How To Leverage “Near Me” Optimization For Local SEO

If you are a local business owner, it is important that you reach more people in your surroundings. People in your area should find your business easily whenever they need the product or services you offer. Recently, mobile searches for local services have increased, as has the use of voice-enabled devices like Google Home and Alexa. If your company is not already utilizing “Near Me” searches to its advantage, you are likely to miss out on a large number of potential customers. Here at Bold SEO Adelaide, we have compiled our top tips for optimizing Google “Near Me” searches in this guide.

What Is “Near Me” Search?

The term Near Me is used to describe searches in which an individual is searching for a specific product in a specific location. Generally, the search intent is to make an immediate purchase.

How To Optimize For “Near Me” Searches?

Optimizing for “Near Me” is not about stuffing your pages with “Near Me” keywords. In some terms, you might optimize your entire website around the “near me” keyword but rank below your competitor because people who are searching for that phrase are nearby your competitor. Also, sometimes your location may be closest to the searcher, but the competitor may still rank higher.

Here are some ways through which you can optimize your business for “Near Me” Searches:

Create And Update Google My Business

When you search for local keywords, Google My Business listings appear first. To list your business in these results, you must create a business account. 

• Make sure you update all of the appropriate information for your business in the listing.
• Verify your business account with Google.
• Provide the complete directions to your business address by using Google Maps.
• Create a compelling logo and profile image.
• Verify that your NAP (name, address, and phone) information is accurate.
• Upload high-quality images of your products.
• Encourage your customers to leave a review and respond to all of their comments.

Mobile-Friendly Website

The majority of “near me” searches are done when someone is away from home or feels an urgent need. 

By creating a mobile-friendly website, you will not only increase the number of visitors to your website but reduce the bounce rate as well. 

According to Google, mobile-friendly websites can improve ranking and SEO. To optimize your website for mobile search, you need to create a list of keywords that would be suitable for mobile searches in conjunction with your Google My Business profile. 

Using Schema Markup

Using Schema markup correctly will help to differentiate your website from the competition. The schema language is typically a coding language used to facilitate the appearance of rich results. With the assistance of the code, Google is able to retrieve more information from your website, making it more useful and engaging for users. 

Schema markup should be present on every page of your website. Don’t forget to include the business’ address, contact information, and hours of operation in your schema. 

Relevance

A website’s relevance is how well its content matches what a user is searching for. To improve your relevancy, always keep your website updated with all the correct information about the services you offer. 

For example, your website is not going to rank for “Chinese restaurant near me” searches if your online business information indicates that you are running an Italian restaurant. 

Register Your Business On Local Business Directories

Registering your business on the local business directory will bring you closer to the local people who are looking for the services you provide nearby. 

Once you find out the top local directories, register your business on each of them. Update all the information of your business and ensure NAP consistency. Do add high-quality videos and images if possible. 

Create A Blog

Getting the backlinks for your website is another important factor that will help your website in Google ranking. Creating a blog for your business will help your local SEO.

Conduct the local survey and write a professional blog related to your business.

Try to interview any local influencer and turn it into a blog of your niche. 

Create blog posts that provide answers to specific SEO “near me” queries of your visitors.

If your website has not optimized “near me” searches, this is the right time to start doing so. Following the steps, you can ultimately improve your overall position in the ranking and result in a higher rate of conversion.