So you’re ready to embrace local SEO in your digital marketing strategy, but lack the tools and expertise to integrate it successfully. If you don’t have the time or gumption to master the needed skills, and hiring an in-house staff sounds far-fetched, then your best bet is with a local SEO company.
When it comes to finding the best local SEO company, you won’t run short of information to make a well-informed decision. However, narrowing down your list and making the call for the best company can be quite the feat. If you search in places like Google or review sites like Clutch, you’ll find tons of services along with their reviews and ratings, portfolio of past work, and a host of other details. But how do you quickly sift through all the information to pinpoint the best agency for you?
We’ve got it all covered in this guide. First, we’ll help you determine if working with a local SEO service is the best path for you, and then we’ll look at the most important factors that determine whether you’ll succeed with a chosen company.
Why hire a local SEO service?
Hiring a local SEO service isn’t the only way to leverage the benefits of local SEO. But it sure has many advantages, including:
A quicker, easier process
With a local SEO service, you don’t have to go searching for talents, onboarding them, and then go through some probation period before finally getting your local SEO campaign off the ground. From one day to the next, your local SEO company can begin putting in the effort needed to generate tangible results in the shortest possible time.
Proven expertise
With a local SSO company that has a proven track record as well as the necessary tools and talent, you can rest assured of getting the desired results for your local SEO. They’ll provide highly valuable insights, drawing from their tools, expertise, and experience to put your business firmly on the local map.
Better knowledge of local trends
A seasoned local SEO service will have a deep knowledge of the area. Their knowledge of local trends, culture, and lifestyle can help you craft and execute a more effective local SEO strategy.
This can be especially useful when you’re expanding to a new area that you don’t know much about. With a deep level of authenticity and originality, they’ll help deepen your connection with your local audience, making you look more trustworthy.
Lower costs and higher returns
A seasoned local SEO company significantly raises your chances of succeeding with your SEO, thereby improving the prospects of your returns. But besides increasing your bottom line, they can also help minimize costs. They can streamline their services to your exact needs, helping you get the most bang for your buck and avoid wasting money on tools or tasks that may not have much of an impact on your local SEO strategies.
Tips to find the best local SEO company
Here are the most important things to consider when searching for a local SEO service:
Are they actually a local SEO service?
Many general SEO companies also offer local SEO services, and some companies specialize only in local SEO. But don’t just take their word for it, look around to see things for yourself. If they don’t offer these essential local SEO services, then perhaps they’re not the right company for you:
Google My Business:
This is the most important component of local SEO. Without GMB, your chances of featuring in a Local Pack result are next to nothing.
On-page SEO:
Next, the company must be able to improve the local SEO signals of your existing web pages. This includes using local keywords in the right places and optimizing all your product and service description pages, among other things.
Content creation:
Local content is a huge part of any successful local SEO strategy.
Online reputation management:
Reviews and ratings are also important to local SEO. Your company should be able to help in generating positive reviews and maintaining a healthy online reputation.
Citations and backlinking:
You can significantly improve your visibility for local keywords by distributing your site links and having your business details mentioned on top local blogs, directories, and other local authoritative sites.
What tools and strategies do they use?
How do they go about delivering their local SEO service? What is their approach to solving your unique problems? How do they plan to manage your local SEO project?
For instance, they might choose to prioritize off-site activities over on-page activities. So rather than focus on your site architecture and other aspects of your site’s design, they might want to work on your citations and local backlinks to get measurable results much quicker.
What is their approach to managing your online reputation?
According to a study conducted by Search Engine Journal, reviews are the single biggest ranking factor when it comes to local SEO.
Some local SEO companies might recommend buying positive reviews – something that Google seriously frowns on and can penalize you for. Others have their own ways of building and managing reviews.
Ask your company how they intend to help you maintain a clean reputation. What strategies will they use to solicit positive reviews, and how will they manage negative reviews?
How do they manage citations and backlinks
We mentioned making sure your company offers backlinking and citation services. Ask them how they’ll go about with that. Some may have already built relationships with top publications in a given area that you can leverage their contacts.
Your company should also ensure that your citations are consistent everywhere, as mismatching business details can get you penalized.
What results have they generated in the past?
Go with a company that has a portfolio of past successes. Check out their reviews, case studies, and testimonials. Particularly, their case studies can help shed light on some of their practices and what to expect from them.
Also, check their customers’ websites to see how they’re currently fairing. If all their customers are doing well, then your case will most likely be a success.
Wrapping up
Finding a good local SEO company to work with can be a huge step toward increasing your conversion and retention rate. An excellent company will know the ins and outs of an area, helping you create and execute local SEO strategies that enable you to develop and maintain stronger ties with your audience.
With an authentic brand image and original audience experience, your trustworthiness will get a major boost and potential customers will be more willing to do business with you.
Tee up with a seasoned local SEO service today to get the best of your local SEO.
Read Also : Six Easy Ways to Generate Leads with SEO
