A Complete Guide To On & Off Page Local SEO Content

A new article on Search Engine Journal asks if you have the same content strategies for local SEO and broader organic SEO.



When you think about improving your local SEO, do you think about content? Maybe not.

The author admits, it's not always the first thing that comes to their mind. But here's the thing - content directly affects local SEO, and overlooking it is a huge mistake. Yes, we might have limited text fields and places where we can input content. There's more to it than you might think.

Key Differences In Local & Organic SEO Content Strategies

You may know about the content Google likes to see on a website and how to optimize it to show up higher on search engine result pages. But what about local content?

How is that different? Content strategies for local SEO and broader organic SEO aren't actually that different. No matter what, good informative content should always be a priority. The main difference between local SEO and organic SEO content lies in user intent.

For local SEO, the user intent is to find goods or services near them, so they include a location indicator in their search query. For example, you may search for [Kansas City hair salon], [hair salon in Kansas City], or [hair salon near me]. The location indicator tells Google to prioritize, showing the user results in their area. This has been the case for a long time as Google has wanted to serve up more localized SERP features (like map results) for searches that it has perceived as local intent.

So when you're writing for local SEO, produce content that highlights your location. Before you begin writing content for your site, you should always take a minute and think about your end game. Ask yourself what goals you want to achieve. And how can your content and messaging aid in completing your goals?

For example, say you want to improve your local SEO so more people visit your brick-and-mortar storefront to ultimately increase sales and revenue. This is a great goal. Good local SEO can help you achieve it, but creating a Google My Business listing is not enough.

Prioritize creating high-quality content that highlights both what you have to offer and your location.