SEO "near me" brand names don't always rank higher: Find out what you can do to change that

Search engine optimisation is becoming increasingly important as businesses try to get their websites seen. But recent studies have shown that ‘near me’ brand names don’t always rank higher for ‘near me’ searches—even when the brand name contains the keyword that was searched. This can come as a surprise to many website owners who thought they had an advantage by including keywords in their domain names. Let’s take a closer look at this phenomenon and how it affects businesses. 

Why are ‘near me’ brand names not ranking higher? 

The reason why ‘near me’ brand names don’t rank higher is because search engines aren't just looking at keywords anymore; they're also looking at other elements of your website such as content quality, website design, and mobile-friendliness. So even if you include the keyword in your domain name, it won't necessarily make you rank higher than other competitors who have optimised their websites more effectively. 

So, how exactly can you make sure that your business website is well-optimised? Below, we discuss some of the best ways to do so.

Five ways businesses can optimise their websites

1. Don’t ignore local SEO

If you have a local business, local SEO is essential.

Local SEO is different from organic SEO in the sense that it will allow your business to rank higher on Google Maps. With many people already using their phones to search for things nearby, it’s important to be able to show up in those searches. 

In addition, if you want people who live near your business to know about your brand and come into contact with them at least once or twice before they decide whether or not they like what you offer, then local SEO is also an excellent way of doing just that!

2. Keep your eye on the competition

It's essential to keep an eye on the competition when you're trying to rank for a keyword, but there are many different ways you can do this. You could take a look at their SEO strategy and see what they're doing right or wrong. Check out their keyword rankings and backlinks, or check out their social media presence. While these approaches might not always work, they are all powerful ways of seeing how well your competitor is doing in terms of SEO.

Note that a company can have all the best SEO practices in the world, but if their content is not good enough, their site won’t rank well for anything. Make sure you're focusing on creating high-quality content that answers user questions and meets their needs.

3. Learn the difference between brand names and keywords

The misconception that the brand name is a keyword stems from the fact that people often use brand names in search queries. For example, if you're looking for the nearest burger joint, you might type in "Burger King near me".

There's a big difference between "burger king" and "burger king near me", though: one is just a name (the brand), while the other is both a keyword and the name of a company. A brand can definitely be used as part of an actual query; but it's not always actually being searched for itself (unlike keywords).

The difference between a keyword and a brand is an important one. In fact, it's vital to understand the distinction when you're trying to optimise your website for search engines. If you treat your brand as just another keyword, you could end up missing out on potential traffic from people who are searching for your company by name.

4. Focus on quality over quantity

The quality of your content is more important than the quantity. It's true in SEO, as well as life, and it's especially true when you're trying to rank in local search results.

The main reason why this is the case is that Google only shows a small subset of your pages for any given query. Instead, it relies on user behaviour data to determine which results are most relevant for any given query.

If you have a lot of low-quality pages that don't give users what they are looking for, then Google will not show those results at all even if there are better ones on your site!

This is why it's crucial to make sure that the pages you do want to rank are high-quality. They must be relevant to the user's query, not just accurate (which is what we used to think mattered).

5. When you're optimising your local SEO strategy, make sure you're focusing on the right things.

There are a lot of things you can do to rank for ‘near me’ searches—and we've already covered some of them. But when it comes down to it, the most important thing is to focus on quality over quantity. If you want to rank well for "near me" terms, then your goal should be to get as many relevant links from high-authority sites as possible. You also need great content and strong branding (including an awesome business name).

The good news is that there are ways for businesses in small towns or rural areas with less competition than big cities to compete with larger brands and win—even if they don't have access to many links or large amounts of traffic yet!

The first step is to make sure you're optimising your website, blog and local listings. Get all the basics right, like having a great site structure and using keywords in your content. Then focus on getting links from high-authority sources that are relevant to your business. Consider implementing an SEO strategy for local search engine optimisation (SEO). This could include things like adding NAP citations, building citations or getting reviews from customers who live nearby.

Get the inside scoop on search engine optimisation from the experts!

If you've read this far, we're betting you're already a fan of our blog. But if you haven't, we'd love for you to check out some of our other search engine optimisation blogs, starting with 5 Compelling reasons to invest in an SEO marketing agency to maximise your online visibility and boost business growth.

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Don't worry about your website's ranking, we'll handle it!

Position1SEO’s goal is to help you generate more sales and leads, and we will work with you to determine the best strategy for your business. We'll listen to your needs, study your audience and competitors, and then create a custom plan that gets you where you need to go—on page 1 of Google, of course!

We don't want you to worry about your website's ranking or traffic. We'll handle all of that so you can focus on what really matters: growing your business.

We're here for you if you have any questions or concerns—you can reach us by phone at 0141 846 0114 or email us at jason@position1seo.com.

Position1SEO: The SEO experts near you

If you're looking for “SEO near me”, look no further than Position1SEO. We are a digital marketing agency that specialises in helping businesses achieve their goals through search engine optimisation.

We know that every business is different, and we tailor our approach to each individual company's needs. We take the time to understand your industry, your competitors, and your goals so we can develop the right strategy for your business.

Get answers to your local SEO questions today!

What is local SEO?

Local SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is the process of optimising your online content and presence so that it can be more easily found by potential customers searching for local businesses. It’s an incredibly powerful tool for improving your online visibility and marketing efforts, as well as generating leads in a localised market.

Does local SEO work?

Yes, local SEO does work and is an essential part of any local business’s overall marketing strategy. When applied properly, it can help you reach a larger audience, increase your sales and visibility in search results. Local SEO works by optimising content to match the local area’s characteristics and using specific keywords related to these areas. Additionally, creating geo-targeted optimised content such as reviews and posts about events happening near the business will also strengthen its relevance when potential customers are searching for services they need within their locality.

How do I rank locally on Google?

Ranking locally on Google is a great challenge, but also an achievable one! To help you reach higher rankings and increase your local search visibility online; you may optimise your content, claim and optimise your local listings, include structured data markup on your site, and utilise social media platforms for promotion.

What is the difference between local SEO and SEO?

Local SEO focuses on the geographical location of a business or organisation while organic SEO is focused on improving the overall rankings of a website across all major search engines. 

Local SEO looks at factors such as proximity and local relevance rather than targeting a broader audience, allowing businesses to reach consumers within specific geographic areas more easily. This type of optimisation involves optimising within Google Maps as well as the implementation of geo-targeted keywords within meta data and content published online so that these elements appear higher when people in certain locations search terms related to your business specifically. 

What are the three main areas of SEO?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is an essential strategy for online businesses and brands, as it helps to increase the visibility of their website or content in organic search engine result pages. SEO can be broken down into three main areas: On-Page SEO, Off-Page SEO, and Technical SEO.