How Local SEO Helps Attract Local Australian Customers

A Beginner’s Guide to Local SEO for Small Businesses

Your competitors are potentially leaving you behind when it comes to local, Map-based Google search results, and local SEO can help you keep up, or even get ahead.

If you’re a small business owner, you might already know how important it is to attract good-quality, local website traffic.

We’ve talked extensively about SEO in the past, we’ve defined it, gone through some top tips, and even some myths, and we’ve even covered the costs of SEO in Australia.

Have we ever specifically talked about Local SEO and how it is different to the other Search Engine Optimisation strategies? Maybe, we couldn’t find a good enough post in our Archive so here’s a fresh one.

Read on below how Local SEO can help you attract more customers to your Australian business.

What exactly is Local SEO?

A local SEO (or Local Search Engine Optimisation) strategy is widely used in online business marketing in the recent few years, especially for businesses with physical premises.

Local search engine optimisation services are much different from your average SEO campaign and provide the opportunity to turn the results upside down in no time.

The main focus with local SEO is to increase ranking for “near me” and local searches and by increasing the probability of ranking on the Google Map Pack. This is typically achieved through extensive Google My Business optimisation, using local keywords on website content.

How Small Businesses Benefit from Local SEO

With the help of local SEO services, businesses can promote their products and services to customers in their area whenever users search for relevant keywords. Local SEO technique makes use of the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) and various business directories (Yelp, Hotfrog, Superpages, Yellowpages, etc.) to improve the visibility of your business in the Search Engine result pages close to your business, in your local community, town, or city.

Local SEO helps you gain the relevant Search Engine visibility and quickly starts to attract potential customers towards your products and services.

The implementation of local SEO, however, can be quite tricky. As Google is putting more emphasis on location-based search than ever, and customers realising the potential business gains by being more visible on the Map Results Pack.

There is a good chance your competitors are engaging in some form of improving their local rankings, so now is high time to analyse your current local SEO strategies, and whether you’re being left behind.

There are many things that you can do to attract the local customers. Let’s jump onto it.

Optimising for Local SEO

Optimising for Local SEO is not as challenging as ranking on a state or national level, however still requires reasonable, and continuous efforts, in order to keep growing and stay ahead of the competition.

Let’s look at some of the main areas you’ll need to consider.

Accuracy and Consistency In Your NAP

NAP stands for name, address, and phone number.

The NAP information displayed on your websites and different social media sites should be highly accurate. According to a survey conducted by Moz, NAP affects the search results by 21 percent.

The accuracy of NAP plays a critical role in local search engine optimisation. If you accidentally made some typo in your NAP (for example, you cited your office address wrongly), then chances are directories will register your business inaccurately, and your business won’t be listed in the top search results.

Consistency is another factor. The NAP has to be consistent across all the local directories, listings, and citations. Keep your NAP updated if you change the name, address or phone number of your business and update it everywhere it is listed.

Claim Your Business On Google My Business

Google My Business is the epicenter of your Local SEO efforts. This profile needs to be polished with as much information on it as it’ll allow you to put in.

It is tremendous the amount of information Google pulls from Google My Business (GMB) in order to seed listings to the Google Map Pack, and if you’re not optimising your GMB profile, you won’t be able to compete.

Even if you already have a Google My Business Page, then the following pieces of advice is a great checklist to go through to improve your GMB ranking.

The first step to setting up your Google My Business profile is to head to the Google My Business website and claim your business listing.

This should be done as a matter of urgency as a verified profile carries a lot of SEO authority. then you should set you your Google business page up ASAP. In order to set up your GMB profile in the most optimised way here’s what you need to do:

• Craft a Detailed Description
  Give potential customers the lowdown on your business with a thorough, keyword-rich summary that highlights your services and brand personality. Google loves clarity and context—so the more specifics you add, the better.

• Include a Phone Number
  Make sure your number is front and center, so it’s easy for people to reach you. Plus, having accurate contact details across all platforms goes a long way toward building trust with both customers and Google.

