Standing out among local competitors has never been more crucial for businesses. With consumers turning to search engines for local services, mastering local SEO keyword research is key to enhancing visibility. Gone are the days of generic keywords; now, local relevance is critical in connecting with the right audience.
Local keyword research acts as a specialized tool that helps businesses discover what their community is searching for, distinguishing it from general keyword research. Understanding the nuances between different types of keywords is essential for crafting effective strategies that target specific audiences accurately.
Below, we’ll guide you through the process of developing a local SEO keyword research strategy to maximize your visibility. From understanding the importance of local keyword research to tracking your local SEO rankings, we’ll cover actionable steps to ensure your local business remains competitive and easily discoverable by potential customers.
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At Synthesis Insights, we’ve spent years honing our expertise in local SEO, helping countless local companies rank higher and drive more local business. Our deep understanding of keyword research and local search dynamics ensures that your business not only gets noticed but also attracts and retains local customers.
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Contents
- Understand the Importance of Local Keyword Research
- Differentiate Between General & Local Keyword Research
- Explore Implicit vs. Explicit Local Intent Keywords
- 4 Steps for Effective Local SEO Keyword Research
- Prioritize Keywords Based on Metrics
- Map Keywords to Relevant Webpages
- Conduct Competitor Analysis for Local SEO
- Optimize Your Google Business Profile
- 5 Tips for Managing Multiple Locations
- Track Your Local SEO Rankings
- Conclusion
Understand the Importance of Local Keyword Research
Local SEO keyword research is essential for business owners targeting potential customers in specific geographic locations. This process involves identifying relevant keywords with enough search volume to drive traffic but not so competitive that ranking is unattainable.
By using keyword research tools, businesses can create a list of keywords that includes explicit keywords with location modifiers and implicit keywords that search engines relate to a particular area. These tools also help analyze keyword difficulty to ensure a balanced SEO strategy.
Additionally, understanding search intent is crucial. It informs the search query that individuals type into the search bar, guiding businesses to tailor their content and business listing on the Google Business Profile accordingly. Identifying the right target keywords ensure that the business shows up in organic search results when a user includes location-specific search terms.
Maintaining a keyword list with high keyword rankings in mind propels the business higher in search results, attracting more online reviews and interactions. Thus, effective keyword research is at the heart of a successful local SEO campaign, directing the most relevant traffic to the business.
| Factors to Consider When Conducting Local SEO Keyword Research |
|---|
|
Search Volume |
|
Search Intent |
|
Keyword Difficulty |
|
Geographic Location |
|
Competitive Keywords |
|
Keyword Relevance |
Differentiate Between General & Local Keyword Research
To develop an effective local SEO keyword research strategy, focus on identifying terms that target potential customers within a specific geographic location. This differs from general keyword research where less emphasis is placed on geographic relevance.
Local keyword research often includes location modifiers, such as a city or neighborhood name, alongside relevant keywords to attract individuals searching for local businesses or services.
Here’s a comparison between the two types:
| General Keyword Research | Local Keyword Research |
|---|---|
|
Targets a broad audience |
Focuses on a specific geographic area |
|
Focuses on high search volume keywords |
Includes explicit local keywords (e.g., “coffee shop in Seattle”) and implicit local search terms (e.g., “coffee shop near me”) |
|
Search intent can vary widely |
Search intent often involves an immediate desire for products or services in the vicinity |
|
Less emphasis on geographic location |
Frequently uses tools like Google Business Profile to enhance business listings |
Local SEO keyword research is essential for business owners looking to optimize their online presence for organic search within their community. Keyword research tools help identify competitive keywords and search terms tailored to local search intent, and aid in improving keyword rankings specifically for location-based queries in search engines.
Explore Implicit vs. Explicit Local Intent Keywords
When targeting customers within a geographic location, it’s important to understand the distinction between implicit and explicit local intent keywords, which can significantly enhance your local SEO keyword research strategy.
Implicit local intent keywords do not contain a location modifier but rely on search engines to infer location based on other search contexts. For example, if someone searches for “coffee shop,” the search engine assumes a local intent based on the searcher’s current location.
However, explicit local intent keywords include specific geographic location information. An example would be “coffee shop in Manhattan.” Here, the searcher clearly indicates a desire to find results relevant to Manhattan.
