Everyone in marketing knows search engine optimization is constantly changing. Local businesses have often gotten by without knowing of the latest in local SEO. Local SEO refers to search engine optimization that is aimed at getting people to be aware of you in your local community and visiting your storefront. This means that if someone types ‘hairdresser near me’ your hairdressing business will be the first seen. 

In 2022 every business is getting online, customers now expect to see their local favourites in online searches, and anyone who isn’t utilizing local SEO is definitely missing out. 

To make sure you aren’t left behind, it’s important to take a good look at what the new trends are for local SEO in 2022 and be aware of how you can use them to improve your business. 

In 2021, Google rebranded Google My Business to Google Business Profile. Along with the name change came a host of new updates and features. The most impactful of these changes was that business owners no longer must dig through an app or platform to update or correct their listings.

This means you can update contact information, add images, update opening hours and more, right from Google Search and Google Maps. Additionally, you can complete verification processes and address issues from search too, making it even easier to gain a presence in the local search results.

In short, this update means it is easier for businesses to stay on top of their business profile in 2022 and should use this to its full capacity. 

As searches for ‘news near me’ increased over the last five years, Google has added features to local search engine rankings to make local news easier to find and create. This is invaluable for not just journalists, as local businesses can appear in these publications as they are mentioned by these journalists. 

Recently, Google has launched two projects to help journalists enrich their stories with local data and information. 

1. Census Mapper Project:  This helps gather, analyze, and visualize data collected and processed by the Associated Press in a local area.
2. Common Knowledge Project:   This allows you to access geographic comparisons, charts, visualizations, and more for data analysis at state and national levels.

In addition, things like Local News Carousel, Top Stories Carousel and Local Tweets are also more relevant in the search engine results. This means that finding local information is easier, and local businesses and publications should be aware of this. 

If it feels like Google is constantly releasing new attributes, they are. Attributes are important as they help to provide proactive answers to questions posed by searches about specific business types. Google does this because it is always searching for ways to help businesses stand out and satisfy a query.  

This is useful in 2022 because if someone searches for Black-owned or Women-owned, they should see more relevant results. In addition, Google added health, safety, and pandemic related components to Google Business also, these include services such as no-contact delivery and dine-in services. If you want to stay on top of these attributes, now is the time to update your listings. 

Outside of Google, Bing has also focused on providing local searches with a better experience by improving the integration of visual elements within its text-based search results. This visually rich search engine result means that users are given more easily understandable information in a varied manner. The way to properly utilize this is to make sure your own content matches this with various media types and visually rich schema.

Since Google first announced Mobile-first indexing in 2017, this aspect has become ever more important. If you want to utilize this to the best of its capabilities, you need to make sure your local business has a functioning website that is mobile friendly and well optimized. This is helpful, as people visiting your local community for the first time, will be able to see your products and services on your website before dropping into your storefront in person. With a great, mobile-friendly website, these drop-ins are more likely to lead to purchases. 

In order to get the most out of Local SEO, there are a series of measurable steps you can take to get started. 

In order to get your business on Google, a Google Business Profile listing is essential. By doing this, you are essentially putting yourself in Google’s ranking for local SEO and making sure your business is seen by as many eyes as possible. 

It is not enough to just have your location listed in the Google search results. To utilize Local SEO properly, you should mention your store’s locations strategically in your website and its content. We estimate five places will be enough to remind people to drop in.

When you use keywords in your Local SEO, you have to conduct accurate keyword research to inform these keywords. Tools are available online such as Ahrefs, Semrush and more, and these tools can be used to inform you as to what keywords are most useful to your optimization. 

To encourage trust, online reviews are a must-have. They show new visitors to your site or business listing, that you have a long list of happy, regular customers. To help encourage people to write reviews, especially on Google, you can utilize rewards or offer coupon codes. 

Local content and Local SEO go hand in hand. Although engaging with a wider audience can help increase traffic from non-local individuals, this may not increase your overall visits to your storefront or increase profits. Creating content for locals can help produce more high-quality leads.  

In 2022, nothing seems to be as important as mobile optimization. Google statistics show that one-third of mobile searches are location-related, this number will likely only increase, so make sure your website is inviting for visitors. 

Local directors are not going out of style, neither are blogs. Submitting your business to these online directories can direct traffic to your website and storefront. To get the most out of this, link only to established directories and blogs.  

Everything from your business name, address, and phone number (or NAP) is required to always be up to date and accurate. Google does not like inconsistency and can make Google think your business is not legitimate. In addition, ensure your opening hours across all time frames, especially public holidays and the like, are kept accurate.

In 2022, a local business’ online presence matters more than ever. To do this effectively, you need to stay on top of algorithmic changes and put user experience front and centre. With Google always rewarding a customer-first approach, all you must do is keep this in mind to grow. 

However, utilizing Local SEO to its fullest capacity is a difficult job for many local and small businesses. If you need help in managing your SEO services, a great digital marketing agency might be the key to alleviating your Local SEO stresses. If this is a service you require, feel free to contact Perfect Link Building, we can do everything in our power to work with your budget and need to help create a great 2022 proof campaign for you.