The Complete Local SEO Checklist for 2022

Summary

In this informative video, Nathan Gotch shares his comprehensive local SEO strategy for dominating Google's local pack. He emphasizes the three core ranking factors for local SEO: relevance, distance, and prominence, and outlines seven actionable steps to enhance local rankings. These include optimizing Google My Business listings, creating a GMB posting schedule, cleaning up citations, garnering more reviews, optimizing existing pages, producing geo-targeted content, and acquiring local backlinks. Nathan's approach is practical, data-driven, and designed to help businesses stand out in their local markets.

Takeaways

• 📌 Local SEO focuses on ranking within Google's local pack, and understanding the core ranking factors is crucial.
• 🎯 The three core variables for local pack rankings according to Google are relevance, distance, and prominence.
• 🔍 Relevance can be improved through on-page SEO and building topical geo-targeted relevance.
• 📍 Distance ranking factor considers the proximity of a business to the location term used in a search.
• 🌟 Prominence is about how well-known a business is, which can be enhanced by having a high review count and score on Google My Business (GMB).
• 🔗 Backlinks, citation accuracy, and organic rankings are important for improving a local brand's prominence.
• 📊 Optimize your GMB listing by benchmarking performance, optimizing the info section, responding to reviews, and adding unique images.
• 📅 Create a GMB posting schedule to indirectly improve listing performance through increased engagement.
• 🧹 Clean up your citations using tools like SEMRush to ensure accuracy and consistency across the web.
• 💬 Focus on getting more reviews, as they are critical for both local SEO and business conversion rates.
• 🖋️ Optimize existing pages by incorporating the primary keyword in key areas and using tools like SEMRush's On-Page SEO Checker.
• 🌐 Create geo-targeted content that is topically relevant and avoid spammy practices like adding locations to non-variable topics.

Q & A

What is the main focus of this video?

The main focus of this video is to outline the complete local SEO process to help businesses rank at the top of Google's local pack.

Who is Nathan Gotch?

Nathan Gotch is the founder of Gotcha SEO and has led hundreds of successful SEO campaigns since 2013. He also runs the Gotcha SEO Academy to help SEO professionals achieve mastery status.

What are the three core variables that determine local pack rankings according to Google?

The three core variables that determine local pack rankings are relevance, distance, and prominence.

How can businesses control the relevance ranking factor in local SEO?

Businesses can control the relevance ranking factor by implementing proper on-page SEO and building topical geo-targeted relevance.

What does Google consider when determining distance in local SEO?

Google considers how far each potential search result is from the location term used in a search. If a user doesn't specify a location, Google calculates distance based on what they know about the user's location.

What are the four core actions to improve a local brand's prominence in local SEO?

The four core actions to improve local brand prominence are increasing review count and score on Google My Business listing, acquiring niche relevant and geo-targeted backlinks, ensuring citation accuracy, and improving organic rankings.

How often should businesses publish new Google My Business posts?

Businesses should aim to publish at least one new Google My Business post per week, as posts expire after seven days.

What is the recommended strategy for acquiring local backlinks?

The recommended strategy for acquiring local backlinks is using a content-centric approach, including local donations or sponsorship links, and collaborating with local bloggers who cover local businesses.

How can businesses optimize their existing pages for local SEO?

Businesses can optimize their existing pages by ensuring their primary keyword is in the URL, title, H1 tag, first sentence, and last sentence. They should also use SEMrush's On-Page SEO Checker for further optimization suggestions and prominently place their address and schema markup on the target page.

What type of content is most effective for building topical relevance in local SEO?

The most effective type of content for building topical relevance in local SEO is content that is topically and geo-targeted, meaning it should be inspired by national-level ideas but tailored to the local context.