2023 Local SEO Trends for Business Growth

If in the past local businesses have gotten away without learning the latest local SEO trends in West Palm Beach, it’s going to be different in 2023.  

As every business transitions online and as more and more consumers shop through the web, your customers are expecting to find you in the search results.  

If you’re not there, they might just opt for your competitor.

So, how do you make sure your online presence is strong?

In 2023, local search is becoming more focused on providing the best user experience, a customer-first approach to content, and staying engaged.  

Before we explore the different local SEO trends, let's talk a bit about the significance of local search engine optimization.

Why Does Local SEO Matter to Your Business?

Local SEO is an essential aspect of online marketing that every local business owner should prioritize. With the rise of mobile devices and the increasing use of search engines, local search results have become a vital part of businesses' growth.

Local SEO strategies can help small businesses reach potential customers, increase their visibility online, and ultimately drive more traffic to their websites.

As search engines like Google continue to update their algorithms to provide the best possible user experience, the importance of local rankings has become more evident. Google has made it clear that local search results are a key component of their search engine results pages (SERPs). This means that local businesses should focus on optimizing their online presence to improve their local rankings and visibility.

6 Local SEO Trends to Stay on Top of Your Online Presence in 2023

Here are six local SEO trends to follow to boost your local ranking and help your business grow.

1. Set Up a Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) is a free tool you can use to manage your online presence. It also helps you show up in organic search results, including Google Maps.  

It's crucial to have a listing on Google Business Profile because it consists of important information, such as business name, business hours, reviews, and address that consumers need to make a purchase decision.  

Businesses with consistent GMB listings are considered more reputable by local customers.  

Google has also put more emphasis on GMB these days because of search intent. It no longer shows results solely based on keywords but on what they know a user is looking for.  

An example of this is when someone searches for the best Japanese restaurant, the search engine knows that the user isn't looking for just any restaurant but the best ones near them.  

Google will then use its location-based information to show the best Japanese restaurants within that user’s local area.  

Studies show that 49% of local businesses generate over a thousand views on their Google Business Profile listings each month. This proves that you need to set up your Google Business Profile if you haven't yet.  

However, it’s not enough to just enlist your business there. You need to ensure that your listing performs well too to boost your SEO in West Palm Beach!

So how exactly can you do that?  

Here are some best practices to follow to increase your GMB local presence:

• Take and post pictures tagged at your business location.  
• Publish more content about your business, like special offers, events, and updates. Doing this lets Google know that your business is still operating. Thus, they’re more likely to show higher visibility for your business.
• Request directions to your business as you commute to work. Ask your employees to do the same even if they're familiar with your address. People requesting directions to your business signals Google that your business is offering high-quality goods and services.  
• Provide complete, consistent information about your local business across all your listings online, such as location, contact information, hours, images, products, and more.  Google will naturally give your listing a higher priority if you provide complete, consistent information.  
• Reach out to your current and past customers. Encourage them to leave a review about your business.  

If your business is already listed, log in frequently to your GMB and check your “insights”. See what keywords are driving results and post content that focuses on those key terms.  

The more engagement on your listing, the higher you’ll rank in the results.

2. Optimize for Conversational Queries

Google wants to provide its users with the best experience possible by allowing them to find the relevant information they need fast.  

A critical part of this is launching LaMDA, a language model, that allows search engines to understand natural language better.  

As a result, Google is now able to understand how to use converse when trying to find what they need and deliver results more efficiently.  

Today, we can see a lot of people talking to their phones or smart speaker to search online.  

They prefer to do voice searches over manually typing queries into the search bar. 75% of people who have smart speakers use them to search for local businesses weekly.  

To optimize for this SEO in the West Palm Beach trend, optimize your content for voice search. Conversational queries tend to be longer.  

Think about how people naturally talk and target this kind of long-tail keyword in your content.  

For example, instead of using “parlor near me”, use something more conversational like “where can I get a haircut?”.  

You want to create content that’s optimized for voice search to ensure they show up for local voice search results.  

Aside from using long-tail keywords or phrases, here are other voice optimization best practices you should follow:

• Keep your answers short and direct to the point. You want to be able to deliver helpful information fast.  
• Consider using slang, vernacular, or specific phrases that a place you’re targeting uses. Knowing these key terms can help you optimize for more conversational keywords.  

3. Publish More Video Content

Did you know that more than half of consumers rely on videos to help them make purchase decisions?  

Without a doubt, videos are people's favorite form of content. It's how they want to be entertained, educated, and engaged.  

With an increasing number of people watching more videos and Google rolling out features to help users spot information faster through videos, you must publish more video content.  

