!Local SEO is a type of search engine optimisation (SEO) that focuses on improving a business's visibility in local search results. These search results are shown when someone searches for a business or service in a specific area. For example, they might search for ‘financial advisor in Bristol’ or ‘Best restaurant near me’.

Any business with a physical location, be it a country, city or even a local neighborhood, that is looking to increase traffic, can benefit from this. Read on to find out top tips and strategies to help your business succeed in this area.

Avoiding Deceptive SERP Results

Don’t be fooled by the results you see! Before we start, it is important to understand that the results you see on your own computer may not accurately reflect reality. This is due to personalised results. Search engines will often show you results based on your search history and browsing behaviour. This can skew the results you see when you search for your own site in Google, so it is best to use an SEO tool to track your rankings and give you unbiased search results.

Local SEO Strategies

• Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (GBP) is a free tool that allows you to create/claim a listing for your business on Google maps. It is the essential starting point for any local SEO. Make sure your listing is fully optimised with all your business details. Keep the listing up to date with any changes and you can also publish news and promotional items like you can on social media. While filling out this business profile also hop over to Bing and fill out their equivalent on Bing Places.

Below is a comprehensive guide on how to setup Google Analytics 4 on your WordPress and Joomla websites.  

If you set this up to run alongside your existing Universal Analytics account, you will need to opt our of the automatic upgrade that google is planning to do on February 28th.  To opt out you need to:

1. Go to your Google Analytics account, click on Admin
2. Under the Property column click on GA4 Setup Assistant
3. Under ‘Automatically set up a basic Google Analytics 4 property’ click on the toggle button to turn off.
4. Repeat this for any other views you have set up in your account.

Read more about the pros and cons of opting out here.  

GA4 Setup

1. Login to Google Analytics and select your account property
2. Click on Admin

What is a WordPress Multisite?

A network of websites that uses the same WordPress installation - core files, database, themes and plugins.  Run from a central dashboard, but with the ability to create and manage websites individually, the overall management and maintenance of the system is streamlined and very efficient.   

A multisite is ideal if the websites within it are for the same organisation or their representatives. They are especially useful where the cost of setting up and managing separate but similar website installations is prohibitive.

If your websites are for completely different organisations, have very different purposes, or have specific technical or legal requirements, you should consider separate installations for each website.