multi-location businesses

How to supercharge local SEO strategies for multi-location businesses
How to
supercharge
local SEO
strategies for
multi-location
businesses
Fiona Soum
SEO Consultant

• Employee at Builtvisible for two years
• Working as SEO consultant with multi-location businesses mainly
• Why local SEO?
Tap into unexplored yet rewarding opportunities
Adapt to a constantly changing landscape and newer forms of search
Optimise with a high effort/reward ratio
Cement your business strategy to drive traffic to your website and stores
Hello, I’m Fiona
SEO Consultant @ Builtvisible

Use local SEO marketing strategies to increase your business’ visibility across
platforms.
The aim of this webinar is to:
• Provide an easy-to-understand introduction to local SEO
• Showcase the value of local SEO for multi-location businesses
• Demonstrate how the practice intertwines with regular SEO
• Highlight signs that you might need local SEO services
Throughout this webinar, I’ll be using our client GLL as live example for better
illustration and visualisation.
Executive summary

Why is local SEO so
important?
• “+500% growth in “near me” mobile
searches that contain a variant of “can I
buy” or “to buy” over the last two years.”
Data: Jul-Dec 2015 vs Jul-Dec 2017
• “+200% growth in mobile queries
related to “where to buy” + “near me”
over in the past two years.”
Data: 2016/17 vs 2018/19
• “Shift of local “near me”
searches as a result of
coronavirus. Rising search demand
for terms like “stores open near me” or
“grocery delivery”
Study: 2020
Sources:
• Where to buy near me mobile search data
• How ‘Near Me’ helps us find what we need, not just where to go
• How Coronavirus Is Impacting Local Search
• Yelp’s COVID-19 Q2 analysis
COVID-19
UK
search demand for
‘near me’ terms
(Google Trends – Past 5 years)
US
search demand for
‘near me’ terms
COVID-19
FR
search demand for
‘shops near me’ terms
COVID-19

Defining local SEO

“Local SEO is a multi-step process that primarily involves web mapping
services (e.g. Google Maps), local tools (e.g. Google My Business),
local citations (e.g. online directories) and your own site.” Google
It helps local customers more easily find your business and drive traffic
to your site and footfall to your physical stores.
What is local SEO?

What are local
search results?
Google defines local search results as follows:
“results that appear for people who search for
businesses and places near their location. They’re
shown in a number of places across Maps and
Search”.
‘Find results on’ featured
snippet with local sites
Google’s Snack Pack with:
• a map pulled from Google
Maps
• top-ranking local businesses
for a given query with NAP
information, link to the website
and reviews.
Organic results

What factors influence
local rankings?
Proximity corresponds to how far your business is from
the searcher. Google gives more importance to businesses
that are closest to the searcher or a location if specified.
Relevancy corresponds to how relevant your listing is to
a specific search query. Can the algorithm match your
business information to a search query?
Prominence corresponds to how renowned your
business is. Google’s local algorithm looks at things like
reviews, links, citations and store visits.

How can local SEO
help your business?

Which businesses can
capitalise on local
SEO?
Any business that has a physical location
OR
serves customers in a particular service area.

What can local SEO
help you achieve?
More online
visibility
Better brand
awareness
Greater and
targeted
traffic
Revenue
increase
Defining a local strategy today can not only help drive more traffic to your site…
…but also future-proof your digital strategy by capitalising on newer trends:
Personalised and seamless experience
Ever-rising mobile usage
‘On the go’ searches
Growing demand for local buying
Pandemic-like situation

Businesses can supercharge their local SEO strategy by:
• Using local listing tools
• Building local citations
• Optimising for local searches
Taking a holistic approach to local SEO and regularly reviewing that approach will
propel brand visibility across targeted regions.
Capturing local searches…
• helps consumers find and engage with
businesses.
• unlocks a new way for brands to drive more
sales.

Using local listing
tools

According to Google, businesses that
verify their Google My Business
information are twice as likely to be
considered reputable by consumers.

Introduction to local
SEO tools
Using local listing tools

What (free) local listing tools can you use?
Apple Maps ConnectGoogle My Business Bing Places
Google My Business is a free tool that lets
you manage how your local business appears
across Google products, like Maps and
Search.
Bing Places for Business is a free Bing
service that enables businesses to be found
on Bing in a similar way to Google My
Business.
Apple Maps Connect is a free tool that
enables businesses to be found on iPhone,
iPad, Mac desktop and the
DuckDuckGo search engine.
Why use Google My Business:
• Google is the most popular search engine
• Large percentage of local searches
• Easy-to-use and well-maintained
Why use Bing Places:
• Lower competition compared to Google
• Social media and deals integration
Why use Apple Maps Connect:
• Lower competition compared to Google
• Capture searches from Apple devices, Siri
and DuckDuckGo by default
• Social media and Yelp integration

Using the three tools simultaneously
widens
your reach and visibility across
platforms.

