Local SEO: one of the major SEO trends of 2021

The year 2020 has turned out to be very special with the global COVID-19 pandemic and a lockdown that has forced the world to change its ways.

The web has taken off in particular since this period. Indeed, it has become the only window open to others, the rules of social distancing and protection tending to keep people away.

These changes have had an impact on web search and Internet user behavior.

This has not escaped Google or SEO consultants who analyze the web from every angle.

With that in mind, I hastened to speak to Sandra, our angel expert in web writing, to find out what she thought:

Internet users increasingly want to support local shops. And Google got it right. In fact, local SEO takes an important part in the SEO strategy in 2021.

So, now let's see how to work on your local visibility.

The evolution of geolocated search and its SEO impact

Concretely, what has really changed in the behavior of Internet users?

The rules during confinement, semi-confinement, curfew ... have limited:

People's movements by reducing the distances that can be covered,

But also the time when you can be away from home.

Another data to take into account: the coronavirus is very contagious, especially in confined spaces where many people move, has greatly reduced the presence in stores.

In fact, people have changed their consumption and socialization habits:

1. We prefer the small local grocery store to the hyperon the outskirts of town,
2. We learn more from home about products and services before going to the store or for maintenance,
3. We try to group outings and races on the same perimeter,
4. We prefer to Click and Collect at times to choose from in the store ...

And all this happens first through the web which provides us with all the useful and practical information.

And of course, it is the geolocated search that will make it possible to find the answers to Internet users.

If the pandemic had a boosting effect on geolocated referencing, it should be noted that this had already been booming for many years.

All the indicators, therefore, show that local search is taking up more and more space in queries.

You must therefore take this into account for your 2021 SEO strategy if you have not yet implemented it.

The question now is how to do it?

Geolocated keywords in the content

Content is needed again and again in 2021.

Indeed, it remains king on the web.

So, by focusing your editorial calendar on local search, now is the time to flesh out the pages of your site with geolocated content.

But beware, the impact is not the same on mobile, computer, or tablet.

You must therefore do a study to make the choice of geolocated keywords that will allow you to clearly indicate to Google where your store is located or in which city or district you are operating.

A geolocated keyword is the concatenation of your sector of activity and your city, with all the possible variations.

Examples to make it clearer?

You are walking around Paris. It's noon, you want a good restaurant (when they are open again).

You type your query into Google and he pulls out the entire list of “Paris restaurants” that he has referenced on his shelves.

Do you need a locksmith in Dijon?

Google presents in its search results ( SERP ) all the locksmiths located in Dijon.

On the SEO side, this means that you must include key phrases like “Dijon locksmith” or “Restaurant Paris” in your content.

And you can even go further, by creating content about your neighborhood, in short, the geographic area around your establishment.

For example: “boulangerie Paris 3”…

Like all your other texts, the placement of this keyword will be done in the title, the meta-description, and the H1 as well as in the intro.

Let's not forget that Google pays special attention to the first 150 words of your content.

And since it also focuses on the titles, you just have to place the derived keywords in your hn structure.

To do this well, also used structured data to tell Google where it can locate your goods and services.

The result of a good local referencing intervenes in 2 ways:

1. When Internet users type a request, as seen above, of the “Paris 3 bakery” type, Google offers your website,
2. When Internet users type “bakery” on their cellphones, the GPS does the rest. This is what experts call “near me” queries. Google geolocates the user's mobile phone and makes the connection with shops or services located nearby.

Conclusion on local SEO and geolocated keywords

Local referencing is set to develop further in the years to come, particularly with voice search.

As it is involved in the majority of mobile queries, you can easily imagine why you have to bet on geolocated keywords to develop your customer base.

And it is interesting to see moreover, whether they are typed or spoken, geolocated requests include more and more instructions, for example, “dresses + Nice + open + now”.

It's a fact, local SEO takes an important part in the SEO strategy in 2021.

It is in my opinion the easiest and fastest, but it is not the only trend.

Mohsin beg