Most businesses start small. Before you can cater to a diverse audience, it is imperative to create a strong local footprint. Don’t forget, all the big brands of today started small, whether it be Apple or Walt Disney.

The good news is that in today’s time, it is quite easy to reach a local audience. Most of them are present online! After all, according to Statista, over 50 percent of the global population currently has internet.

And local searches are significantly more common on search engines. As per Go Gulf, 46 percent of the searches conducted on Google look for local information. And HubSpot further reports that 72 percent of consumers that conduct local Google searches end up visiting the store.

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Therefore, you must ensure that you have a strong local presence. To do so, you can make use of the various tools available. Here are four tools that will be of immense help when you are trying to dominate the local market.

Ubersuggest

Keywords are an essential part of any SEO strategy, whether it be general or local. However, in the case of local optimization, the type of keywords used are different. Here, location-specific long-tail keywords become more important.

One tool that helps during keyword research is Ubersuggest. This freemium SEO tool is made for generating keywords from topics.

1. Keyword ideas

To get keyword ideas with Ubersuggest, all you need to do is type a given keyword into the platform and viola; the tool suggests a variety of long-tail keyword ideas you can use to create content that will help your site get indexed on Google for high intent search terms.

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To make sure you select the one with the most reach and traffic, Ubersuggest also offers key metrics for each keyword. This includes average CPC, monthly search volume, PPC, and SEO competition.

At times, you will find a trade-off between the metrics. For starters, a keyword with a high monthly search volume might also feature high competition, and hence the difficulty of getting a good ranking in.

Additionally, there are different types of keywords you can search for, namely:

• Suggestions: Words covering a given topic
• Related: Words related to the seed, but not always on the exact topic
• Questions: Keywords phrased in the form of questions
• Prepositions: Keywords that have two concepts in one search, for instance, “Local SEO tools for Ecommerce.”
• Comparison: A list of common comparisons made by searchers, related to the keyword

You can use a mixture of high performing keywords to optimize your content best.

2. Keyword Overview

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Ubersuggest also provides its users with data regarding their keyword search. The information delivered includes:

• Search Volume Trend and Overview: General information about the keyword along with its ranking in the past year
• Domain Score and Average Backlinks: Suggestions about how many backlinks are required for the keyword to enter the first page of search results

The keyword overview can be combined with the first feature to choose the right words.

3. Content ideas

Even if you have the right words in your content, if the blog itself is not relevant to your target audience, you won’t be able to generate traffic. This is where Ubersuggest’s content ideas come in handy.

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The platform provides a list of topics that are known to drive traffic, social media mentions, and backlinks.

In Short

While there are various other features provided by Ubersuggest, the three discussed are highly useful during the most integral and primary stages of local SEO.

BrightLocal

The local citation and SEO platform have a plethora of features, each of which helps in boosting the visibility of a local business. Here are some of its local SEO specific features that are highly recommended.

1. Location Dashboard

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To make the right decisions, you must have a clear understanding and view of your SEO health. Here, Location Dashboard comes into the equation, which allows you to see all the relevant local SEO information in one place.

2. Local SEO rank checker

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Via the tracker, a business can keep tabs on their ranks, regardless of the platform. This includes organic, mobile, local pack, and map ranks. You can also filter the feature down to track your business at a postal code or city level.

3. Local Citation Tracker

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The Citation Tracker helps in monitoring existing citations, locate duplicate listings, access a full NAP audit, as well as manage all citation work. It also helps highlight inaccurate citations as well as eliminate citations that end up harming your ranking.

In Short

Yes, BrightLocal provides a diverse range of services, and each has its own benefits. However, we find its local citation and keyword ranking features to be ideal for reaching a local audience.

Rize Reviews

As per the Search Engine Journal, 91 percent of young consumers trust online reviews. Since businesses are bound to receive both positive and negative reviews, it is imperative to manage your reputation through tools like Rize Reviews.

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Rize Reviews is a reputation management tool that gathers and tracks feedback, customer satisfaction as well as publishes positive reviews on a variety of online channels. This can help your local business in boosting its image as well as initiating word of mouth for its projects.

1. Customized Brand Messages

Since each brand has a unique voice, Rize Reviews customizes messages which are aligned with your brand voice. These messages can then be sent out as email or comment responses to positive and negative reviews.

2. CRM and POS Integration

Rize Reviews integrates with different POS and CRMs to help eliminate any manual work required to manage reviews. Instead, the process is automated so that your customers are contacted smoothly for reviews.

3. Multiple locations

Even if a given business is serving one city today doesn’t mean it will never expand. Rize Reviews allows businesses to add locations as you grow. This allows for effective management.

In Short

Whether it be embedding websites, eliminating negative feedback, or highlighting positive reviews, Rize Reviews has features for it all.

Ending Remarks

Use these four tools, along with local SEO tactics, to reach a satisfactory search engine ranking for local searches. Let us know how it fares for you.