What is Local SEO & a NAP Citation?
Struggling to attract local customers online? Local SEO can help! It optimizes your website to rank higher in local search results, driving more qualified leads to your door. A key part of Local SEO is NAP Citations, which ensure your business’s Name, Address, and Phone number are consistent and accurate across the web. Let’s dive deeper and show you how to dominate your local market.
What is Local SEO?
Dominate local search results.
Local SEO services are the art and science of optimizing your online presence to attract more local customers. It’s all about ensuring that your business shows up when someone nearby conducts a relevant search. Whether it’s a restaurant, a boutique, or a service-oriented business, local SEO is the key to being discovered by potential customers in your area.
On Google, that means you want your business listed in the Local Pack/Map Pack and to rank higher and appear more often in response to relevant queries. There are unique techniques that local SEO uses to achieve this:
▼ Google Business Profile
Previously known as Google My Business, your Google Business Profile is your digital storefront. It must be optimized to ensure it’s not only accurate and up-to-date but also so it stands out among competitors.
▼ Local Keywords
Do your keywords contain local pieces? To ensure proper local SEO, one must conduct in-depth keyword research to identify the phrases potential customers are using when searching for businesses like theirs locally.
Local keyword examples include:
- Near me
- [Service] in [city]
- [Profession] near [city]
- Best [product] shops locally
▼ On-Page SEO
Enhancing your website’s content to include local keywords, meta tags, and location-specific information helps search engines understand your relevance to local searches.
▼ Online Reviews
Customer reviews provide businesses with three different forms of value:
- Real feedback on consumer experiences.
- Social proof that reduces risk for potential customers.
- A known and positive ranking factor that search engines like to see (boost to local SEO).
Therefore, encourage your satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, Facebook, and other well-known/authoritative sites. Better yet, respond and engage with them.
▼ Local NAP Citations
Search engines and users need to be able to find your business. NAP Citations are where your business’s Name, Address, and Phone are listed on other websites. We could even toss in website URL.
Stick around, we’ll cover this one in a bit more detail.
What is a NAP Citation?
Your digital location pin.
NAP, an acronym for Name, Address, and Phone Number, forms the bedrock of a NAP citation. This trio of essential business information serves as a digital fingerprint, ensuring consistency across online platforms.
Your NAP should be considered crawlable HTML text on your site and should be at least included on the “Contact” page, but can also be placed in the footer and header. Additionally, local NAP citations might appear in directories, on social networking or review sites, in apps, and on all kinds of other websites.
Obviously, the more authoritative sites like Google My Business (Android), Apple Maps (iOS), and others like Bing Places (Microsoft + Yahoo) are where you want to be listed and gain the most authoritative citations.
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Why Does Local SEO Matter?
Connecting you with customers.
Imagine this scenario: A person in your city is craving a cup of coffee and decides to search for “best coffee shops near me.” If your café doesn’t appear in the search results, you’ve just lost a potential customer to a competitor who mastered their Local SEO.
Local SEO matters because it connects you with people who are actively looking for products or services in your locality. By optimizing your online presence for local searches, you increase your chances of being found by customers who are ready to make a purchase.
Attract More Local Customers. Get a Local SEO Audit.
Looking to dominate local searches and bring more customers through your door? Our Local SEO experts can help! We’ll analyze your current online presence and provide a free audit to identify areas for improvement.
Ready to get found by local customers?
Need more SEO insights?
Explore our FAQ like a delightful dessert buffet. Click a question for a single bite or savor the entire knowledge base!
▼ Beginner SEO FAQ
How to Learn SEO
What is an SEO Campaign Strategy?
How to Identify Keywords for SEO
What is SEO Copy & How to Write SEO Content?
What is an SEO Title?
What is Meta Tag in SEO?
Why is Having Duplicate Content an Issue for SEO?
What Is On-Page & Off-Page SEO?
Why are Internal Links Important for SEO?
What are Backlinks & Link Building in SEO?