How to Choose the Right Local SEO Service Provider For Your Business

Want to hire Local SEO Services that can boost your sales, but are not sure if they would live up to your expectations? 

How to choose a local seo company?

Do you know, every month, searchers visit 1.5 billion locations related to their Google searches?

“Local SEO is beneficial for my business, but what if the local SEO specialist uses Black Hat SEO Techniques? Will it affect the rankings of my business in Google?”

Do these kinds of questions roam in your mind?

If yes, then this article is definitely for you. 

Here, you are going to get one of the best ways you can hire best & affordable Local SEO service provider and solution for Small businesses. 

So! Stay Tuned!

Before reading further, we will understand what is local SEO?

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is the same as it sounds. It works better for Local Businesses as it covers the nearby places to get you more local clients. 

Any business that has a geographical location can easily be benefitted from Local SEO Services and improve its search results locally. 

For example, if you have a local business of ice-cream parlor and you want more and more customers at your shop. 

In this case, you can go with Local SEO and get more customers at your shop’s doorsteps. 

It is a practice to improve the online presence of your business to increase search engine visibility with local users.

This article is to give you more clarity about Local SEO and how you can hire Local SEO service provider  for your business.

But the question is: “Why do you need to hire Local SEO service provider?”

It’s because, as a local firm, you’ll require more local consumers and recognition. 

That is something that local SEO can assist you with.

Have you seen a business that appears at the top of the searches along with the map on the right side? Of course, those businesses will get more clicks than the websites appearing below them.

The thing is, how did those websites manage to be on top? It’s all part of their Local SEO. 

I believe now you have understood how Local SEO affects your business.

Read more: How Important Is Local SEO for Your E-Commerce Site?

Now, Let’s Understand What Is A ‘3 Map Pack’

The 3 map pack is the method Google uses to display the Top 3 results for Local SERP results. 

In simple words, The Local 3-Pack is a colourful, conspicuous map listing in Google’s search engine results that shows consumers the three companies Google thinks to be the most relevant to the query and the searcher’s area, as well as the best quality.

Let’s take an example; I searched for ’Restaurants in New York’ and I got all the results of other local restaurants as well, even with a map. 

This is what we call the ‘3 map pack’. These search results are according to the online appearances of the businesses. 

They appear in the box-shaped area. 

According to the study, 33% of local search clicks go to Local Pack results. 

Google My Business

GMB enables you to submit your business 

Google My Business is a free tool provided by Google itself. Through GMB you can have full control over the online presence of your business, which includes your business name, location, working hours along with your business pictures.

If you have a local business, then GMB is a great platform to start your marketing. 

For helping you more, I would like to suggest you a Complete Google My Business Guide

We believe that the best way to hire affordable Local SEO Services is to know the basics of Local SEO so that you can select the right agency for your business.

When you know the basics of Local SEO, the agency will not fool you due to your lack of knowledge. Also, you will be able to select the best Local SEO services for your business. 

If the agency is genuine, they will not hide anything from you and will perform crystal-clear activities. But before going to hire a local SEO agency, you must know about the Local SEO Checklist.

When you already have all this basic knowledge about Local SEO, you will be able to see if the local SEO company is using the techniques of Black Hat SEO or not or if the company suits your requirements best. 

Read more: How to Have a Successful Local SEO Campaign

Things You Need To Take Into Consideration 

First of all, I would like to show you a video about how to choose the right digital marketing agency for your business.

Now, let’s see some things that you should consider to choose the Local SEO services for your business.  

Learn The Techniques 

Before you hire local SEO services you must know the techniques they have for the Local SEO of your business. You must know everything clearly so that you can identify if their local SEO specialist is using White hat techniques or Black hat techniques. 

When you ask about the strategies of an agency, listen to them carefully to see what they say about 3-pack listings for your business. 

And see, if the agency talks about the things mentioned below:

A) Optimization of Google My Business

B) Citation and inbound link tactics

C) On-site optimization, particularly in terms of NAP consistency (name, address, and phone number)

D) Reviews on Google

E) Pages dedicated to certain locations

F) keyword research for the region you’re interested in.