For business owners, recognizing the difference between these two types of search queries is essential. Explicit keywords often indicate a higher search intent to engage with local services or products.
| Keyword Type | Example | Search Intent |
|---|---|---|
|
Implicit |
coffee shop |
Location inferred |
|
Explicit |
coffee shop in Manhattan |
Location specified |
By integrating both implicit and explicit keywords into their SEO keyword list, businesses can optimize their business listing on search engines (like Google Business Profile) and enhance their presence in organic search results.
4 Steps for Effective Local SEO Keyword Research
Conducting keyword research is a critical step in crafting a local SEO strategy that targets potential customers in a specific geographic location. The success of a local SEO campaign hinges on identifying relevant keywords that align with the search terms your potential customers are using.
This process involves several key steps, beginning with creating a structured keyword list, brainstorming for contextual keyword ideas based on search intent, leveraging tools like Google Trends for insights, and utilizing advanced SEO tools for a deep dive into search volume, keyword difficulty, and competitive keywords.
To effectively capture both explicit and implicit local search queries, a thorough and well-organized approach is essential. Here are the steps to ensure you’re covering all grounds in your local SEO keyword research:
1. Create a Keyword Spreadsheet for Organization
To keep your local SEO keyword research well-organized, a keyword spreadsheet is indispensable. Your spreadsheet should include columns for:
| Keyword | Search Volume | Keyword Difficulty | Search Intent | Relevant to Business | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
This format allows you to:
- Systematically list your keywords
- Assess their potential based on search volume and difficulty
- Clarify their relevance to your business, and
- Note any specific details, such as whether they are explicit or implicit keywords.
Having all this information in one place makes it easier to refine and prioritize your list for your local SEO campaign.
2. Brainstorm Local Keyword Ideas
The brainstorming phase is where creativity meets strategy. Start by thinking about the services or products you offer and how local customers might search for them. For each service or product, consider variations and synonyms, location modifiers, and related search queries.
Engage with your sales or customer service teams—they can provide valuable insight into the terms customers are using when inquiring about your business. Compile these into your keyword spreadsheet.
3. Use Google Trends for Local Keyword Insights
Google Trends is an excellent tool for refining your list of keywords. By entering a term into Google Trends, you can see the interest over time for that particular keyword in your region. This can help identify seasonal trends or rising interest in certain services or products.
For local SEO, you can adjust the geographic location to your target area and compare the popularity of different search terms. This insight can guide you to focus on keywords that are currently trending in your area.
4. Utilize Advanced Keyword Research Tools to Identify Valuable Local Search Terms
Utilizing advanced keyword research tools, like Semrush, is a powerful way to help you identify valuable local search terms. By inputting your brainstormed keywords into Semrush, Google Keyword Planner, or a similar keyword research tool, you can see detailed metrics like search volume, keyword difficulty, and the SEO potential of keywords.
Semrush also provides information on keyword rankings, online reviews, and competitive keywords, which will help you understand the competitive landscape. Analyzing this data enables you to prioritize target keywords that have a healthy balance of high search volume and relatively low difficulty.
This strategic selection ensures you’re focusing on keywords that have the potential to boost your online visibility in organic search results and are attainable within your SEO capacity.
Prioritize Keywords Based on Metrics
When conducting local SEO keyword research, prioritizing keywords based on metrics is paramount to the success of your SEO strategy. Metrics such as search volume, keyword difficulty, and competitive keyword landscape offer crucial insights that inform your decision-making process.
Keywords with high search volume may suggest that a significant number of potential customers are seeking those search terms, making them attractive choices for your keyword list. However, these often come with high competition, which can make ranking for them more challenging.
A balanced approach involves targeting keywords that have a reasonable search volume with lower competition, as this could increase the likelihood of achieving better keyword rankings more quickly. SEO tools will provide these metrics, allowing you to weigh the potential traffic against the effort required to rank.
By focusing on obtaining a mix of competitive and less competitive keywords, you create a diversified local SEO keyword research strategy that can yield short-term wins while building toward more competitive search queries over time.
Analyze Search Volume & Competition
Additionally, analyzing search volume and keyword competition goes hand in hand. As your local SEO keyword research strategy takes shape, it’s essential to delve into these metrics to pinpoint which keywords are worth pursuing.
- Search Volume: Indicates the number of searches for a particular keyword within a set timeframe, typically presented as average monthly searches.
- Competition: Reflected in the keyword difficulty score, which calculates how hard it would be to rank for a particular keyword based on the current competitors on search engine result pages.
| Keyword Idea | Search Volume | Keyword Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
|
coffee shop in San Diego |
Low |
Medium |
|
best coffee shop near me |
High |
High |
The table above exemplifies how each metric plays a role in keyword selection. As a business owner, you should aim for keywords with enough search volume to attract visitors but with a keyword difficulty level that matches your SEO capabilities.
