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SEO for Local Success: The Importance of Tracking and Reporting
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  • February 15, 2024
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SEO for Local Success: The Importance of Tracking and Reporting

Boosting success with Local SEO involves more than just achieving top rankings and driving traffic to your website; it should also guarantee a return on investment (ROI). 

While SEO is crucial, there are other key elements to consider to impact your bottom line significantly.

What’s that?

Local SEO is a strategic, long-term approach that can steadily increase website traffic, enhance conversions, and amplify your overall marketing ROI when executed effectively. It’s not just about ranking higher; businesses often find themselves atop search engine results pages (SERPs) but fail to achieve the desired ROI.

So, how can you ensure you’re on the right path? What metrics should you track from the beginning of your campaign to ensure your SEO efforts yield results?

There are various methods and tools available to measure outcomes that lead to conversions, not just clicks. Understanding these metrics allows you to adjust your strategy promptly and maximise ROI.

Let’s delve deeper into this topic.

Local SEO for Success

Local Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is all about enhancing a business’s online presence to boost visibility in local search results. This strategy is particularly vital for brick-and-mortar stores or service-based businesses with physical locations, as it aims to attract customers within a specific geographic area.

However, achieving top positions in local search results isn’t the only goal; it’s equally important to ensure a positive return on investment (ROI).

Tracking and Reporting

Measuring and reporting the success of local SEO efforts is essential for refining your strategy. While the ultimate objective is usually increased leads and revenue, tracking incremental progress through rankings, traffic, and conversions is equally crucial.

This article offers insights on setting up and leveraging data from rank-tracking tools, website analytics, and call tracking to identify opportunities and accurately measure the successes of local SEO endeavours.

Local Ranking Report

If you’re diving into local SEO, you’ll need to set up tracking to monitor your rankings effectively. Here’s a step-by-step guide using tools with geo-grid map capabilities, like Local Falcon or Places Scout.

  1. Choose Your Tool
    Start by picking a tool like Local Falcon or Places Scout. These tools are great for accurately measuring local business rankings across any service area.

     

  2. Select Keywords
    When setting up your report, don’t just focus on one version of your top keywords. Add long-tail versions for a better representation. Make sure to track both explicit and implicit keywords. Implicit searches may not always show a map pack, so keep an eye on changes over time.

     

  3. Track Traffic-Driving Keywords
    Track keywords that already drive traffic to your website. To confirm that the keywords you want to target in Maps are getting organic search traffic, use Google Search Console.

     

  4. Consider Business Hours
    Google recently included business opening hours as a ranking factor. Run ranking scans when your business is open to get accurate results.

     

  5. Adjust Grid Size
    Set up the rank tracking grid size to match your business needs. Don’t set the grid for the entire distance if you operate within a specific radius, as it may not be accurate.

     

  6. Analyse Results
    Analyse your ranking grids to find opportunities for improvement. Check competitors outranking you and compare factors like review count, keywords in business names, and attributes. Prioritise enhancements based on low-hanging fruit.

     

  7. Evaluate Competitors’ Websites
    Evaluate the quality of competitors’ websites and Google Business Profile landing pages. Look for factors like internal linking, keyword focus, and content quality.

  8. Keyword Analysis
    Do keyword analysis to see your potential to improve local rankings for target keywords. Look at each competitor’s Share of Local Voice (SoLV) by keyword to gauge competition.

Measure and Report on Conversions

Monitoring ranking conversions involves observing the actions users take after clicking on a business’s listing in local search results. These actions may include visiting the business’s website, making a purchase, or requesting more information. There are various tools and techniques available for businesses to effectively track ranking conversions:

Utilising Google Analytics: Google Analytics is an excellent platform for tracking website traffic and conversions. It provides valuable insights into user behaviour and engagement. To ensure accurate data tracking in Google Analytics (GA4), businesses should configure their settings in the backend. This includes adjusting factors like data retention, session timeout, and cross-platform tracking to maximise accuracy. Employing a GA4 expert for this task can be immensely beneficial, as they can navigate the nuances of the platform and set it up effectively for local traffic. Collaborating with an experienced professional can save businesses from potential complications in the future.

Thoroughly Reviewing Lead Sources: Once confident in the recorded data, it’s essential to review all sources of leads on the website. This involves ensuring that every avenue through which leads are generated is properly tracked. Examples of lead sources may include contact forms, phone calls, newsletter sign-ups, and chat interactions. By meticulously reviewing lead sources, businesses can ensure comprehensive tracking of ranking conversions and optimise their strategies accordingly.

Track Calls

Implementing call tracking can greatly benefit your business by providing valuable insights that enable better-informed marketing decisions. Here are some ways call tracking can positively impact your company:

Improve Marketing Spend: Instead of relying on assumptions, call tracking provides precise data on the number and types of calls generated by specific advertisements. This ensures that you allocate your marketing budget wisely to the most effective ads, distinguishing between genuine leads and irrelevant inquiries.

Evaluate Leads: Call tracking goes beyond simply measuring call volume; it accurately identifies real leads generated by different ads. By understanding which advertisements attract the right customers for your business, you can assess true marketing performance and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Incorporating call tracking into your business strategy not only provides valuable insights into your marketing efforts but also empowers you to optimize your resources and improve customer engagement.

Summary: Measuring and reporting the performance of local SEO efforts is vital for refining your strategy. Start your reporting early to enjoy the benefits. If you’re unsure where to begin, don’t worry. Contact our SEO experts in Chandigarh at Gigsoft Pro for assistance and answers to your queries.