If you see the agency is talking about all these techniques for Local SEO services then, you can go with them. 

Learn How Google Ranks Local Businesses

Well, it depends on many factors. Let’s discuss each factor briefly.

1. Relevance:  It depends on how well your content or business matches the query of the user. Adding more details to your business will help Google understand your business better. 

2. Google My Business: Well, there is a free tool from Google for all the local business owners, called ‘Google My Business to provide information about the local business through Google Maps. 

3. Online Reviews: Google reviews help a lot in ranking. Also, your customers will go through the reviews before purchasing anything from you or doing business with you. Of course, positive reviews will build trust, reliability, and legitimacy in the eyes of your customers. 

4. Distance: The distance of your business from the user also matters in the ranking in Local SEO. The businesses that are close to the user in terms of distance will always show on the top of SERP. 

5. User Search Intent: When you have a local business, you’ll also have to keep in mind that your business must match with the search intent of the user. For example, let’s say if you have a restaurant in Amsterdam, you’ll have to be specific with the query of the locals or the people of Amsterdam. 

6. Prominence: The next factor that matters for ranking in Local SEO is prominence i.e., how well known your business is. Your business should be renowned for ranking in Local SEO. 

You should keep in mind if the local SEO company tells you about all these parameters or not, or are they going to fool the Search Engine on your behalf. 

Recognize The Value Of Google Reviews

Reviews were the Most Prominent Local SEO Ranking Factor in 2017.

Though its data is from the year 2017, it is still very much relevant today. This article quotes that “as it’s a way for Google to crowdsource ranking factors, it’s hard to spam.”

To get more Google reviews, you must encourage your happy and satisfied clients to write reviews for you. 

Reviews and ratings have the power to uplift or downgrade your online presence.

But you must keep in mind what techniques the local SEO company is using for getting more and more reviews for your business. 

A) Does their Local SEO specialist use fake IDs or bots to write reviews for you? 

B) Do they conduct spam activity? or,

C) Do they organically promote your business so real people write reviews for you? 

Keep your eyes on all of these things, so that they cannot mislead you. 

Understand How Citations Help Your Business

In simple words, Any mention of your firm on the internet is referred to as a local citation. This could be on an industry-specific site or maybe a blog.

Though citations can help your business or website rank higher, you cannot be dependent on citations for ranking only. 

However, it is still helpful in ranking higher in Local SEO. 

You need to know what all services your agency will give you regarding citations. 

However, local citations may have already mentioned your business on their site. Still, you’ll need the help of the agency. 

Complete citations include the name of the business, the place of the business, and their contact number. 

Well, citations help in ranking by providing relevant and genuine information about your business. It tells Google about the existence of your business. 

The information that you provide is legitimate because Google has verified it from multiple sources. 

Now you need to check which agency is providing you the great citations for your business. 

And go with the one which is providing you with great options for citations. 

Read more: Can Citations Be Your Secret Weapon for Local SEO?

Examine The Case Studies Of Former Clients

Before you hire local SEO services, it would be very beneficial for you if you know about their clients. When the agency has proof of the value of the service they provide, they will definitely share case studies with you, if they have any. 

The agency will tell you how they achieved the target of Local SEO for their clients. That’s how you can measure their actual potential and find out if they are helpful to you in the long run. 

To know more about their clients, watch the column of featured clients on their website. 

That’s how you will get to know if the company is right for you or not.

Also, you will get to know their true potential. 

So, don’t forget to know the case studies about their past clients.

You can ask questions like how they manage other businesses’ online reputation? or How did they make their business rank higher on Google? Or how their services made their ex-clients enhance their business?

Have an understanding of all these things.

Getting Results From SEO Takes Time 

You could see results from SEO within 6 to 12 months. Here results mean your business is featured in the Local 3 Pack, reviews, and genuine traffic to your ‘Google My Business.

You won’t see results for 6 months. So, you must have patience in getting your work done.  

You cannot get away with the fact that Google SEO takes time. 

So, just keep this thing in mind, if the company is saying they will get you Local SEO results in just 2 or 3 months.

