7 Local SEO Strategies for Businesses in Australia

Local SEO for businesses has become an important strategy to increase visibility with local customers.

In Australia, 46% of Google searches have local intent, focussing on business location and operating hours. With more than 1.6 billion of the 3.5 billion daily searches locally focused, optimising local SEO is important to attract customers in your nearby area.

In this guide, you will learn 7 local SEO strategies for businesses in Australia to reach potential customers through search engines.

7 Local SEO Strategies for Businesses in Australia

To win online and stand out among other competitors on search engines, you need to implement effective SEO strategies. 

One of the most effective approaches you can try is local SEO strategies for businesses. To make sure you don’t make any mistakes on your path, explore and follow some of the local SEO strategies below! 

1. Set Up Your Google Business Profile 

To make your business shine brighter and appear more prominently on local audiences, you need to optimise your Google Business Profile. 

It's free and allows owners to manage their online presence on Google, including Search and Maps.

To maximise GBP, ensure you follow these steps: 

• Optimise your business name, address, and phone number (NAP).
• Set accurate operating hours across your GBP and all online listings.
• Use local Australian phone numbers, not toll-free, to reinforce local presence.
• Update your GBP with new content, such as updates, events, or offers.

2. Building Local Citations

Citations are important in local SEO strategies. It helps search engines confirm the existence of your business. When your business is cited from a credible source, it signifies that your business is legitimate.

To improve your local SEO Australia efforts, explore these two main types of citations:

• Structured Citations

Citations usually appear in business directories. In Australia, some common places where you can list your business and get a structured quotation include:

• SuperPages
• Yellow Pages
• Facebook
• Local Search
• Unstructured Citations

Non-structured citations usually come from mentions of your business such as press articles, social media posts, or blogs. These quotes include your business details (NAP) but are not presented in a standardised format.

3. Managing Online Reviews

Research shows that ratings and reviews are very important to how consumers make decisions. Data states that 85% of people read online reviews before buying a product. 

Customer reviews have an impact on acquiring new customers than many businesses realise. It’s important to respond to both positive and negative reviews to demonstrate that you’re actively engaged, regardless of the feedback’s nature.

Remember, online reviews are public, so it is important to manage them well. While positive reviews can increase your business credibility, you should never neglect negative reviews. Instead, you should know how to handle it and reduce their impact. 

Positive reviews can impact your position in the Local Pack and make it more possible for local searchers to interact with your business. By managing reviews, you’re not only optimising GBP but also building trust and transparency with your customers.

4. Researching Local Keywords 

Conducting research is not difficult with local SEO services for small businesses. You can start by making a list of all the services you offer. This will give you a starting point to identify the right keywords. 

Once you have come up with a list of keywords, you can find them on Google Trends to see if they are trending or not. Then, repeat this method to create a comprehensive list of local keywords that you can target.

Additionally, use keywords that include regions or cities in Australia in your business. For example, you could use phrases like ‘best coffee in Sydney’, ‘best places to eat in Melbourne’, or ‘seafood market in Perth’.

To do this, make sure your website language matches Australian English, by considering local expressions and spelling variations.

5. Implementing On-Page SEO

Website structure can be maximised to rank pages for targeted keywords. Therefore, a simple URL structure is recommended when creating multiple landing pages. 

To implement effective on-page SEO, keep the URL structure simple and not too complicated. Furthermore, to create a good site, here are the dos and don'ts of creating a local landing page.

What you shouldn't do on a local landing page

• Fake address.
• Keyword stuffing.
• Create a landing page in every location.

What to do on a local landing page

• Local NAP.
• Provide unique description services.
• Local map of the service area.
• Client testimonials.
• Case studies.

To implement on-page SEO, you have to figure out what's important to potential customers and provide the most useful information. To get faster, you can use SEO services in Australia.

6. Obtaining Link Building

To outrank your competition, getting links from popular sites to build credibility with search engines is important.

Backlinks, which are links from one website to another, play an important role in helping search engines recognise and rank your site. Google, for example, uses these links to determine how relevant your content is to a user's search query.

However, it’s important to obtain backlinks from high-quality websites. Trusted sites usually link to other reputable sources, whereas low-quality sites often do the opposite. This can be risky as Google may see it as manipulative link building, which can lead to penalties for your website.

In addition, some effective strategies for link-building include: 

• Quality blog content.
• Develop local resources.
• Unique research.
• Guest posting on other websites.
• Local press.

Link building is not a quick process, it requires good content development and sustainability within your community.

7. Use Google Autocomplete

Google Autocomplete helps you search faster by suggesting what you're looking for when you start typing. This feature is made to save time by predicting your keywords. It can also be useful for local SEO businesses because the suggestions are based on your website and location.

For example, if you are in Sydney, Australia, and type ‘best restaurants in’ in the search bar, you will see suggestions like this.

Conclusion

Those were 7 local SEO strategies for businesses in Australia to reach potential customers. It’s important to connect and optimise your customer with local SEO.

Implementing these strategies can improve your online presence, making your business more accessible to nearby customers. To experience this firsthand, consider investing in professional local SEO Services by cmlabs and watch your business grow on the website with SEO packages Australia.