• Pick the Perfect Category
  Google needs to know what kind of business you run. By choosing the most accurate and specific category, you stand a better chance of showing up in the right local searches.

• List Your Hours
  Nobody likes guesswork—display your opening and closing times so customers know exactly when they can pop in. It also helps Google serve your info to users at the right time.

• Show Off Your Space
  Upload multiple, high-quality photos that spotlight your storefront, products, or services. Nothing beats a good visual to make you more memorable than the competition.

• Keep Your Address Consistent
  Use the exact same address on your website, directories, and Google My Business listing. Consistency matters—Google wants to see matching info across the board.

• Ask for Reviews and Feedback
  Encourage happy customers to leave glowing reviews, and don’t forget to respond (politely!) to all feedback. Genuine engagement shows new visitors you care about their experience and keeps you looking sharp in Google’s eyes.

Tips to Optimise Your Google My Business Profile

Here are a few quick wins to help your Google My Business listing stand out and draw in more local customers:

• Keep Your Details Accurate and Consistent
  Make sure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are correct across every online platform. Trust me, Google loves consistency.

• Add Eye-Catching Photos and Videos
  High-quality images of your storefront, products, or team foster trust and help customers see what you’re all about before they even visit.

• Select the Right Categories and Attributes
  Be as specific as possible when choosing your categories, and use attributes (like “wheelchair accessible” or “women-led”) to highlight unique aspects of your business.

• Encourage and Respond to Reviews
  Good reviews boost your credibility. Politely ask satisfied customers to drop a review, then jump in and reply—good or bad—to show you’re engaged and care about feedback.

• Post Regular Updates or Offers
  Keep your profile fresh by posting updates, events, or special deals. These mini-posts can grab attention and nudge local searchers toward your business.

• Use Targeted Keywords in Your Description
  A well-crafted business description that naturally includes your main services and location can help Google understand exactly what you do and where you do it.

Optimising Your Website for Local SEO

Link Building

Unlike standard SEO campaigns, local SEO services depend much more on the external links from other websites that are relevant to your business.

Actively building links is frowned upon by Google but if done in a sustainable and strategic way, Link Building should most definitely be part of your SEO strategy.

For Local SEO you’re most likely just wanting the NAP citations we spoke about earlier.

On a more advanced level, getting links from websites that are local to you and which deal with the same businesses will give you an additional boost.

If you can, link on prominent business websites to legitimise your website with Google and to pick up on referral site traffic.

Sometimes you’ll need to pay these websites a small fee to host your content and links. In an ideal scenario, you can find yourself somebody to whom you can give your services to away for free, as opposed to paying.

On-Page Optimization Of Your Website

On-Page optimisation of your website or simply landing page plays a vital role in local SEO.

If you’re trying to rank high on Google for your particular keyword, and you’re not actively speaking about said keyword on your website, are you even trying to rank at all?

The point is, be speaking about your expertise like the seasoned pro that you are.

Ensure you’re seeing a clear and concise information hierarchy on your website, because in most cases that’s all On-Page SEO concerns itself with.

Obviously, you’ll need a website, to begin with.

Ask For Reviews

Google allows customers to leave feedback about your business. If your reviews are positive, and you are getting good ratings, then it would help your website be displayed on the top of the search results.

While also technically against Google Terms of Service, the reality is, hardly anybody is going to go out of their way to leave a you a 5-star review unless you blew them away, or you’ve prompted them to.

Remind your customers to leave feedback about your business. It will help separate you from those competitors who have none, or very little, reviews.

Social proof is super important.

Claim Yelp Listing

While it doesn’t get the best of reputations, it will still count towards your NAP citations, from what is known to be a very reputable website.

So, claim your listing on Yelp. Add a Yelp badge to your website. It will encourage people to review you on Yelp, which certainly can’t hurt.

Some sweet reviews on Yelp would help your website a lot.

If you have excellent services and products, then you are likely to get positive reviews. Google now considers your Yelp presence such as some reviews and how positive they are, before displaying the search results.

Increase Site Speed

Google has placed importance on site loading speeds for a long time.

It makes sense. Doesn’t it?