Then check if the company is fake or if they are using some Black Hat SEO techniques.

This is going to harm the online presence of your business. 

You should know that SEO takes time and you will not get any results for 6 months. Once you have understood the fact, it will help you find the best local services for your business. 

Know The Tools Used For Local SEO

The tools are used to help the specialist who is going to work on the Local SEO for your business. 

know the insights of the tools the SEO company is going to use for you, and the agency should explain to you about the tools they use and why they use them. 

The tools like Moz Local, Yext, Advanced Web Rankings, Semrush, and others are used for working on Local SEO. 

And if the agency is using tools for fake reviews or tools to fool the bot of Google Search Engine, just don’t go with them.

Tools are actually the most essential for working on Local SEO and you cannot neglect them. 

Also, make sure that they have the right answer to each and every question of yours.

If they aren’t able to answer for tools, understand that they are hiding something from you. 

Strategies Used For Google Reviews

Every SEO agency has some strategies for Google Reviews. It is their job to generate positive reviews for your business on Google. 

A good company will always have a strategy to do that and you can ask them about it. 

If they are using some techniques like black hat SEO, then just leave them. 

Why? Because the local SEO company is using some black hat SEO techniques or fake reviews or ratings, it will eventually harm your business in the long run. 

Google can recognize fake reviews and ratings very easily, so make sure the agency you are contacting doesn’t use such tactics. 

In fact, you can easily recognize fake reviews just by looking at the profiles of the reviewers. Such profiles are dead and the profile pictures are fake too. 

And the last one is, the comments that come from such profiles are always the same. 

Hence, you can also recognize fake reviews and ratings. 

Inquire About The Agency’s Further Services.

It is a great idea to ask them if they are providing you with some complimentary services.

Some agencies provide some services complimentary if you purchase more services at a time. 

If the company is genuine, they will provide you with some services as complimentary. 

I am not saying that the company that charges high or doesn’t provide complimentary services is fake and you shouldn’t contact them.

It’s not like that at all.

But the thing is, asking for some complimentary services is only for your economical advantage. 

Also, you can even watch this video to have a better understanding of choosing the right digital marketing services for your business.

Learn The Firm’s Strategies 

When you search for anything regarding the businesses near you, for example, if you search ‘restaurants near me’, you’ll probably get the list of 3 businesses near you below the ads.

Another example is if I search ‘restaurants in New york’, I get the pack of 3 main results along with a map showing their location.

This is what is called ‘Local 3 Pack’

Ask them what strategies they have for featuring your business in the ‘Local 3-Pack’. 

If the company is genuine they will tell you some future plans regarding featuring your business in ‘Local 3 Pack’.

If not, no need to tie up with them.

Conclusion 

So, we discussed the best way to choose affordable Local SEO Services is to understand the basics of Local SEO services. 

Because without understanding the basics, you will not be able to choose the best services. 

When you know what your needs are regarding services, then the agency will not be able to fool you. 

If the agency is genuine and capable, it will answer all your questions and doubts, even that too, with proof. 

Till then, you can watch my 30-Minute strategy session

FAQs

1. How do I see if the agency I am going to work with is genuine?

The best way to check the agency is through an online review of the agency. There you will find if the agency works well for their clients or not. 

Because reviews come from the people who have already taken their services. So, they are the best people to tell you.

2. What strategies come in Local SEO?

The Strategies that can be used in Local SEO are,

A) Optimize Google My Business

B) Generating reviews and ratings.

C) Optimizing the citations.

D) Improving internal linking.

All these strategies could be used in Local SEO.

3. What tools are used to work in Local SEO?

The tools like Moz Local, Yext, Advanced Web Rankings, Semrush, and others are used for working on Local SEO. 

4. How do I evaluate SEO agencies?

You can easily evaluate the SEO agencies in the following ways:

A) Watch out for the quality of the networks they have.

B) Watch out for their Reporting and Analytics quality.

C) Review their website rankings.

D) Check their rate of Lead Generation levels.

5. Does a local SEO agency actually drive results?

Yes, there is no doubt the local SEO agency will not drive results if the agency is genuine.