Learn how to use local SEO reports to get the right data for boosting your organic traffic. These reports provide a treasure trove of important information for any local business. Organization and analysis of such data allow you to make informed decisions about the direction of your SEO efforts.
Furthermore, we’ll also share the best practices when using SEO reports to help you start. This section will be especially useful for beginners who have never used SEO reports in the past. Every bit of help you can get to beat competitors is positive for your business.
Keep reading for a complete overview of what local SEO reports are all about.
Table of Contents
Local SEO Report: What Is It?
A local SEO report provides a detailed analysis of a website’s performance in search engine rankings within a specific geographic area. Anyone engaging in geolocation marketing should take advantage of these reports.
This report typically includes key metrics such as keyword rankings, organic traffic, citation consistency, online reviews, and local backlinks. In the following section, we’ll discuss each one in more detail.
The goal of a local SEO report is to assess how well you optimize a business for local search queries and identify areas for improvement. Furthermore, it tracks changes in rankings, visibility, and search volume for targeted keywords.
The majority of SEO tools will provide a report of some kind. However, it’s beneficial if you can uncover the tools that also offer a focus for local SEO. This ensures that you can narrow down your SEO campaign to a specific geographic area.
Local SEO Report Template: What’s Included?
Now, let’s focus on the different aspects of what you might find in a local SEO report template. You’ll see the power of these reports since they are packed full of useful information.
Hence, you’ll see that it’s worthwhile to make time to look at these reports for yourself.
1. Keyword Rankings
A Local SEO report tracks how well a website ranks for specific keywords related to the business and its location. This includes both general and long-tail keywords that local customers might search for. You can also use this data to create a local SEO blog.
Overall, by analyzing keyword performance, businesses can identify which terms drive traffic and which ones need improvement. Furthermore, the report compares rankings with competitors in the local area. It means you can figure out the performance difference with competitors and what it might take to beat them.
2. Google My Business Performance
Google My Business is essential for local SEO success, and you will find information about it in most SEO reports. You’ll typically get insights into how well the business is performing on GMB.
This includes tracking key data like views, clicks, and customer actions such as calls or requests for directions.
It might also provide an analysis of customer reviews, ratings, and how well the business ranks in the local pack. This is important if you want to have better visibility on Google Maps when users run a local search.
3. Citation Consistency
Citations refer to mentions of a business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) across the web. This is the key information about your business that must stay consistent to maintain good online visibility.
Hence, an SEO report checks the consistency of this information across various local directories, social media platforms, and review sites.
Inconsistent or inaccurate NAP data can harm a business’s local SEO rankings. Therefore, SEO tools do a job of gathering data and reporting any errors in an automated fashion.
Furthermore, citation consistency is crucial for building trust with search engines. Also, it ensures that the business appears prominently in local search results.
4. Online Reviews and Reputation Management
The report also analyzes customer reviews from platforms like Google, Yelp, and other review sites. Positive reviews and a high average rating improve local SEO performance. That’s because search engines value businesses with strong reputations.
Furthermore, the report assesses the number, quality, and frequency of reviews. These are the key metrics you can work toward improving. Overall, effective reputation management is key to building trust with both search engines and potential customers.
Don’t have money for a paid SEO tool? Then, you can use Google Analytics free of charge to receive the data.
5. Local Backlinks
Local backlinks are links from other websites relevant to the same geographical area. In the report, you will find the number and quality of backlinks pointing to a business’s website.
Furthermore, it evaluates the authority and relevance of these links. Building these links is one of the core strategies for increasing organic traffic.
The report may also provide suggestions for acquiring new local backlinks through partnerships, sponsorships, or local events. These suggestions are extremely important for users who need assistance with backlink acquisition.
6. Organic Traffic
Organic traffic refers to the visitors who find a website through non-paid search results. Local SEO reports should include the volume and sources of organic traffic. These are tangible results that you can use to figure out what’s working and what needs improvement.
A good quality report will also show which keywords, pages, or blog posts are driving the most local traffic. Furthermore, the accuracy of this data is key for making the right conclusions at the end of the analysis process.
7. Competitor Analysis
Analysis of local competitors helps determine where the business stands in terms of visibility and search rankings. As a local business owner, you need to know what your competition is up to and how to beat them. This will help you secure more customers and increase the market share.
Therefore, the report compares keyword performance, backlinks, online reviews, and GMB profiles of top competitors. This information will help you identify opportunities to outrank competitors or adopt new strategies.
Can You Get a Free Local SEO Report?
Yes, you can get a free local SEO report by using software such as Google Analytics. This software has the advantage of providing data right from the top search engine. It ensures that the data is more accurate, and you can trust the numbers.
Furthermore, many paid geotargeting SEO tools provide free trials or freemium account versions. These are ideal if you want to get your hands on a free SEO report to see if the software is worth buying. It’s especially handy for business owners who are on a tight budget.
Note that to get the best local SEO reporting, you’ll need to pay for the premium plans. These are the ones that usually include the most information and give you the best chance to succeed.
4 Best Practices When Using SEO Reports
We’ll now cover the different best practices you should keep in mind when using SEO reports to boost local organic traffic. These are proven tips that your best competitors are most likely already using to improve their location-based marketing.
