The Importance of “Near Me” Searches for Local SEO

by | Dec 20, 2022 | SEO

It is the digital age, and practically everyone understands the value of having a strong internet presence for their company. There is no denying that “near me” searches have grown in popularity over the past many years and are now an essential part of local search engine optimization (SEO).

Google reports that queries for local businesses with a “near me” qualifier have risen 150% more quickly than those without, and that searches for “open now near me” have increased globally by more than 400% over the past year.

With the increase in search, the volume comes an increase in keyword targeting. Local businesses worldwide began to optimize for “near me” queries. Some businesses even modify their names to incorporate the modifier in order to appear higher in local search results.

Which is the newest? Google no longer considers “Near me” to be a keyword-matching term, but rather a distance indicator.

The outcome? For Google Maps and Google search optimization, using “near me” phrases as keywords will no longer be a 100% useful tactic.

FOR LOCAL SEO, THE IMPORTANCE OF “NEAR ME” SEARCHES

  • It assists your company in being discovered by new customers.
  • A well-maintained digital presence boosts the target customer’s trust.
  • Optimizing local SEO for near-me searches puts your business one step ahead of the competition by enhancing your visibility in the local SERPs.
  • Map stack results for near-me searches are displayed, making it simple for users to find and visit the store.
  • Dubious SEO techniques like using “near me” as a keyword don’t really work because “near me” is a location-based result, providing local businesses a decent opportunity to rank higher in pertinent searches.
  • It also assists the SEO service provider in determining the searcher’s purpose and developing a list of long-tail keywords to optimize, which has expanded enormously with the introduction of voice search.

With the advent of voice search and “near me” searches, businesses must incorporate local SEO methods into their SEO campaigns to stay ahead of the competition and guarantee that they are known and visible to their target market. As a result, we’ve compiled a list of the seven greatest ways to use and search “near me” searches to boost your Local SEO.

Increasing use of overt “near me” optimization

It seems obvious to explicitly optimize for these regional searches. In addition to the use of “near me” and “near you” in page titles and headings, numerous businesses even went so far as to modify their company listing names with “near me.”

How to Local SEO Near Me?

Boost your google business profile

  • Check your listing.
  • Include specific, correct, and current information.
  • Include nice images of your products and services.
  • Make content for the listing’s Google Posts and add it there.
  • Include services your company provides, such as WiFi or pet-friendly accommodations.
  • Keep your company’s information accurate and up to date.
  • Include your logo, business hours, acceptable payment methods, contact information (phone number and website), and the product or service you sell.
  • Request that customers leave a Google review.
  • To find your business using Google Maps, enter the full address.

Operating hours: near me SEO strategy

In addition to making your hours of operation available on-page and across your listings, it’s critical to maintain them constantly updated to signal to Google that they are up-to-date and correct.

Google is now utilizing AI to automatically alter listing hours that it deems wrong, so checking in manually once a month is required. For example, your business may be labeled as “Closed” on weekends, but based on user activity, Google may infer that Saturday is your busiest day.

Maps that are embedded

Embedded Maps are interactive maps that may be inserted into your website via an HTML script. These maps not only provide visitors with fast access to your business address, phone number, reviews, and directions, but they also open up a plethora of new prospects thanks to the Google Maps Embed API.

Obtain backlinks

Backlinks are an excellent technique to boost your site’s local SEO.Obtaining high authority, pertinent backlinks with geographic anchor text can make it simpler to improve your company’s rankings for nearby queries (the clickable terms of a link).

Develop local SEO pages

It is critical for businesses with several locations to establish and optimize a page for each.

Here are some local page SEO tips on how to optimize for near-me searches

  • Use a user-friendly and easy-to-read URL format, such as “example.com/orlando/.”
  • Improve the title, content, and meta tags for your main keyword.
  • Include essential information, such as operating hours, menu, store directions, and so on, in your business description.

Make local content

A blog is an excellent tool to create and share local content that generates backlinks and traffic, resulting in higher organic results. You may also run local surveys and publish the results on your blog regularly, establish a FAQ to assist people in finding answers to their questions, make individual blog articles for each question/answer, and much more.

You may also run local surveys and publish the results on your blog regularly, establish a FAQ to assist people in finding answers to their questions, make individual blog articles for each question/answer, and much more.

Add your NAP information and business hours to your website.

Identity, location, and mobile number written in a readable and indexable manner. We advise creating one page per area if you have more than one. Add your business hours as well! Don’t forget to optimize your landing pages for different locations if you have many locations or are targeting those.

Remember to include LocalBusiness structured data in your address.

SEO for local businesses. It adds the proper LocalBusiness structured data markup to your website’s address, including the phone number and opening hours. As a result, these details are simple for search engines like Google and Bing to index and understand.

Image geocoding

Adding your necessary information is not sufficient for “Near Me” searches; you must additionally include relevant images. Frequently, prospective customers look through the images to get a sense of your goods, services, or business overall.

As a result, never use stock photos to advertise your company; instead, use authentic photos of your establishment, staff, goods, and menu (if you own a restaurant.) Don’t forget to give your photographs exact, optimized alt tags and title tags.Using your target keywords as alt and title tags improve your chances of ranking in local search results.

Listening in your community

Listening to what your local audience has to say about your business, both online recommendations, and criticism and offline word of mouth can teach you a lot about their preferences.

It not only benefits in the refinement of your local SEO and content development strategies, but it also aids in the identification of future expansion potential depending on what your local audience is looking for.

Website content

Your website’s location section is the ideal area for your work time, schema markup, and linked maps.

These sites function as an underside landing page for customers who find your company through local citations and enable you to add SEO-rich content, geographically optimized title tags and meta descriptions (showcasing your services and the city you’re serving), optimized alt text, internal links, and more.

Local SEO might assist you in increasing your sales.

Implementing these six strategies will increase your company’s online presence for local SEO near me search terms. Businesses can’t afford to ignore local SEO, especially if they have many locations, given the rise of local searches.

Make your website mobile-friendly

A website that is quick and simple to use on mobile devices is critical for boosting user experience (UX).

  • Make use of a responsive web design.
  • Have a fast load time.
  • Make a clever UX/UI design.
  • Use additional mobile optimizations (e.g. compressing heavy images, removing Flash animation).

Bottom line: You have the best chance of ranking for “near me” searches.

So, how can you rank for these terms without actively targeting them? Reflect your company’s information accurately on your website and across the web, and let Google do the rest!

Despite recent modifications, ranking for relevant “near me” searches for your industry and location is still extremely possible. While they may no longer be perceived directly as keywords, they continue to attract large search volumes and imply significant bottom-funnel intent.

Why you should Hire us

Are you searching for a local SEO agency near me, Watermark Design is a full-service digital agency offering web design and development, digital marketing, and branding. We create websites for brands and businesses by combining creativity and technology. We are your web design firm.

Our dedication to providing client-centric solutions has propelled us to the top Web Design and Development Company.

We collaborate with clients as an extension of their own team. Our digital solutions have assisted clients in achieving their digital goals. We demolish challenges together and have a great time. Contact us today for your requirements!

Mark Haugtad
Mark Haugtad

Owner / Web Designer / SEO Enthusiast

Mark, founder of Watermark Design. With over 10 years of experience in Web Design & Development, Wordpress Services, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Web Hosting, and Logo Design. Mark has always wanted to provide better quality service, affordability & support to local businesses. At Watermark Design, he performs in-depth research and collaborates with his talented team to give businesses advice they can trust. When Mark is not working you can find him hanging out with his wife, five children enjoying the Minnesota outdoors; hunting, fishing and camping.

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