Tracking and measuring the success of your local SEO efforts is crucial to understanding what’s working and where improvements are needed. Local SEO can involve many moving parts—from optimizing Google My Business profiles to building local citations—so it’s essential to monitor the performance of each aspect to ensure your strategy is driving traffic, generating leads, and improving rankings in local search results.
This guide will cover how to effectively track your local SEO performance, the key metrics to monitor, and the tools you can use to measure your progress and make data-driven decisions.
Why Tracking Local SEO is Important
Without proper tracking, it’s difficult to know whether your local SEO efforts are paying off. Tracking your local SEO performance provides you with valuable insights into how your business is ranking in local searches, how much traffic you’re receiving, and whether you’re attracting the right kind of local customers. This data allows you to make informed adjustments to your strategy and ensures you’re getting the best return on investment (ROI).
Here’s why tracking local SEO is essential:
1. Measure Success and ROI
Tracking performance helps you understand how well your local SEO strategy is performing in relation to your goals. Are you generating more website traffic? Are you receiving more inquiries or calls from local customers? By measuring key metrics, you can evaluate whether your investment in local SEO is delivering the desired results.
2. Identify Areas for Improvement
Tracking data allows you to spot weaknesses in your local SEO strategy. For instance, if your business isn’t ranking as well in certain locations, or if your Google My Business profile isn’t attracting enough views, you can adjust your approach accordingly. Performance tracking highlights areas where you need to improve, such as citation building, review generation, or content optimization.
3. Stay Competitive in Local Search
Local SEO is a competitive landscape, and tracking performance helps you stay ahead of your competitors. By monitoring your rankings and visibility, you can quickly adapt to changes in search algorithms or competitors’ tactics, ensuring your business remains at the top of local search results.
Key Metrics to Track for Local SEO
When tracking local SEO performance, there are several key metrics that you should monitor regularly. These metrics provide insight into how well your business is ranking in local searches and how users are interacting with your website and Google My Business profile.
1. Local Search Rankings
One of the most important metrics to track is your business’s ranking in local search results. Monitor your position in the Local Pack (the top three local listings that appear in Google search results) and Google Maps for relevant local keywords. Tracking your rankings over time helps you understand whether your local SEO efforts are improving your visibility in local searches.
You should track rankings for:
- Targeted local keywords: For example, “plumber in [city]” or “best Italian restaurant near me.”
- Mobile vs. desktop rankings: Local searches are often conducted on mobile devices, so it’s important to track both mobile and desktop search performance.
2. Google My Business Insights
Google My Business (GMB) provides valuable insights into how users are finding and interacting with your business listing. GMB Insights shows how often your business appears in search results, how many users view your listing, and what actions they take (such as calling your business, visiting your website, or requesting directions).
Key metrics to monitor in GMB Insights include:
- Search views: How many times your GMB profile appears in search results.
- Map views: How often users find your business in Google Maps.
- Customer actions: The number of calls, website visits, and direction requests generated from your GMB listing.
- Queries used to find your business: The search queries that users are entering to find your GMB profile.
3. Website Traffic from Local Searches
Measuring the amount of traffic your website receives from local searches is critical for assessing your local SEO success. Use Google Analytics to track the number of visitors who come to your website via organic local search, as well as referral traffic from local directories or citations.
Important metrics to track in Google Analytics include:
- Organic traffic: The number of users who arrive at your website through unpaid search results. Segment this by geographic location to see how much traffic is coming from users in your target areas.
- Referral traffic: The number of users who visit your site from local directories or review sites, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, or Bing Places.
- User behavior: Monitor how local visitors interact with your website. Look at metrics like bounce rate, time on site, and pages per session to determine whether users are finding what they need.
4. Local Backlinks and Citations
Backlinks from local websites and citations in local directories are important ranking factors for local SEO. Monitor the number and quality of backlinks your website is earning from other local websites, as well as the consistency of your NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) information across citations.
Tools like Ahrefs, Moz, or SEMrush can help you track your local backlinks and identify new opportunities for earning more.
5. Customer Reviews and Ratings
Customer reviews and ratings have a direct impact on local SEO performance. Positive reviews help improve your rankings in the Local Pack and build trust with potential customers. Track the number of reviews you’re receiving across platforms like Google My Business, Yelp, and Facebook, and monitor your overall star rating.
Important metrics to track include:
- Number of new reviews: How many new reviews your business receives on Google, Yelp, or other platforms.
- Star rating: Your business’s average rating. A higher average rating generally improves your local search rankings.
- Review sentiment: Monitor the content of reviews to identify trends in customer feedback and address any issues.
Tools for Tracking Local SEO Performance
To effectively track your local SEO performance, use a combination of tools that provide insights into rankings, website traffic, customer engagement, and reviews. Here are some of the best tools for tracking local SEO performance:
1. Google My Business Insights
Google My Business Insights is essential for monitoring how users find and interact with your GMB profile. This tool provides data on search views, map views, customer actions, and the search queries users are entering to find your business.
2. Google Analytics
Google Analytics allows you to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversions. You can segment traffic by geographic location to see how many visitors are coming from local searches, as well as track referral traffic from local directories and citations.
3. Google Search Console
Google Search Console provides insights into how your website is performing in Google’s search results. You can monitor your search visibility, click-through rates (CTR), and keyword rankings. It also helps you identify any technical issues that may be impacting your local SEO performance.
4. Moz Local
Moz Local is a citation management tool that helps you track and manage your business’s local citations across directories like Yelp, Bing, and Yellow Pages. It ensures your NAP information is consistent and accurate, and it tracks your local rankings.
5. Ahrefs or SEMrush
Both Ahrefs and SEMrush are powerful SEO tools that provide insights into your local backlinks, keyword rankings, and website traffic. They also help you identify opportunities to build new backlinks from local websites or directories.
6. BrightLocal
BrightLocal is a dedicated local SEO platform that offers tools for tracking local search rankings, managing citations, monitoring reviews, and analyzing Google My Business performance. It’s a comprehensive tool for managing all aspects of your local SEO.
Best Practices for Tracking Local SEO Performance
To get the most out of your local SEO tracking efforts, follow these best practices:
1. Monitor Regularly
Local SEO performance can fluctuate over time due to changes in search algorithms, competitor activity, or seasonal trends. Regularly monitor your local SEO metrics to stay informed about how your business is performing and adjust your strategy as needed.
2. Set Benchmarks and Goals
Set clear benchmarks and goals for your local SEO performance. For example, aim to increase organic traffic by 20%, improve your Google My Business profile views, or earn 10 new customer reviews each month. Tracking your progress against these goals will help you stay on course.
3. Adjust Your Strategy Based on Data
Use the data you gather from tracking tools to inform your local SEO strategy. If you notice that your rankings are slipping for certain keywords or areas, adjust your optimization efforts accordingly. Likewise, if you see an increase in traffic or engagement, double down on what’s working.
Conclusion
Tracking your local SEO performance is essential for understanding the effectiveness of your strategy and making data-driven decisions that improve your visibility in local search results. By monitoring metrics like local search rankings, website traffic, customer reviews, and local backlinks, you can ensure that your business is attracting more local customers and staying competitive in your service area.
