Writing content for local search is a relatively niche skill in the world of digital marketing. In this blog, we’ll explain a few steps you can take to create content that improves your local site rankings.

Don’t take shortcuts

Too many businesses don’t realize that local search is different from general SEO. It’s easy to see that in their original content.

This Forbes article explains what most businesses do — just shove in a state or town name in non-local content:

“It’s easier to explain what not to do with local content. Even though it’s important to include keywords relevant to your geographic location, you can’t just shoehorn keywords into your content and expect to see good results. For example, writing a post titled, “How to Buy a Bike Orlando Florida” will not only alienate your users, but likely not do any good from an SEO perspective, either.”

This is only local content at the surface level. If you remove the name of the location, there’s nothing local about it.

Write about local events 

To create true local content, you have to write about local topics. One example is writing about local events in your community. This is a great chance not just to associate your business with a zip code in Google’s search algorithm, but also to show that your brand cares about the community. Local events could include charity fundraisers, street fairs, and anything else going on in your town.

Write for a local audience 

If there are no local events happening soon, then you can think of new local topics just by writing for a local audience. Just consider any interesting news that will affect your town — a bad snowstorm, a politician visiting, a new store opening, etc. Writing about these topics will attract users from your area to your website.

To talk more about local search engine optimization, or anything else, contact us today.