How to Build a Search Engine Optimized Local Brand

When thinking about brands we naturally think about iconic examples like Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Ford, Rolex, etc. that have dominated our senses for decades to become virtually household names. Perhaps the most important asset of any business is its brand equity. According to The Economist, 30% of the value of companies is accounted by the brand, and this is the reason why billions are involved when a company with a big brand is bought over by another. However, with such large amounts not available to local brands one would tend to think that they would be hard put to compete with the biggies. While that is true in terms of sheer money power, there are quite a few techniques by which local businesses can be successful:

Be Different In the Branding Approach

The reason why most local businesses fail to compete on branding with the large companies is because they try to fight on the same grounds such as selection or price. It is a better idea not to go head to head but instead compete in the areas that they are strong such as ease of access, personalized service, quality, and reliability, among others. Accordingly, the branding effort should also reflect them. It is usually rewarding to emphasize that it is a local business that’s part of the community and hence understands the culture, preference, and dynamics of the local customer better than the large companies that need to push out a standardized offer across states. Proximity to the customer is one area that finds increasing appeal with local customers. Local branding is a very smart move because by enhancing the online presence you can raise your profile and add to your bottom-line.

Local Search and Branding

SEO strategies that result in the boosting of your page rank are actually a reflection of the online reputation you enjoy. What Google’s algorithms attempt to dois to identify and present information that is most relevant, accurate, and reliable when measured against the user’s query. When a good local SEO strategy has been implemented your brand will be identified by Google and pushed up the page rankings. If this is not happening then you need to implement SEO tactics that will effectively do the job.

Ranking factors that affect local SEO specifically include the listing information of the business and the branding elements such as reviews, backlinks, social signals, etc. that are indicative of people recognizing and interacting with your brand. However, branding can also include the core identity of the business, the brand name, and NAP information as these have been established to be critical factors in Google’s ability to recognize and rank your business.The consistency of NAP information across platforms, your profile on Google My Business, and third-party references to your site that match the profile of your businessare signals that indicate to Google that your business is local, relevant, and legitimate.According to the head of a leading local small business SEO service provider, close to half of the factors affecting page rankings comprise these signals.

Building the Reputation of the Local Brand

With around half of the factors of local search ranking relating to signals emanating from NAP and the business profile, the remaining half pertains to the online reputation of the business; included are backlinks from sites with authority, social media interaction, reviews, and other online activity like check-ins, clicks, etc.Brand building is essentially all about getting people to talk about your business and enabling Google to listen to it. Even though the tenets of establishing online reputations are more or less the same for local and national brands, the methods of accomplishing it are significantly different; the audience is local and specific, the geographical reach is more defined and the business presence is unique in the community. Some tips on building brands and enhancing local search ranking:

Focus On Local Publications

Getting mentioned by a major national publication may be wonderful, however, it can be more useful to have local publications like community magazines, newspapers, local directories, etc. mentioning your business as these are the more popularly referred sources of local information. Getting your business ranked for good value in a local publication can do wonders for traffic and conversions.

Take Into Account Hyperlocal Publications

Local publications that target niche audiences are especially useful in driving traffic to your site. The niche could virtually be anything right from ethnicity to hobbies and interests. Citations from the readers of these publications can be extremely valuable in boosting page ranks.

Get Mentions in Reviews

What people think of your business and brand and tell other people is a true indicator of your reputation. Today, it is reckoned that more than two-thirds of customers are affected by reviews by other customers. Since a majority of the customers are not averse to leaving behind reviews when asked to do so, go ahead and do just that on every platform you can think of; Yelp, TripAdvisor, local directories and Yellow Pages, and more. You also need to react to bad reviews in a positive manner so that customers perceive you to be alert and sensitive to good service.

Engage Personally and Online With the Community

According to psychologists, people get two main impressions when they interact with a person; whether he can be trusted and if he is worthy of respect. Business and brands also undergo the same evaluation. A focus of communication with your target audience will make your brand familiar and go a long way in establishing that you are likable, personal, and trustworthy. With social media all the rage now, brand building on different social media platforms will create the required chatter and send out signals to Google that your brand is being widely liked and has the potential of fulfilling the need of other web searchers. The brand should engage with its audiences frequently and also consistently. To make interactions more noticeable to Google, it may be worthwhile to increase the volume by breaking long posts into multiple ones. Engaging physically with the local community is also a good way of building rapport with your customers.

Create Talking Points

You should try and create a buzz around your brand by going outside the normal routine and creating opportunities for customers to interact with you in such a way that leaves them delighted, pleasantly surprised, and with a personal experience that they would like to share with others. The main point is to do something that the customer will love because it is unexpected and shows how much he is valued by the business. When a lot of these citations begin to go around, Google is bound to sit up and take notice.

Conclusion

In marketing, two battles need to be fought; to be found and to be selected. Google’s algorithm recognizes brands in the local context and gives local businesses a wonderful chance to promote brands in the community, where it matters the most. In the matter of selection, having a brand that is recognizable by the target audience is a great advantage. While the brand name will be recognized when it appears in the search rankings, it is even better if the brand name is entered as the search term. Community engagement, online customer interaction and social media buzz are very important elements of online brand building.