Consider Relevance to Your Business Services
You must also consider keyword relevance as it relates to your business services. This ensures that the traffic driven to your site is more likely to convert into loyal customers. Evaluate whether the search intent behind each keyword matches the products or services you offer. For a local business, this means also considering location-based relevance.
For instance, if you own a yoga studio in Portland, keywords such as “yoga classes in Portland” or “Portland wellness retreats” are more likely to draw in the right audience than a broader term like “yoga classes.”
Moreover, think about the different ways potential customers might describe your services and incorporate these variations into your keyword research.
Creating a keyword list that reflects the diverse terms customers use to search for your services will maximize your visibility in search results. Employ keyword tools to discover related search queries and expand your keyword ideas, always tying them back to your primary service offerings.
Remember, the ultimate goal is to connect with potential customers who are actively seeking what you deliver. Keyword relevance is just as important as search volume and competition.
Map Keywords to Relevant Webpages
Once you have identified and prioritized your local keywords, the next step is to strategically map them to relevant web pages on your site. This helps search engines understand the context of your web pages and enhances the user experience by providing visitors with content that directly corresponds to their search intent.
Follow this simple step-by-step process:
- Generate a Keyword List: Use keyword research tools to find keywords with an adequate search volume that are relevant to your business and geographic location. These can include explicit keywords with location modifiers and implicit keywords that rely on search intent.
- Understand User Intent: For each keyword, determine the search intent by looking at the types of pages that rank for that query. Is the user looking for information, a product, or a service?
- Map Keywords to Pages: Assign each keyword from your list to a particular webpage that meets the user intent. For instance, a keyword like “best Italian restaurant in [location]” should point to your main dining page, not the contact page.
- Optimize Webpages: Ensure the keywords are naturally included in the title tags, header tags, meta descriptions, and content of the webpages they’re mapped to.
Remember, this helps with organic search rankings and ensures your business listing on platforms like Google Business Profile is more relevant, which can positively affect your local SEO keyword rankings.
Conduct Competitor Analysis for Local SEO
Next, understanding your competitors’ local SEO strategies is just as important as knowing your own. Conducting competitor analysis illuminates what you’re up against and offers insight into potential opportunities for optimization.
Here’s how to conduct a thorough competitor analysis:
- Identify your competitors by searching for your target keywords and seeing which businesses appear in the search results and Google Business Profile listings.
- Examine their business listings for completeness, keywords used, categories selected, and how they engage with customer reviews.
- Analyze their websites for SEO keyword usage, site structure, content quality, and backlink profile.
- Utilize SEO tools to delve into their keyword rankings, determine their monthly search volume, and understand their backlink strategies.
- Check for any explicit local content they have, such as blog posts or guides, that mention specific locations or community events.
- Consider their user experience in terms of website loading speed, mobile-friendliness, and ease of navigation, which are all factors that affect SEO.
By conducting a detailed competitor analysis, a business owner can benchmark their local SEO keyword research strategy and find ways to differentiate themselves in the organic search battle for top rankings.
Identify Competitor Keywords & Strategies
To outmaneuver your competitors, first, identify the keywords and strategies they’re utilizing. Begin with a list of keywords you deem relevant to your own business, then use keyword tools to expand upon this list with variations you might have overlooked. Review your competitor’s business listings and content to see which keywords they emphasize.
Here’s how to identify competitor keywords and strategies:
- Search for your main keywords on search engines and note which competitor websites consistently rank highly.
- Use keyword tools to analyze those competitor websites and generate a list of keywords they rank for, including competitive keywords you may want to target.
- Evaluate keyword difficulty scores to understand how hard it would be to rank for the same keywords.
- Study their content strategy to see how they incorporate the target keywords into their website copy, blog posts, titles, meta descriptions, and headings.
- Monitor their search engine results page (SERP) features like snippets, image packs, or local pack listings which can indicate well-optimized content for particular search terms.
- Look at their Google Business Profile to see how they optimize their listing with keywords and how that correlates with their organic keyword strategy.
By identifying competitor keywords and strategies, you can spot opportunities where you could potentially outrank them by implementing a more focused local SEO approach.
