Local SEO for Your Marketing Agency: How to Get More Leads from Local Organic Searches

Just because you’re a marketing agency doesn’t mean that you automatically have the lock on local SEO or any optimization efforts for that matter. There’s a lot to learn, after all, and trying to keep up with the constant changes and algorithm shifts can be a full-time job in and of itself. Fortunately, there is plenty you can do to boost your local SEO efforts. 

Local search optimization is all about appeasing the search engine gods—if you can’t figure out the equation, you might feel like it’s impossible. However, it’s not as complex as most people assume. The biggest thing that gets overlooked is that it is about so much more than keywords. 

What makes local SEO work?

As a part of your larger overall SEO strategy, your local efforts are all about building a reputable local brand image for your company. That sense of authority and reliability goes far with today’s customers and if you want to represent the biggest and best for their marketing needs, you need to prove that you are also the best for them. 

Before we get into the details, here’s a rundown of the biggest elements involved in the process:

1. Optimize your Google Business Profile 
2. Engage on social media and in business directories
3. Have a consistent NAP (name, address, phone number)
4. Perform an audit of your existing content 
5. Optimize URLs, titles, headers, descriptions, etc. 
6. Create local content
7. Use mobile-first design to create a mobile-friendly presence
8. Participate in local events and community efforts
9. Build relationships to get inbound links

Within this list, we can easily break these into a few main categories of things you need to cover, which we’ll discuss below. 

Local presence and engagement

Taking the time to create and complete your Google Business Profile can go a long way in helping you get the visibility and credibility that you seek. 

Content optimization and keyword research

It’s important to remember that keyword research will be required here. You can’t just slap a city onto the name of your marketing agency and expect to get found. Even if it works, if that is all you do, the search engines will notice and they will take away valuable points for that. Take the time to research the best local keywords that your marketing agency can use to get the results that you desire. 

Don’t just optimize on-page content, either. On-page refers to your website, and while that should be properly optimized, you also have to take a look at your off-page visibility, SEO, and reputation. Google may count these as more valuable than your on-page SEO, collectively, or they might just decide that you need more of both. 

Relationship and reputation building

This kind of goes along with engagement, but it’s about making the right engagements and providing people with the information that puts you in the position of being an authority on the subject. When you’re taking care of the other items on this list, you’ll find that sometimes reputation and relationships come along with the effort. In other cases, you’ll need to reach out and build those relationships yourself. 

You can do this by:

• Offering useful, authoritative information with no expectations
• Delivering the best solutions for your target client’s problem 
• Engaging and interacting on social media to build personal connections
• Verifying your business information and its consistency
• Creating a strong brand voice and increasing your online visibility
• Generating repeat business with satisfied customers

There are several parts of SEO that have to do with reputation management and getting those right will make much more of a difference than whether you use the right keywords at the right time. Granted, both are important and need to be considered in your strategy, but there’s something to be said for companies that build a solid brand with high online visibility these days. 

Ask Around

You’re in marketing. If you’re not well-versed in local SEO best practices, you should check in with someone who is. It may not be in your wheelhouse to worry about SEO. In some cases, small companies and startups just don’t know what they’re doing, let alone who to ask about making a course correction. Regardless, being able to hear others’ stories of success with local SEO and other optimization efforts can do a lot for your own success. 

On the topic of “asking around,” it’s also important to consider if you actually need to outsource your relationship building and local SEO efforts to a team that’s dedicated to that end. On the other hand, you might think that you can handle it all yourself, and that’s fine. Follow the tips in this guide and hope for no major hiccups. 

Local SEO does not just happen. It takes a lot of work and dedication, and a lot of help. Whether it’s drumming up business, testing out marketing policies, or even just trying to understand what it is local optimization can do, it’s going to take some research and effort. Fortunately, now that you’re better informed, it should be easier than you anticipated. 

Are you ready for the increase in business?

Even in the business of marketing, you probably have your hands full with your local SEO efforts. Fortunately, the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai are here to help, as your 24/7 answering service and leading source for appointment scheduling, lead intake, live website chat, and so much more. 

Still working out the kinks in the original marketing plans or just not sure where to go with outreach? Ask about our outreach campaigns and outbound sales assistance and let us take care of it. Plus, you’ll get it all with a dedicated, customized strategy for success so that your agency doesn’t miss a thing. 

You can learn more when you schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai to see how our virtual receptionists can help improve your marketing agency’s local SEO. 

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