Of course not.   If Local Search existed in a “vacuum” it would exist all by itself, with no interference, no influence, and no external disruptions – existing in a place where there is nothing there to alter it.   Well of course, Local Seo does not exist in a vacuum – it is always changing, with external forces constantly altering the way in which customers find your business information on the web.

Gone are the days of making sure your name, address, and phone number were correct in the phone book.  Your local visibility today depends on your online presence, which in turn relies on a multitude of factors specific to your local market.  To do well in Local Search, you must push the right signals (aka, optimized content) out through a multi-channel system integrated with top local sources, data authorities, data aggregators, search engines, online directories, social media sites, etc.

Three Factors that Affect Local SEO

If you haven’t optimized for Local SEO, external forces could be affecting your business information and you wouldn’t even know it.  Here are three factors that can really mess up your online visibility:

1. Mis-matched NAP (Name, Address, Phone).  Consistency among data aggregators, search engines, and other resource authority sites is critical to ranking in local search results.  Make sure you use identical information in each resource (e.g., “Road” and “Rd.” are not the same thing to a search engine!) Get a  Free Local SEO Report Here
2. The Wrong Keywords.  Do you know which keywords customers are REALLY using to find your business?  Do your competitors rank higher for the keywords you target? Are your current keywords delivering a steady stream of targeted web visitors?  Stop guessing which keywords to use for optimizing your website.  Do the research, or hire a firm that can do this for you
3. Business Listings at a Virtual Office or P.O. Box.  The search engines are smart enough to know when you are trying to “game” the system with additional business locations (P.O. boxes) to make it appear as though you have a physical presence in multiple cities or locations.  This will NOT help your business rank for these cities; instead, it could cause a hard suspension if you are caught. (link to last month’s article for more info)

Although Local SEO is critical to your business, it is not a “one-and-done” type exercise.  You must keep up with the constantly changing factors affecting Local SEO, and make the right moves and adjustments along the way to keep your business visible to searchers.  Local SEO does not exist in a vacuum, but it is a key component to an integrated, multi-channel marketing system that can help boost your bottom line.

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