If you’re a small business owner, you know how important it is to rank well for local search results. Whether you’re running an insurance agency, a nail salon, or a dry cleaning business – it’s critical that your target audience can find your website on the first page of Google. There are numerous ways to do this, but local keywords are the most overlooked ones. 

Finding local keywords isn’t easy. It takes a lot of work, and if you do it wrong, you’ll lose money. However, if done right, you can rank highly in local searches and get tons of traffic to your site. This post will tell you how to find the best local search keywords out there.

What Are Local Keywords?

You’ve heard the term “local keywords” bandied about, but what exactly are they and why do they matter? “Local keywords”, also referred to as geo-specific keywords, are often used by consumers in place of a city, zip code, or state when searching for local businesses. For example, when someone searches for “auto repair Scottsdale AZ” (assuming Scottsdale is in Arizona), this search query is an example of a local keyword. Most consumers prefer to use these types of search queries because most people would much rather find local businesses by city names over something generic like a zip code or state.

Why Local Keyword Research Is Important For Your Website?

Local keyword research is an important tool for any website’s SEO. It allows you to find the best keywords for your business, improve your rankings and increase traffic.

Here are some benefits of local keyword research:

It Helps You Identify Potential Customers Who Need Your Services:

If you are a business owner with a physical location, then you know that it can be difficult to identify potential customers. With local keywords, it becomes easier because they show up right on your doorstep! Even if they don’t come into your store right away, they may do business with you later on down the road once they recognize your brand as being a trusted source of information in their area.

Local Keywords Help Build Goodwill Among Potential Customers:

When someone searches for “best restaurants in Austin,” it shows that they probably live in Austin and want to eat out at one of these places (or maybe even at multiple) but might not know where to go yet. They could be looking for a place with good reviews or one with a great atmosphere, but they don’t know which restaurants fit those descriptions yet.

A local keyword like “best restaurants in Austin” tells you that this person wants something specific. You can tailor your message to them by creating landing pages for each restaurant that ranks highly on Google for that phrase, and you can use those landing pages as marketing tools later on as well.

Local Keywords Help You Stay on the Front Page of Google:

By including local keywords in your website’s content, you are increasing your chances of staying on the front page of Google when people search with those terms! This means more traffic and leads for your business.

Local Keywords Help You Stand Out from Your Competition:

When you use local keywords on your website, they can help you stand out from your competition. If they don’t have their own content that includes those terms, then you will be ahead of them!

Local Keywords Help Make Your Website More Useful:

If you are a local business, then it is important that your website is useful to both potential customers and Google. Local keyword research can help you create content that will be helpful to people looking for information about your business. This improves the user experience of your site and makes it more likely that people will return to your site again and again.

Local Keywords Convey Professionalism to Potential Customers:

If customers see that you are using local keywords on your website, they will know that you have taken the time to research their location and needs. This communicates professionalism and helps build trust between potential customers and businesses!

Local Keywords Help You Optimize Your Website For Mobile Devices:

Google has stated that local searches are typically done by mobile devices, so it is important to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile devices. This will help you to rank higher on Google Maps when people search for local businesses.

Local Keywords Can Help With Your Social Media Marketing:

If you have a brick-and-mortar business and have been neglecting social media marketing, then this is an area where you can improve your online visibility by using local keywords on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms.

Which Local Keywords Are Perfect for You?

If you run a local business, you know how important it is to show up in Google’s local results.

The problem is that most people don’t know what keywords to target. They just throw a bunch of words together and hope for the best.

You can do better than that! The best local SEO campaigns have an effective mix of specific and general keywords.

So which ones are perfect for you?

Let’s take a look at some of the best local keywords for your business: There are many different keywords that can be used to target local search results. If you’re not sure which keywords are right for your business, here are some basic ideas to get you started:

Location:

This is the most common way to target local results and can be used in combination with other keywords. For example, if you’re a restaurant in Chicago, you could add “Chicago restaurants” or “restaurants in Chicago.”

Business Types:

If you’re an accounting firm or an attorney’s office, try using keywords like “accounting services” or “legal services.” You can also add “accountants” or “attorneys” to the end of this type of keyword to make it even more specific (for example: “accountants in San Francisco”).

