Local SEO for Stores
03 Jan 2012, by Calum Shepherd(This post was originally published in December 2011 as part of an SEO Advent Calendar series. It has since been updated and reposted here for greater reach. To view the original post, visit the LBi blog.
‘Location, Location, Location’ was once a popular show on Channel 4, and now it’s the perfect description for the importance of local SEO for physical store locations.
Local stores often struggle with low online visibility, which can be overlooked by digital marketing managers. This is especially important for online/offline hybrid retailers who operate brick-and-mortar stores. Retail stores typically offer a smaller range of products compared to their online counterparts, which means the web serves as a “best of breed” solution for the retailer’s entire portfolio.
When approaching local SEO for stores, it’s crucial to think about the location first, followed by the services or products that the location offers. Loyal customers may visit your store if they have time-sensitive needs or simply prefer shopping in person. However, if information about your store is not available online, customers may struggle to find it, show up when it’s closed, or even go elsewhere.
On site promotion
Shopping last-minute is a common occurrence, especially during the Christmas season. People often search for details about local stores online in several situations:
- The standard delivery window for mail order has expired
- They discover that only expensive ‘next day delivery’ options are available.
- Risk of weather related delivery delays.
Identifying the customer journey from online to offline is essential for generating revenue. Ensure that your store locations and how to find them are easily visible on your site.
- Promote from the homepage
- Provide within your standard navigation, be it a footer or sub-navigation
Individual store pages
Each store should have its own dedicated page with up-to-date information. This allows for quick updates as changes occur.
- Make sure all individual store pages provide accurate, current information If stores are independently operated or franchised with separate social profiles, consider integrating their social feeds or real-time updates
- Customer reviews specific to each location are common online—consider including them.
- Use easy-to-remember URLs for individual store pages
- To take it further, promote each store’s landing page from within the store itself. This can help create customer loyalty that many online retailers can’t match
3rd party location platforms
Offsite promotion is also crucial. Location-based platforms like Google+ Local, Here Places (Nokia), Bing Places, and Yelp can significantly increase traffic to your location pages.
- Stay organised and maintain a list of all your locations
- Claim existing listings on third-party platforms and close or amend outdated entries
- Continuously build new listings and update information as needed
- Use link tracking to measure the impact and prove that it works
- Maintaining accurate profiles and information on third-party websites ensures customers won’t end up at stores that have moved or no longer exist. These third-party profiles should be closely integrated with the store pages on your website
In summary
Get ready for Christmas by updating your store pages to accurately reflect their offerings. Promote these pages on your site to make them a viable option for customers. Finally, ensure all your third-party profiles are up-to-date. Not every suggestion in this post may apply, but implementing even a few of these ideas can lead to great results!
Merry Christmas!