Local SEO for stores
2012 - Calum Shepherd(This post originally appeared in December 2011 as part of an SEO Advent Calendar series. It’s been updated and reposted here for greater reach - the original is on the LBi blog (dead-link).)
“Location, Location, Location” was once a popular Channel 4 show - and it’s also the perfect summary of why local SEO matters so much for physical store locations.
Local stores often have poor online visibility, something digital marketing managers can easily overlook. This matters especially for online/offline hybrid retailers running brick-and-mortar stores alongside a website: physical stores typically stock a smaller range than the website, so the site becomes the “best of breed” view of the retailer’s full portfolio.
When approaching local SEO for stores, think location first, then the services or products on offer there. Loyal customers may head to a physical store for time-sensitive needs, or simply because they prefer shopping in person - but if that store’s information isn’t online, they may not find it, may show up when it’s closed, or may just go elsewhere.
On-site promotion
Last-minute shopping is common, especially around Christmas. People search for local store details online in situations like:
- The standard mail-order delivery window has passed
- Only expensive next-day delivery remains
- There’s a risk of weather-related delivery delays
Mapping the customer journey from online to offline matters for revenue. Make sure store locations, and how to find them, are easy to spot on your site:
- Promote from the homepage
- Include them in standard navigation - footer or sub-navigation
Individual store pages
Every store deserves its own dedicated, up-to-date page, so changes can be made quickly:
- Keep each store page accurate and current
- If stores are independently operated or franchised with their own social profiles, consider integrating their social feeds or real-time updates
- Location-specific customer reviews are common online - worth including
- Use memorable, easy URLs for individual store pages
- Go further by promoting each store’s landing page in-store - a form of loyalty most online-only retailers can’t match
Third-party location platforms
Off-site promotion matters just as much. Location platforms like Google+ Local, Here Places (Nokia), Bing Places, and Yelp can meaningfully boost traffic to your location pages:
- Keep an organised list of all your locations
- Claim existing listings and close or correct outdated ones
- Keep building new listings and updating information as things change
- Use link tracking to measure impact and prove it’s working
- Keep third-party profiles closely aligned with your own store pages, so customers never turn up at a store that’s moved or closed
In summary
Get store pages Christmas-ready by making sure they accurately reflect what’s on offer, promote them properly on your own site, and keep third-party profiles current. Not every suggestion here will apply to every retailer, but even a handful can move the needle.
Merry Christmas!