Mastering search engine optimization (SEO) as a home service-based business isn’t easy, especially if you don’t have a dedicated marketing team. You need to rank high in local Google searches to attract more customers, but how can you focus on search rankings when you’re already busy tending to client needs? With the best local SEO tools, you can streamline manual tasks, like managing your online reviews, to boost your local search visibility in a scalable way.
At Rival Digital, we specialize in helping local businesses improve their Google rankings through simple, proven SEO strategies. Incorporate our recommended top tools into your local SEO strategy to see better results in your efforts.
Understanding the Value of Local SEO
With the right local SEO strategy, you can ensure that your business listing appears high in geo-targeted searches so people in your area can easily find your details. For example, local SEO efforts may help you rank near the top of Google for “Best pest control contractor in San Diego.” When you increase your visibility in local searches, you can ideally gain more customers, boost your brand awareness in the local market, and increase your revenue.
Why You Should Leverage Local SEO Tools
Local SEO requires ample time, research, and upkeep for successful execution. You must research the correct keywords so your content surfaces in local Google searches, develop local business listings across numerous directories, collect and manage customer reviews, optimize performance, and more.
Choosing the right local SEO tool can make all the difference in your efforts. A comprehensive local SEO tool can help you conduct detailed keyword research, streamline your review management, and more. By leveraging a powerful local SEO platform, you can reduce the manual work required on your end while ensuring that your efforts yield results.
Features You Should Look for in a Local SEO Tool
Local SEO software can perform all different actions, from helping you identify relevant keywords to measuring your local SEO performance. We recommend seeking the following features when finding helpful tools for your business:
Review Management
Your Google reviews significantly impact how your Google Business Profile and website appear on Google Maps and local search rankings. Manually checking up on your feedback across various review sites requires ample work. Online reputation management tools can make this process simple.
Many reputation management platforms alert you the second you receive a review, help you respond to feedback, and provide tools for gathering positive reviews.
Local Citation Management
Your local directory listings in Google Business Profile, Yelp, and other sources help customers find you in local search results and on Google Maps. You must maintain accurate listings, but frequently updating details like your business hours across directories isn’t easy. Local directory tools allow you to manage your local citations, update details, and discover new listing opportunities.
Keyword Research
The local keywords you integrate in your digital content directly impact how well your SEO strategy performs. Keyword research tools allow you to discover the best terms for your niche and local area. You can use the best local SEO tools to conduct in-depth keyword research, looking at competitor rankings, your current keyword rankings, potential keyword search volumes, SERPs, and much more.
Competitor Analysis
With heightened competitive intelligence, you can discover opportunities for new keywords or ways to reshape your marketing strategy. Competitor analysis tools allow you to research other small businesses in your local niche so you can identify improvement areas in your strategy.
Site Auditing
Local SEO also involves considering how your website ranks in organic traffic results. If your website has errors or SEO concerns, your business appears untrustworthy to search engines, meaning you won’t rank as high in local search results.
Site auditing tools crawl your entire website to deliver comprehensive site health information so you can discover every error you should fix to increase your online visibility. For example, you may discover broken links or duplicate content errors that you can quickly fix to see better local rankings.
Link Building
When highly authoritative sites in your area or your home service niche link to your website, you can rank higher in local search results. Acquiring backlinks requires an entire subset of research, outreach, and management. Backlink analysis tools allow you to evaluate the quality of websites linking to your site, locate linking opportunities, manage your links, and more.
Tracking and Reporting
All SEO efforts require some trial and error, even when using the most powerful tool. With tracking and reporting software, you can track rankings on target terms, measure your website traffic, analyze your local search visibility, and evaluate your website’s performance to ensure that you’re moving in the right direction.
The 7 Best SEO Tools for Geo-Targeting
You have dozens, maybe even hundreds, of tools to choose from for local SEO, ranging from major options like Google Search Console to more niche providers. Based on our comprehensive testing, we found the best local SEO tools to be the following:
1. Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is a must-have tool for optimizing your local listings on Google. When you search for local services, you’ll find a short list of local rankings above the standard Google search results. These results are Google Business Profile listings.
Google Business Profile allows you to publish your business data on Google Maps while ensuring you appear in relevant searches in your area.
With Google Business Profile, you can claim your business page, update your business information, create Google Ads, and manage Google reviews. After setting this up, you can use some of our other recommended tools below to manage your GBP alongside your online listings in other directories.
GBP is a powerful tool that’s 100% free, but it will not cover all of your SEO needs.
2. Semrush Local
Semrush is a popular local SEO tool that allows you to manage your online visibility across all channels, including Google, various directories, and social media platforms. You can use Semrush Local for dedicated local search support. Semrush Local features the following:
- Directory listing management in 150+ directories
- A local citation finder
- The Map Rank Tracker to view how your GBP listing ranks in Google Maps
- Review management across Google, Yelp, and social media channels
Outside of Semrush Local, you can use other Semrush tools for keyword research, site auditing, position tracking, and more. For example, Semrush’s Keyword Magic Tool can help you discover local marketing opportunities, while the Position Tracking tool can act as a local rank checker. Semrush offers plenty of free services, or you can subscribe for $13.95 per month to unlock additional features.
3. BrightLocal
BrightLocal is another all-in-one local search engine optimization tool that can help you easily manage your directory listings across platforms. You can leverage BrightLocal’s Citation Tracker and Citation Builder to manage your listings in online directories for more local search visibility. The tool will automatically submit your business details to hundreds of relevant directories to ensure maximum visibility in local search rankings.
While BrightLocal may not be a 100% free website, it does offer valuable insights and numerous helpful tools. For example, you can take advantage of the following:
- Review management
- Google Business Profile audits
- White-label reporting
- A local rank tracker
- And more
4. Moz Local
Moz Local works similarly to BrightLocal, sending your listing data to major online directories so you don’t have to go through the overly repetitive process. Just fill out your information one time, then let Moz Local handle the rest. You can also use the local citation finder to manage reviews across directories while keeping your information updated in search engines.
5. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is a powerful local rank tracker and keyword research tool. You can use Ahrefs to analyze competitors, evaluate backlinks, identify keyword opportunities, research terms, and more. Ahrefs allows you to perform in-depth research on local marketing terms so you can discover user behavior patterns, search volumes, difficulty ratings in search engines, and more.
6. Whitespark
Whitespark allows you to manage your listings and reviews in local directories so you can monitor customer satisfaction rates while improving your rankings in search engine results. The tool also provides a local rank tracker for analyzing your SEO efforts. The local rank tracker lets you view your rankings across various search queries while seeing how you perform against competitors.
7. LocalFalcon
LocalFalcon helps you analyze your keywords on a hyper-focused scale based on your geo-target. After researching your terms and developing a solid list, you can use LocalFalcon to discover an incredibly detailed view of your local keyword landscape based on Google Maps and how users interact with various map grids. You can use this data to make the most fine-tuned decisions with your local SEO strategy.
Do You Need Help Shaping Your Local SEO Strategy?
The best local SEO tools empower your home service business to reach more customers in a scalable way. If you need help shaping your local optimization strategy or want professionals to handle it for you, call Rival Digital today at (800) 674-9823 to speak with our SEO experts.