Industry Types:

If you’re in a certain industry (like accounting), try adding your industry type at the end of your keyword (for example: “accounting firm”)

Product Keywords:

If you sell a specific type of product, you will want to include it in your local business listing as well. For example, if you run an Italian restaurant and serve pasta dishes such as spaghetti and meatballs, then you may want to include keywords like “pasta” in your local business listing. That way if someone searches for restaurants with pasta on their menu, they will find yours first!

Keyword Modifiers:

A modifier is a word that qualifies the meaning of another word. Use keywords that include modifiers (e.g., “corporate flowers”). This will help you rank higher in local search results and drive more traffic to your website.”

Keyword Synonyms:

Synonyms are words with similar meanings. For example, a business selling bikes and motorcycles might want to include keywords like “motorcycle,” “motorbikes,” and “motor scooters.” These synonyms are great because they help your listing rank for multiple related phrases at once.

Local Keyword Research: How Do You Do?

Local keyword research is the practice of researching for keywords that are relevant to your business. It’s important to understand the local keyword landscape because it can help you choose the best keywords to target, and it can inform your entire SEO strategy.

Here are seven steps to take when doing local keyword research:

1. Identify Your Competitors’ Seo Strategies: The first thing you need to do is identify your competitors’ SEO strategies. This will give you an idea of what they’re doing right (or wrong) and improve your chances of ranking above them in search engines.

2. Check Out Their Website Content And On-page Factors: Once you know who your competitors are, it’s time to find out what they’re up to online — starting with their websites, content and on-page factors like title tags, meta descriptions and more.

3. Create A List Of Relevant Keywords Using Tools Like Google Keyword Planner Or Ahrefs’ Keyword Explorer (A Premium Tool): If you don’t know what keywords people are searching for locally, how can you expect to rank for them? That’s why it’s vital that you use one or more keyword research tools to generate a list of relevant terms before embarking on any kind of local SEO campaign.

4. Use tools like SEMrush or BuzzSumo to find out which websites rank well for those keywords (and why they rank well).

5. Find out what the top organic search results look like for those keywords (including their titles, descriptions, URL structure and content).

6. Use all this information to create an optimized set of pages for each keyword that you want to target — including images, meta descriptions, local listing details and more.

7. Start building links from other sites by creating useful content on your own site. Write articles and blog posts that are related to your local business and link back to your site. This will help you build up a strong anchor text profile that will help you rank well in Google.

How to Choose the Best Keywords For Your Local SEO?

Choosing the right keywords for your local SEO is the first step to getting your business noticed on the web.

You can’t expect to rank for a keyword that you don’t even know how to use. That’s why it’s important to know how to choose the best keywords for your local SEO.

Here are some tips:

1. Do Your Research

The first thing you should do when choosing keywords is research. Search engines like Google have a lot of data about which words people use when searching for things like “restaurant” or “auto repair.” You can use this information to figure out which keywords will work best for your business.

2. Know Your Niche

The second thing you should do is figure out what niche your business falls into so you can choose the right keywords for SEO purposes. For example, if you own a restaurant, then “restaurant” might be a good keyword for you because it’s general enough that most people searching for restaurants will find it useful. If you own an Italian restaurant, then “Italian food” might be a better choice because it narrows down who would use that term when searching online (people who want Italian food).

3. Know Your Competition:

The third thing you should do is know who your competition is and how they’re using their keywords. If they’re using them correctly, then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t copy them! Just make sure that your efforts are as effective as theirs are before proceeding with any changes.

4. Focus on Long-Tail Keywords:

Long-tail keywords are those that have three or more words in them. They’re also typically more specific than their one-word counterparts, which means they get fewer searches per month but also have less competition and therefore make for easier optimization once your site ranks higher in searches for them (which is usually easier than ranking highly for broad keywords).

5. Use Google’s Keyword Planner Tool:

Googles keyword planner tool shows you how many people are searching for a particular phrase each month so you know whether it’s worth targeting or not

6.  Find Out What People Are Searching For:

The next step is finding out what people are actually searching for online when looking for businesses like yours or similar ones in your area. You can do this by using free tools like Google AdWords Keyword Planner and WordStream’s Free Keywords Tool.

Final Thoughts

Choosing keywords for your business is an important process. It ensures that everyone can find you online, without spending lots of time searching. Finding the best words to use does not have to be difficult, however. Picking the right keywords for your company can increase traffic to your site, boost conversion rates and improve your search rankings. Hope this guide will help you how to find the best keywords for your business.