Assess Content Gaps in Competitor Offerings
Furthermore, discovering gaps in your competitor’s content can reveal unexplored avenues to attract potential customers. Review competitor websites and note coverage on topics, questions addressed, and depth of information provided.
Look for:
- Areas with shallow or outdated content that you could improve upon with more comprehensive, up-to-date information.
- Questions frequently asked by customers in online reviews or forums that competitors haven’t adequately answered.
- Service or product categories that competitors have not fully explored or targeted with their SEO strategies.
- Geographic locations or local topics that competitors haven’t covered, which could provide opportunities for localized content.
- Resource gaps, such as a lack of how-to guides, comparison charts, infographics, or video content that you could produce to better meet search intent.
When you identify such content gaps, prioritize them based on their potential impact on search volume, relevance to your target audience, and alignment with your business objectives.
| Content Type | Competitor Offering | Opportunity for Improvement |
|---|---|---|
|
Blog Posts |
Limited topics |
Cover a wider range of topics, more in-depth analysis |
|
How-To Guides |
Outdated information |
Provide current, step-by-step guides with local relevance |
|
Local Information |
Lack of detail |
Offer detailed local insights, events, and spotlights |
By strategically filling content gaps, you create value for users that competitors currently do not offer, potentially improving your keyword rankings and attracting more organic search traffic in your geographic location.
Optimize Your Google Business Profile
An optimized Google Business Profile (GBP) is a cornerstone of local SEO strategy. This profile appears in Google Maps and local search results, influencing potential customers. Here are some key steps to ensure your GBP is fully optimized and aligned with your local keyword research.
- Complete every section: Provide comprehensive and accurate business information — name, address, phone number, and hours of operation.
- Use relevant keywords: Incorporate keywords that describe your business and services that people are likely to use in their search queries.
- Select appropriate categories: Choose the most fitting categories for your business to help Google match your profile to the right search terms.
- Publish high-quality photos: Regularly upload photos of your business, services, or products. This increases engagement and authenticity.
- Solicit and respond to reviews: Encourage customers to leave online reviews and respond promptly. Reviews are a powerful tool to improve visibility and credibility.
- Use posts to engage: Share updates, offers, and events directly on your profile to keep it active and engaging.
Remember to keep your profile updated to reflect any changes in your business, ensuring it remains a reliable resource for search engines and users. These steps can contribute significantly to your business’s online visibility and could have a positive impact on your local SEO efforts.
5 Tips for Managing Multiple Locations
Managing multiple business locations can be quite challenging, but with the right strategies, you can ensure that each site effectively attracts local customers. Here are essential tips to help you navigate local SEO for businesses with multiple locations:
1. Create Individual Google Business Profiles
Each physical location should have its own Google Business Profile. This means differentiating the addresses, phone numbers, and other relevant local information for each site. Google values uniqueness in listings, so avoid using one profile for multiple locations to prevent confusion and potential penalties.
2. Optimize Each Profile with Location-Specific Keywords
Incorporate local keywords into the descriptions, services, and posts of each profile. For instance, if you operate a coffee shop chain in different neighborhoods, tailor your content to include localized keywords, such as “best coffee in [Neighborhood Name].” This helps Google understand the relevance of your business to local queries.
3. Utilize Local Listings Consistently
Ensure that your business is listed accurately in local directories and citation sites such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, and TripAdvisor. Consistency in your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) across all platforms enhances your credibility with search engines and improves local rankings.
It’s not enough to create your listings and leave them untouched. Regularly monitor these accounts for accuracy, especially if there are any changes to your business, such as a phone number change, service updates, or address relocation.
Inaccurate information can lead to customer confusion and diminish your trustworthiness with search engines. Tools like Moz Local or BrightLocal can aid in managing and monitoring your listings across various platforms efficiently.
4. Engage with Customer Feedback
When utilizing local listings, customer interaction becomes crucial. Keep an eye on reviews and comments made in local directories. Engaging with customers by responding to their reviews—whether positive or negative—demonstrates your commitment to customer service and can influence other potential customers’ decisions. Engaged businesses tend to rank higher, as interaction boosts visibility and fosters a trustworthy image.
5. Link Back to Your Website
Ensure your local listings include links to your main website, service pages, or specific promotions. These links should guide potential customers to relevant content that can convert interest into action.
Additionally, use deep links to direct users to specific parts of your website that address their queries directly, such as FAQs, location-specific content, or product pages. This relevance keeps visitors engaged and can lead to higher conversion rates.