1. Regularly Review and Update SEO Reports
SEO is dynamic, with frequent changes in algorithms, rankings, and user behavior. Therefore, regularly reviewing SEO reports ensures you stay up to date with performance trends. Also, you can quickly respond to any negative shifts in rankings or traffic.
Additionally, consistent reviews also help monitor the impact of implemented strategies. This means you can identify new opportunities and adapt to competitor actions. Being agile is an advantage when competitors aren’t doing the same.
2. Set Clear and Measurable goals
It’s essential to set specific and measurable goals for your SEO strategy. These goals might include increasing local traffic, boosting conversion rates, and improving keyword rankings. Therefore, you know what information to look at in your SEO reports.
Furthermore, having clear objectives allows you to focus on the most relevant data in the report and track progress effectively. It also helps in aligning SEO efforts with business outcomes. Overall, goals provide direction, thereby making it easier to interpret the report’s insights and measure success.
3. Track Competitor Performance
Monitoring competitor performance is an essential best practice when using SEO reports. Understanding what competitors are doing well and identifying gaps in their strategies provides valuable insights.
Also, it can help you figure out what keywords to target and avoid. You don’t want to throw resources at keywords that are highly competitive. Instead, you want to find keywords with little competition yet have good demand.
Make sure that the location marketing platform you choose offers the features you need for competitor analysis.
4. Monitor Mobile Performance
Over 50% of internet traffic is due to mobile users. Therefore, you need to optimize for mobiles, which takes extra work. However, it’s well worth it since customers in your local area typically use mobile to find local businesses.
Here are the top things to consider when using SEO reports with mobile optimization in mind:
- Evaluate user mobile experience: Local SEO reports often include user engagement metrics like bounce rates and session durations. High bounce rates on mobile indicate poor UX, and it’s a sign that you need to make improvements. Try to optimize navigation, streamline forms, and reduce image sizes to enhance the experience.
- Page speed insights: Use the page speed metrics from SEO reports to enhance mobile performance. That’s because slow-loading pages drive users away. You can compress images, minimize redirects, and use AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) to reduce load times. This optimization ensures local users stay engaged when visiting your site on mobile.
- Mobile-friendly structured data: Check structured data errors in your SEO reports. Structured data helps search engines understand your content, thereby improving mobile display in local search results.
- Mobile conversion rate analysis: SEO reports reveal mobile conversion rates, which you’ll need to improve for the best results. Use this data to fix mobile checkout processes, reduce friction, and implement mobile-friendly payment methods.
- Track mobile keyword performance: Check how local keywords perform on mobile searches. Often, mobile users use different search terms that you need to be aware of. Use these insights to tailor your content and ads to mobile users, thereby optimizing for keywords that resonate locally.
Frequently Asked Questions
What metrics are commonly included in a local SEO report?
Common metrics in an SEO report include keyword rankings, local traffic analysis, mobile search performance, and citation consistency. Furthermore, you can get Google My Business insights, customer reviews, backlink profiles, and competitor performance.
Why are local SEO reports important?
Local SEO reports help businesses understand how they rank in local search results. Also, they provide insights into visibility, traffic, and engagement from local audiences. You can use this data to get ahead of competitors in your niche.
Furthermore, these reports allow businesses to identify areas for improvement and optimize their strategy. It ensures they’re targeting the right customers in their local area without wasting resources.
How often should I review local SEO reports?
It’s recommended to review local SEO reports at least monthly to track progress and make timely adjustments. Overall, regular analysis helps identify trends, spot new opportunities, and address any issues quickly.
You may want to set up a schedule where you check the SEO report for different local areas periodically. This ensures you never go too long between checks and miss important information.
How can I use local SEO reports for competitor analysis?
SEO reports for local areas often include competitor performance data, and you need to analyze this in detail. This includes keyword rankings, backlink profiles, and local citations. The information helps identify where your competitors excel and where you can outperform them.
Normally, you might need to overhaul your local SEO approach after inspecting competitor data. That’s because you must adapt to the changing landscape to apply the best approach.
How do reviews impact local SEO reports?
Customer reviews are a critical factor in local SEO. Therefore, local SEO reports often track review volume, rating averages, and response rates. You’ll find that positive reviews boost your local rankings, while negative ones can harm your reputation.
Managing and responding to reviews is a big part of ensuring your local SEO is competitive. However, you’ll need the SEO reports to get the key information to make the right strategic decisions.
Can SEO reports for local search help identify site errors?
Yes, many local SEO reports highlight technical issues affecting your rankings. Top examples include broken links, missing metadata, slow page speed, or indexing errors.
Fixing these issues can significantly boost your site’s visibility in local searches. However, you’ll need to check the reports often to stay on top of new problems.
Start Using SEO Reports Today for Local Search
The large amount of data you receive from SEO reports makes them a key asset for any business owner. You need to get into the habit of checking the reports, and the best practices in this article will help.
Make sure to use a high-quality tool that offers detailed local SEO reports. Hence, you get all of the information in a way that’s presented in a neat fashion. You may need to try a few SEO software solutions and compare them before making the right choice.
Do you want to improve your local SEO efforts? Then, you can use geoPlugin to gather IP addresses and turn them into geolocation data. This can boost your location-based marketing efforts.
So what are you waiting for? Give geoPlugin a try today, and don’t look back!
