SEO combines a huge range of factors, but Google seem particularly keen on local rankings for the rest 2020. According to Forbes, Google will continue to shift towards a local focus, and with that should come a moment of realization for digital business owners. Fine tuning every aspect of your operation to be local-positive will help you to make serious marketing waves.
Why Local?
Local focus is nothing new, and Entrepreneur reported in 2015 that the Pigeon update had ushered in the new era of local-focused SEO trends. Why? Google favors small business and the use of wearables and smart tech that goes with it. SEO that is optimized to location will help them to get bigger data sets and inform future developments. This technical approach is one favored by SEO industry experts Neon Ambition, who note how re-gearing SEO efforts and technical measures is the most effective way to plot a new course.
How Can SEO Change?
The first step is, of course, to utilize Google My Business, which gives easy pointers to follow on how to quickly optimize your work. According to SEO gurus Hubspot, the next two crucial steps are making your website location-sensitive, and having easy accessibility for mobile devices. The big idea here is enabling your content consumers to be able to use your stuff on the go, in and around those locally embedded links and sites. Using a mobile device with ease is the best way to achieve this.
Measured Success
The first and most measurable vector of success is through visibility. According to Moz, user-contributed citations on the likes of Facebook, Yelp and Google will instantly provide a boost to your visibility and therefore your sales. The power of this effect cannot be underestimated; Moz place this factor as the fourth most important in local linking. Second is the reputational effect. Digital business can sometimes lose sight of the ‘human touch’ that defined many small organizations throughout history. A locally driven approach can develop that contact with local consumers while providing a notable boom in national and international search engine ratings.
2020 has been all about local linking, and so it will continue. Google are very keen to prioritize those making an active effort to link locally and optimize for that consumer base. Doing so will provide objective and measurable benefits for the business.