Google is there to look after website visitors and if those people are having to chug through a 20-second load time, noody is winning.

As a rule of thumb we say that you’re losing about 50% of your website traffic if your site takes 5 seconds to fully load. That’s not a lot of time.

Ensure you’re getting quality hosting that is local to your business. Don’t go with the cheap providers to save a few dollars, you’re shooting yourself in the foot by doing so. You’ll just miss out on customers who’ve decided to go to a site that will load within a respectable timeframe.

We’re aiming for 2-3 seconds load time.

Add Images For Searching

Adding images to your website can have a huge effect on your site.

It changes the way how your site is perceived. Adding interesting images relevant to your business would be a significant advantage when it comes to local SEO.

The search engines can not crawl images without any alt tags, so make sure there are alt tags for any meaningful image on your pages you’re trying to rank.

If Google knows how to find you, it can start sending customers your way too.

Just be sure to compress images down. Uploading high-resolution photos directly from your iPhone or photographer will mean you’re blowing out your load speeds again.

Keep Your Site Mobile Friendly

Did you know most people have mobile phones these days? Crazy, right?

Well, these people are using their mobile to visit your website, and they’ve been doing so for years.

So much so that Google has decided to rank you based on the mobile version of your website, and no longer the desktop version.

Those are serious implications for companies who are looking for new customers from online traffic, but are still sitting on a non-mobile friendly website.

Responsive design starts from the ground up. Make sure your web designer is delivering a website that’s built for mobiles first. This means building modules that are also visible on the smaller screens.

Embrace Local Content Creation

Creating content that resonates with your local audience is crucial for Local SEO success. Start by identifying local events, news, and issues that matter to your community. Then, craft blog posts, videos, infographics, or podcasts around these topics. This not only boosts your local relevance but also positions your business as a local authority.

For example, if you run a café in Melbourne, you might post about the best coffee beans available in Victoria, or sponsor a local barista competition and write about it.

Utilize Local Keywords

Incorporate local keywords throughout your website content, not just in the metadata and headings. These keywords should reflect the way local customers speak and search for your products or services. Tools like Google Keyword Planner can help you discover location-specific keywords to target.

For instance, instead of targeting “best plumbing services,” aim for “best plumbing services in Brisbane” if that’s your service area.

Optimize for ‘Near Me’ Searches

With the rise of mobile search, “near me” queries have become incredibly popular. Ensure your website and content are optimized for these searches.

Mention neighborhoods, landmarks, and local phrases naturally in your content to capture this audience. Also, ensure your site is mobile-friendly, as most “near me” searches are performed on mobile devices.

Engage with Local Communities Online

Participate in local forums, Facebook groups, and other social platforms where your target audience spends time. Answer questions, provide value, and subtly promote your business without being spammy.

This increases your visibility and helps build local backlinks organically.

Feature Local Customers in Case Studies

Create case studies featuring local customers or clients. This not only demonstrates your success and reliability but also increases local relevance. Share these case studies on your website and social media to attract more local customers.

Implement Structured Data Markup

Use structured data markup (Schema.org) to help search engines better understand the context of your content. This can include your business’s NAP details, opening hours, and even events or products.

Structured data helps enhance your visibility in local search results and increases the chances of appearing in rich snippets.

Monitor Your Local SEO Performance

Track your local SEO efforts using tools like Google Analytics and Google Search Console. Pay attention to metrics like local search rankings, traffic from local searches, and conversion rates.

This data will help you refine your strategy and focus on what works best for your Australian audience.

Summing Up

Well there you have, a few simple Local SEO hacks to get you ranking on the map pack and to start converting these into actual paying local customers.

Remember, Local SEO isn’t a one-off task but an ongoing effort. As Google’s algorithms and the local competitive landscape evolve, so should your strategies. Keep engaging with your community, updating your content, and monitoring your performance to stay ahead in the local search game.

For businesses aiming to dominate the Australian market, tailoring your SEO practices to meet the unique needs of local consumers is not just beneficial; it’s essential.

As always, if you have any questions let us know via social media or by getting in touch.