Here are the new features you need to be aware of:

• Clip markup – Enables you to emphasize key points of your videos so users can head straight to the parts they're interested in. Instead of using “tip 1,” “tip 2,” and so on, be more descriptive.  
• Seek markup – Tells Google how your URL structure works. This information is important because it allows the system to display crucial moments of your video automatically.  

Photo from Search Engine Land.

Optimize your videos for these two new features for better visibility in the search engine results pages.  

Users tend to spend 88% more time on pages that contain video. This 2023, start incorporating more video content into your pages.  

It’s the key to boosting your site’s engagement, increasing conversions, and improving your SEO in West Palm Beach.  

4.  Strengthen Your EAT Signals

E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It's one of the many guidelines Google uses to identify whether the content is valuable to users and whether it should rank well.  

Google search engine quality evaluators are instructed to look out for the following characteristics:

• The know-how and ability of the creator of the content
• Authoritativeness of the creator, content, and the website it’s on
• Trustworthiness of the creator, content, and website the content is on

Your page is considered high-quality if it possesses all the three characteristics above.  

E-A-T signals can include customer testimonials, expertise and badges, social proof, backlinks to authoritative sites, and many more.  

To improve your site’s E-A-T, make sure you do the following:

• Tell people who you are by creating an About Us page or an author page. This is a great way to establish your business’ expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.  
• Work with experts in the field who know what they're talking about. These types of content are pieces that Google will likely trust and rank.  
• Use titles and heads to communicate the purpose of your content.  
• Keep your content updated to ensure it continues to generate a consistent flow of organic traffic.  

• Link out to authoritative sites. Doing so will help you get seen as an expert who knows what he or she is talking about.  
• Keep an eye out for negative press and respond to negative reviews quickly and respectfully.  
• Showcase your badges, accolades, certifications, and partnerships on your site.  

5. Boost Your Online Reputation

93% of consumers read online reviews before buying a product or service.  

Google is aware that people use reviews to find the best products and services suitable for their needs and preferences. This is why online reviews, recommendations, and mentions of your business matter more than ever for your search rankings.  

The more reviews you get, the better your local SEO rankings will be. That’s because people trust them, they help generate sales, and they provide insights that you can use to boost your offerings.  

Here are some tips on how to improve your online reputation:

• Monitor your brand online through social listening. Find out what your reputation looks like right now.  
• Create an online review strategy. Try to get your customers to leave a review right after a transaction by asking them directly or sending them an email.  
• Work with influencers in your industry with a great online reputation. Doing this will help boost your reach and increase your credibility and brand image.  
• Live up to your promises and be consistent about it in all areas of your communication.  

• Track what other people have to say about your competitors. Find out why customers prefer them over you. Use this information to improve your offerings and services.  

6. Take Advantage of Local Citations

Local citations are mentions of your business's name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites. These citations are crucial for local SEO since they help search engines verify the accuracy of your business's information.

By having consistent and accurate citations across the web, search engines can have more confidence in your business's legitimacy and relevance to local searches.

Here are some steps to follow to use local citations the right way:

• Conduct a citation audit to see where your business is currently listed online and check for any inconsistencies or inaccuracies in your business's NAP information. You can do this manually or by using a citation audit tool.
• Create a list of relevant directories and websites where your business should be listed based on your industry, location, and target audience. Examples include Yelp, Google My Business, Bing Places, and industry-specific directories.
• Claim and verify your local listings on relevant business directories and websites. That way, you can control and manage your business's information, respond to reviews, and ensure that your NAP information is consistent and accurate across the web.
• Optimize your business listings by adding photos, videos, business descriptions, and other pertinent details that can improve your online visibility, attract local searchers, and convert them into customers.
• Build local citations by submitting your business's NAP information to relevant directories and websites. Check that your business's NAP information is consistent and accurate across all citations to avoid confusion or errors.

Stay on Top of SEO in West Palm Beach!

Your local business’ presence online matters more than ever in 2023, which is why you should keep these local SEO tips in mind.

Make sure you stay engaged with your audience, upgrade your website, and always think of ways to improve the kind of experience you're providing users.  

Google sees your efforts and will reward you for them with better visibility and ranking in the SERPs!

At Digital Resource, our SEO experts in West Palm Beach will work with you to create a custom local SEO strategy that will put you ahead of your competitors. Not only do they have the experience and skills in implementing these strategies effectively, but they're also up-to-date with the latest local SEO tools.

Want to know how we can make it possible for you to get more customers online through SEO? Contact us today to know how!

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