How Content Marketing Helps Local SEO

People search for local businesses every day, and being listed on the first page of local searches is more critical today than ever before. If you want to attract more customers, you need to attract local searchers. You need to get ahead of the competition and make sure people conducting a related local search can find your business.

Did you know that you can leverage your content marketing for local SEO? Providing relevant and engaging local content that solves customers’ problems not only improves their customer experience but it also upgrades your search results. Content is the cornerstone of digital marketing success; it determines how your visitors choose to engage with your site, the businesses social media followers and fans associate with, and the keywords search engines use to rank your site.

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO is similar to traditional SEO, except that it focuses on improving a site’s ranking in local search results.

Optimizing Your Content Marketing for Local SEO

Fortunately, you can improve your local search ranking by simply tweaking your existing content marketing strategy. Here are a few simple ways to improve your local search ranking with content marketing.

Submit Guest Posts and Publish Content on Local Websites

Blogging is a great way to engage your site visitors and enrich your site. Chances are you’re probably already creating blog content for your website. For both traditional and local SEO, you need to raise the bar one notch and start publishing content on other websites. Guest posts can help showcase your expertise and earn high-quality links in return.

Various SEO research findings show that link signals play a critical role in local search ranking. Guest blogging offers a great way to market your content and build local links. It can also attract prospective customers by driving traffic to your site.

Find Relevant, Local Keywords

Keywords are as critical for local SEO as they are for traditional SEO. So, whether you’re submitting a guest post, rewriting your content, or publishing a blog post on your site, the right keywords can optimize and enrich your content to attract local searchers.

When creating a list of keywords, find those with high search volumes for your target location and are relevant to your business. You can then optimize your content with a combination of those industry-specific keywords and your location.

Tools such as the Google Keyword Planner can help you find the best keywords to use for your content.

Write Local Content

Once you’ve compiled a list of the best keywords for your business, it’s time to infuse them into your content to rank better for local searches. Make the most use of these keywords by using them in your content and writing content posts for your blog. Consider writing useful guides or how-to articles related to your niche or industry. Or you can compile “Best Of” and “Top 10” lists relevant to your target location and industry. This will help you attract a relevant local audience.

If customers keep asking you the same questions over and over again, it’s likely your online visitors have similar questions. List the questions and dedicate a full page to each to maximize your ranking potential for each question.

Google Trends can provide you with some insight into the relative search volume of specific key phrases. You can even zoom in on the particular geographic areas you serve to see how popular those phrases are in your area. Find something unique about the area you serve and create a page for each town, county, or region.

For example, if you sell camping equipment and hiking gear in Dallas, you can create content that lists the best camping shoes in Dallas or the best flasks for camping. You could also write an article with hiking tips for the adventure-seekers in your area, with location-specific advice, such as the best places to camp or tips on tent maintenance.

The more local the content on a given page, the more likely search engines will rank that page.

Leverage Social Media

Social media has become the new word of mouth. Billions of people use social media every day, making it a critical element of local SEO. Chances are many of your target customers are already using social media.

If you’re not already leveraging social media, it’s time to start promoting your content on social media platforms. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your site and engage followers.

You can increase your follower base and continue to engage local audiences by joining local groups on social media platforms. Be sure to share location-specific content in those groups and reach out to relevant, local social media pages for help promoting your content.

Write About and Participate in Local Activities

In addition to guest posting, you can also get involved in the local community and earn local backlinks. For instance, your business can participate in local events, awards, or charity drives. Make sure the official website of the event or organization links back to your website.

Sponsoring local events, organizations, and sports teams is another way to earn links. Your sponsorship or participation may be published by local newspapers, which means you earn more links from local sources.

Participating in the community helps you improve your link profile while also building your brand reputation. Local events also allow you to enrich your blog with content that locals will find interesting. You can post a blog about a local event and your involvement or experience. If possible, keep your readers engaged with photos and/or videos from the event.

Optimize Your Content for Local Search

Now that you’ve learned some of the most effective ways to implement optimization for local search engine optimizationpurposes,the most critical goal is to build backlinks from high-authority local websites and publications. In addition to driving traffic to your site, local links will also help you build a good brand reputation and improve your page authority.

Another critical priority is to invest in high-quality local content that will attract and engage your local audience. Don’t forget to optimize all of your guest posts, blog posts, and website content with location-specific keywords. Utilize social media platforms to obtain backlinks from other local businesses to increase your rating in a specific location. 

Bottom line

With all the tips and strategies mentioned above, all that’s left is to put your new skills to work and start boosting your local search ranking. It may seem challenging to write about your business online, but don’t get overwhelmed; your online content doesn’t have to be flawless. The key to a solid local SEO strategy is to build your customers’ trust in you. They will find your content more useful and authentic to them if it actually answers their questions about your company’s products and services rather than if it’s filled with marketing jargon.

theSOULwithin LLC offers the best local SEO Dallas has to offer. We focus on helping small businesses leverage local SEO to help them grow their digital marketing and drive higher engagement. We are an experienced Dallas SEO agency committed to producing results. Contact us today for services in Dallas, TX and the surrounding area.