For businesses operating in multiple locations, creating tailored landing pages for each location can enhance relevance. Each page should feature localized content with targeted keywords, descriptions of services, and unique elements that resonate with the local audience.
Incorporating backlinks into your website from local listings will also enhance your local SEO efforts. These backlinks drive traffic directly to your site and help validate your business’s online presence, signaling to search engines that you are a credible entity within your niche.
Track Your Local SEO Rankings
Lastly, keeping track of your local SEO keyword rankings is essential to understanding how visible your business is to your target audience. Monitoring these rankings over time allows you to recognize which strategies are effective and identify areas that need improvement.
As a business owner, you should regularly check your keyword rankings to ensure that your business listing appears as high as possible in the search results for relevant search terms. When tracking your local SEO rankings, pay attention to the explicit keywords with location modifiers and the implicit keywords that may be used in a search query.
For instance, if you run a coffee shop in Austin, track rankings for both “coffee shop in Austin” and “coffee shop near me.” This dual focus will give you a better overview of your overall online visibility.
Regular tracking also helps you gauge the impact of updates to your Google Business Profile, changes in local search algorithms, and the effectiveness of the local SEO keyword research strategies you have implemented.
Suppose your rankings improve after incorporating a particular set of keywords or soliciting more online reviews. In that case, this may indicate your keyword strategy is resonating with your target audience and your SEO efforts are yielding positive results.
Eventually, you can further refine your strategies by analyzing which keywords are gaining traction and driving conversions.
Use Tools for Monitoring Keyword Performance
Several SEO tools exist to help with the monitoring of keyword performance. Keyword tools like Google Search Console, Semrush, or Ahrefs can provide valuable insights into search volume, search intent, and keyword difficulty while tracking the progress of your keywords over time.
These tools monitor rankings for keywords across different geographic locations and provide detailed analyses, showing where your business ranks in the organic search results for each target keyword by location.
Here is a list of features you might expect from such tools:
- Keyword rank tracking
- Search volume metrics
- Competitive keyword analysis
- Historical ranking data
- Keyword grouping by theme or intent
Incorporating these tools into your local SEO keyword research strategy enables you to stay on top of any fluctuations in your search rankings and swiftly respond to changes in search engine algorithms.
Adjust Strategies Based on Ranking Insights
Once you have gathered keyword performance data, it’s time to interpret the results and adjust your SEO strategy (if necessary). Your findings may point you towards optimizing certain aspects of your online presence.
For example, if specific target keywords are not performing well, consider enhancing the content on your website or your Google Business Profile to better address the search intent associated with those terms.
Here are some steps you can take to leverage your ranking insights effectively:
- Update your keyword list: Remove underperforming keywords and add new, potential keywords.
- Optimize website and content: Ensure that the content on your site matches the search intent of your target audience.
- Improve on-page SEO: Include relevant keywords in meta tags, headings, and throughout the website content.
- Encourage reviews: Engage with customers to encourage more online reviews, which can boost your visibility in local search results.
- Build local citations: Increase the number of mentions of your business around the web to reinforce your geographic location.
- Analyze competitors: Keep an eye on competitive keywords and compare your rankings with direct competitors.
By using ranking insights, business owners can proactively adjust their SEO strategies, targeting the sweet spot where search engines and potential customers intersect. Remember, local SEO is an ongoing process, so it’s important to remain adaptive and responsive to the ever-changing landscape of search engine optimization.
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Conclusion
Mastering local SEO keyword research is not just a one-time task; it’s an essential and continuous effort that can significantly impact the success of your local business.
By thoroughly researching and strategically implementing the right keywords, you can ensure that your business appears prominently in local search results, attracting more customers and driving growth.
Continuously refining your local SEO efforts will also help you adapt to changing trends and maintain a strong online presence. Start optimizing your local SEO keyword research today to connect with your community and achieve lasting success in your local market.
To summarize, we’ll leave you with a list of several key elements, highlighting their importance when developing your local SEO keyword research strategy:
| SEO Keyword Element | Importance |
|---|---|
|
Search Volume |
High
|
|
Relevant Keywords |
High |
|
Google Business Profile |
High |
|
Keyword Research Tools |
High |
|
Search Intent |
High |
|
Online Reviews |
Moderate |
|
Location Modifier |
High |
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If you enjoyed reading content like this, feel free to check out the rest of our blogs. For more information on developing a local SEO keyword research strategy for your business, contact us for a free consultation. We’d love to get you started on your Synthesis Insights journey today!
