The Importance Of Rank Tracking Local Keywords In 2018

After the Google Pigeon update, local search completely changed, and local businesses having online presence experienced sudden jumps in their keyword rankings.

 

It affected the rankings and the user experience for users also as now the search results are more targeted and related to searcher’s intent.

 

If you have a local business, it’s important for you to be searchable on Google and develop your brand strategically in your area as it will directly affect your keyword rankings and ultimately your profits.

Now many people understand the importance of local keyword rankings, but they still don’t know how to track them. So, today we will understand local rankings deeply and see how you can track local keywords easily using Siteoscope rank tracking feature.

 

Difference between local and global results

 

Search results for both national and local search differs a lot now. Some of the local search examples are New York hotels, restaurants near me, furniture shop, etc. Both global and local search results are displayed differently depending on the search string origin.

 

When we search for a query such as “restaurants near me”, we receive interesting and appealing search results based on local businesses:

Local search results show results with maps of a specific region with reviews and other information. And top results get the most of the clicks, and if you are not tracking your local keywords, then you are missing out on a lot of free targeted traffic. Local results are designed to give users the information they want in fewer steps.

 

Now let’s see how you can use local keywords and optimize your business online presence around them.

 

Most important signals used by Google for Local Search

 

Google uses variable signals to show the most appropriate search result to users, but no one knows what those factors are. But here are the four most important factors which SEO experts have discovered after performing split tests and experiments that can help you with your local keyword rankings.

 

1. GMB or Google My Business: A GMB page is a free tool provided by Google to help businesses manage their online presence, and it is crucial as it plays an important role in local search. By optimizing it properly, you can drive a good amount of local traffic to your site which also converts very well.
   
   To improve local search further, Google has rolled out new updates for GMB pages. Google My Business pages can include service menus, option to upload videos, a feature of taking direct bookings, new and improved dashboard, etc.
   
2. Google Reviews: After a lot of experiments, it has been concluded that reviews are the most important ranking signal in Google’s local search algorithm. So, encourage your customers to put reviews of your business which can help you a lot in the long term.
3. Backlinks: Ultimately, links play a significant role in Google search results. If you have even a handful of quality and relevant links, then they can boost your rankings a lot in local search. But keep an eye on your backlinks as Google is getting strict day by day and now it is not that easy to manipulate Google.
4. Google Photos: If you have a good amount of images linked to your GMB page then that can help you in local search to a great extent. And if you are related to the food industry for example, then good quality photos are a must for you to drive a good amount of targeted traffic.

 

By tracking your local keywords, you can gather data that can help you to optimize your site and continually improve your visibility and awareness of the local brand.

 

Some rank tracking software for local keywords are

 

1. Siteoscope
2. Whitespark
3. MOZ Tracker
4. Georanker
5. Serps Tracker

 

All the above-mentioned rank trackers are good and do the job, but no rank tracker is completely accurate as rankings fluctuates a lot based on factors such as location, device, time, user profile, etc. But you can get the idea of your rankings, and that is more important.

 

Also, we have our own rank tracker, so you could say I am biased but Siteoscope rank tracker is really very useful.

Completely cloud based so you can access it anywhere, you don’t have to worry about downloading any application. Our rank tracker accurately provides you with a detailed report, tracking local results with speed and ease.

Finally, benefits of checking Local Ranking of Keywords

 

If your keywords are ranking on the first page but not in the top 3, then you have a very good opportunity to push all your first page keywords to top three and then see the increase in traffic and revenue. Top three search results get almost 70% of the total clicks, so it is important to optimize for them.

 

Now to do that, you have to keep a record of the rank of your keywords, and that is where Siteoscope rank tracker comes in.

Siteoscope keyword rank checker provides you with a proper ranking summary showing accurate results and the current position of all targeted search term, both globally and locally. You can get a detailed report of how your website is performing for any specific area by just selecting locations for selected keywords.

 

Even if you are an expert in SEO, you have to rank your local keywords to ensure that you reach on top and maintain that also for continuous results.

 

Also, to keep up with your competition, you can track them and know how they are performing. If they drop or gain in SERPs, you can optimize your site according to that and always stay ahead of the game.

 

Conclusion

 

Sometimes, people focus on optimizing only and don’t give much importance to their rankings. That prevents them to see the effects of their optimization, and without any previous data, they also cannot plan for the future. So, it’s important to keep a check on your both global and local rankings and implement changes accordingly.