Google My Business
Google Maps
Maps link
Google AssistantGoogle Search
Search link

Bing Places
Bing Search Bing Maps
Maps linkSearch link

Apple Maps Connect
Maps linkSearch link
Apple Maps DuckDuckGo
Search
DuckDuckGo Maps

Defining the
importance of listing
elements

• Listing elements
Name, address, phone
number (NAP) and
business details
Business name
Use your real-world business name.
Categories
Choose a primary category that best describes what your
business does AND use secondary categories to promote
additional products or services offered.
Address
Use a precise, accurate address.
Opening hours
Add accurate opening times and use the ‘special hours’ feature
for particular days.
Phone number(s)
Use the most relevant phone number.
URL
Link your listing to your business page AND add URL
parameters to track the traffic driven to your site through local
listings.

Listing elements
Other crucial elements
Photos & Videos*
“Businesses that add photos to their Business
Profiles receive 42% more requests for
directions on Google Maps, and 35% more
clicks through to their websites than
businesses that don’t.”
(Google)
Reviews
“Review signals make up 16% of the search
engine decision-making process when it
comes to local pack rankings”
(Brightlocal 2020 study)

Listing elements
Additional listing elements
Business description
Provide details about the services and
products your business offers.
Google Posts
Use Google Posts to promote special
announcements, events, discounts or news.
Service and products
Specify the types of services / products offered
using the features available.
Bookings
Provide details about the services and
products your business offers.

How well is your
business performing
in local search?

What now?
Assess the presence of your
business locations in Search and
Maps and proceed to next steps.
Create a new listing
if your business location is not
represented at all on the platform.
Claim a listing
if your business location is represented
on the platform but you are not currently
the owner of that listing (this means you
have no control over the listing
information).
Optimise listings
if any information is missing or additional
details should be added.
Fix duplicate listings
if you spot another listing is featured
instead of yours (this means duplication
issues are occurring).

• Verify and complete: contain as much accurate information as possible (e.g. is your
NAP correct? Is the map pin accurate ? Are the opening hours up-to-date?)
• Track: Put in place a tracking system as early as possible in order to pull meaningful
local insights and inform your strategy (e.g. UTM parameters).
• Review issues: Regularly review the tools’ dashboard and resolve issues being
reported (e.g. duplication issues, low confidence message, Google updates that are
coming from users' suggestions and third-party tools, etc.).
• Report fake listings: Use the Business Redressal Form to get it removed.
• Review photos and reviews: report anything inappropriate, offensive or irrelevant to
get it removed. Make sure your photos are following the guidelines and actively
encourage users to leave reviews.
• Review your competitors’ performance: search for local queries and see if they
outrank you – is their listing is more complete? Are they using a more appropriate
primary? Do they have more and / or better reviews?
General tips
Regularly reviewing your listings is
crucial. “You rent but don’t own
your business profile.”

Do you need local
listing optimisation?

Understand how your brand performs on local search and maps from a listing
perspective:
1. Pick 4/5 local keywords for which you want to be visible on Google (e.g. ‘leisure
centre in Old Street’)
2. Search for these keywords on Search and Maps across platforms (Google, Bing,
DuckDuckGo, Apple Maps, etc.) and answer the following questions:
Can you see your business location featured?
Where is it featured? Is it in top positions?
Do you own the business listing?
Are the information contained accurate?
Does the listing contain all the information?
Is your business accurately placed on the map?
Are the photos displayed up-to-date?
Do you have numerous positive reviews?
Do you have a 4 stars review or more?
How about your competitors? Do you outrank them?
If you answered ‘no’ to some or all of these questions, you most probably need
local listing optimisation.
Are you ranking well on
local search and maps?

