Why Local SEO Is Imperative To Your PR Strategy
Wanna know why local SEO is vital to your PR strategy? Great! Here we’ll explain why you should focus on SEO to main good public relations.
Every business, no matter what type of business you have, can benefit from local SEO. And every business should also put a strong emphasis on a powerful public relations strategy. However, you may not have known that the two go hand-in-hand.
Many businesses focus on either one or the other. When public relations aren’t great, a business might focus on reputation management services. However, what if I told you focusing on BOTH TOGETHER is the ONLY REAL WAY to get it right?
Some businesses, such as Bizmap LLC, put public relationship and SEO together as part of an overall online strategy. In this post we will discuss why your business needs to consider doing the same in order to achieve true success.
Your Business Needs Local SEO
If you are a business that relies on customers in your area finding you online, you need local SEO. And you don’t even need to be a location-specific business to benefit!
Many businesses do not realize the importance of developing an online presence in your business location. However, focusing on both PR and local SEO together is the only real way to see major wins in the long run. (To learn more about SEO, visit this page here.)
Local SEO And PR Go Hand-In-Hand
When you think about local SEO, you probably think about how it affects a business’s ability to show up online. However, if you don’t show up in a positive way, it can totally crush your reputation (and your business).
When a business’s reputation goes amiss due to bad PR, it affects a business tenfold. Additionally, every business’s marketing strategy should be individually assessed.
For example, creating a digital marketing strategy for a moving company is much different than creating a strategy for a law firm or an e-commerce site. However, the components that make up the digital marketing strategy will be relatively similar. Certain things will be focused on more or less depending on your niche.
Below are some components of Local SEO and how you can stay on top of them to maintain good relations with consumers.
Components Of Local SEO
Local SEO is made up of different strategies that are meant to signal to customers that you are a business nearby providing a service that they may be searching for. Explaining exactly how SEO works is tricky. But I’m going to try to explain!
With local SEO, there are several things that can impact whether you show up (or not) in the Google Maps “Snack Pack” (or “3 Pack”).
I’ll name a few of the most important ranking factors for local SEO below:
- On-Page Elements
- Google My Business
- Review Signals
- Off-page elements
On Page Elements
The on-page elements of your website should contribute to your local SEO and boost your online presence. By signaling to the search engines your location, you will benefit with an increase in local ranking.
Things such as page title, H1-H3 headings, google maps embed, and the presence of your name, address and phone number (NAP) on your site are very important to local SEO. Additionally, they are crucial to maintaining good PR.
Making sure all of these things (and others) are properly optimized for local SEO, you will start seeing positive results. Additionally, by maintaining a high quality, professional looking website, you will attract new customers by signaling to them that you are an expert in your niche.
Google My Business
Google My Business (GMB) is the single most important thing for local SEO. Without it, you would not show up on Google maps. Here’s a great post on why use Google My Business.
Your GMB listing is like the yellow pages of the online world. However, unlike the Yellow Pages, it can also vocalize your customers’ experiences with your company.
Google My Business is how customers who are looking for a service can find you. But if it’s not maintained properly, it is also where customers may decide against a service.
By properly optimizing your GMB listing, you will be rewarded by appearing to customers in close proximity to your business. You can do this by optimizing your GMB title and making sure all information in the listing is thorough and accurate. This is essentially one of the ways you can get a business on google maps.
You can also be sure to represent your business in a positive and professional way by posting, responding to reviews and showing images of your company.
Review Signals
Not to be overlooked are the review signals that indicate to the search engines that you are an authority in your industry. Ratings, the number of reviews, and mention of keywords in the reviews can all strongly impact your local online presence and contribute to good PR.
There are many tools that help by prompting customers to leave a review of your business following using your services. Additionally, businesses can enlist the help of a reputation management service to develop a more positive online presence.
Reviews are largely impactful to customers buying decisions and should be regarded as such. In doing so, you are maintaining good local SEO as well as a positive online image!
So before you delete your yelp account focus on local SEO and PR!
Off-Page Elements
Off-page elements are an important ranking factor and are indispensable to both local SEO and your PR strategy. The various link signals such as a referring domain’s authority, anchor text, and number of links can all lend to an increase in your local online presence. Additionally, the sites you are on and the things consumers are saying about your business can either help your online image or hurt it.
Paying close attention to off-page elements and how they affect your business is important to showing up online. Additionally, doing so is essential to maintaining a business that people want to use.
Conclusion
In today’s day and age, it’s crucial to consider local SEO and its impact on public relations. With a little understanding and planning, you can develop a company that not only shows up online but has a great reputation too!
We hope that this blog post has enlightened you to the importance of why local SEO is vital to your PR strategy and wish you the best in your journey with your company!