Building local
citations

Cement your local
strategy with accurate
citations
Local citations are essentially off-site
mentions of your business
information such as NAP.
Where can you find them?
• Business data platforms like Yelp
• Online directories specific to an industry or
geographic area like Yorkpress directory
• Wider web (partners’ site, blogs, news, etc.)
Why do they matter?
• Help users find their way to your website
(which boosts referral traffic)
• Prevent third-parties from publishing erroneous
data about your business
• Raise the authoritativeness of your site
• Elevate your local optimisation strategy
• Improve your ranking performance

What to look out for
when assessing local
citations?
Quantity
AccuracyQuality
Coverage
Look for opportunities to
grow your local citations
Ensure the information
contained is accurate for
better user experience and
consistency.
Make sure your local citations
are coming from high quality,
trusted websites.
Make sure all citation
opportunities your business
has are covered

Do you need local
citation
optimisation?
Building local citations

Assess the coverage and accuracy of off-site mentions of your website:
1. Pick 4/5 local business data platforms to start with (e.g. Yelp, local newspaper,
Foursquare). Search for your brand and answer the following questions:
Is your business featured at all?
Are all your business locations represented?
Is the data on the listing accurate?
Does the business listing contain all the information?
If relevant, is your business accurately placed on the map?
If relevant, are the photos displayed up-to-date?
Do you have numerous positive reviews?
2. On the same local business data platforms, search for generic terms (i.e. ‘leisure
centre in central London) and answer the following questions:
Are you featured in top positions?
Are you outranking your competitors?
If you answered ‘no’ to some or all of these questions, you most probably need
local listing optimisation.
How well are your local
citations managed?

Optimising your site

Incorporate your local
SEO optimisation into
your wider SEO
strategy
Many studies have found a very high
correlation between your site health
and your local pack performance.
Why is it crucial to take a fully integrated
approach to local SEO?
• Seamless experience
• Consolidated performance
• Multi-location visibility
• Competitive edge
• Emerging practices

What can be done
directly on your pages?
On-page optimisation is the starting
point of on-site local optimisation.
• Conduct a local keyword research to inform your
on-page optimisation strategy. It’ll highlight where
exactly the local opportunities lie for your brand.
• Create local pages.
• Target local and long-tail keywords (i.e.
‘[keywords] + [location]’ and/or ‘near me’ terms).
• Ensure business information is accurate across
your site.
• Embed your business location’s Google map
listing on the homepage or wherever it makes
sense if possible.
• Consider newer forms of search such as voice
search.
Business name
Description of the
business location
Accurate address
information
Accurate opening
hours
Embedded Google
Map and direction
information

How can you improve
your link profile via local
SEO?
Effective local outreach for high-
impact exposure.
Is your business location mentioned on a site for a
special event?
Is your business location featured in a list of top
places to visit?
Has a webmaster dedicated a full blogpost to
praise your business location?
Numerous mentions of your brand can probably be
found on the wider web but are they all linking to
your site? If not, this is a missed opportunity.

What are the ‘more
technical changes’ a site
can make to improve
local performance?
• Using local schema markup for rich results
(e.g. LocalBusiness or PostalAddress schema
markup).
• Helps Google better understand your content
and may contribute to a stronger relevancy
signal and better CTR.
• Making your site mobile-friendly.
• Crucial due to ever-rising mobile searches and
newer forms of search and results (e.g. "Live
View" AR navigation on mobile).
• Improving your overall site speed.
• Helps improve user experience, an aspect
Google puts an increasing emphasis on.
Example of LocalBusiness schema markup
Helpful resources:
• Assess your schema markup implementation with the Rich Snippets tool
• Generate your own LocalBusiness schema.org structured data
• See how mobile-friendly your site is
• Analyse your site speed

Do you need on-site
local optimisation?
Optimising your site

Ensure local search opportunities are seized on your site too:
1. Pick 4/5 local keywords for which you’d like to / should rank and search for
them on Google. What do you see? Is your brand visible in top organic
positions?
2. Go on your site and answer the questions below:
Do you have a list of local keywords relevant to your brand?
Do you have any local pages or localized content on your site?
If so, are the pages targeting any local keyword?
Do you have a Google Map showing your location on your “Contact Us”
page?
Do you use local schema mark-up at all?
Is your site mobile-friendly?
How about your competitors? Do you outrank them for local keywords?
If you answered ‘no’ to some or all of these questions, you most probably
need local listing optimisation.
Is your site well-
optimised for local
search?

Local SEO
takeaways

In a nutshell…
• Using all local listing tools simultaneously widens
your reach and visibility across platforms.
• Regularly review the information to ensure data
accuracy and efficient optimisation.
Local
listings
• Elevate your local optimisation strategy with local
citations.
• Key local citations factors are quantity, quality,
accuracy and coverage.
Local
citations
• Very high correlation between your site health and
your local pack performance.
• Use a combination of on-page optimisation, link
building and technical tactics with a focus on
mobile performance and user experience.
Onsite local
optimisation

Thank you.
builtvisible.com
Fiona Soum
SEO Consultant
fiona@builtvisible.com

Webinar: How to supercharge local SEO strategies for multi-location businesses

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