Local Search Engine Optimization - Do it yourself

Local search engine optimization is easier than many people think, especially in a country like Sweden where Google has a relatively weak presence in terms of search technology.

The staff at Google’s Stockholm office primarily work with AdWords, and not on developing the technology but rather on selling the service. This means there is relatively little technical personnel focused on the quality of the algorithm who actually understand Swedish.

The implication is that many of the special features found in U.S. search results are missing in Sweden. For example, local search results are not nearly as developed in Sweden, although they have become more prominent in recent times. This makes local SEO both more difficult and easier at the same time.

Factors in local Search Engine Optimization

The truth is that the factors involved in local SEO in Sweden are fewer than in the U.S. As always, data from Moz should be taken with a grain of salt—or even two—but this is quite an interesting study. As you can see, there are a lot of elements that influence local rankings, or at least are said to do so in the U.S. Let’s look at an example that illustrates the difference.

Local business listings

One of the common recommendations for improving local search rankings is to be listed in local business directories. In the U.S., there are tons of these—perhaps because it makes more sense to have a directory of bakers in New York than in a small Swedish town like Husum (where there’s one baker, and he’s retired, more or less). There aren’t many local business directories in Sweden, at least not of any significant quality.

Sure, local links still have an effect in local SEO, but special consideration for business directories doesn’t really apply in Sweden. For those doing local SEO, this is both good and bad. On the one hand, you don’t have to spend time digging up local directories, which can be a relief. On the other, you lose a potential shortcut into the local results.

So how do you do local SEO?

There are still plenty of other local signals that matter in Sweden. One of the silliest signals (we don’t have a full study on this, but we’ve tested it several times by adding and removing it) seems to be simply mentioning the city name on the page. If I write “Umeå” on the site, Google appears to think the page is more relevant to Umeå than to Skellefteå. In my opinion, that feels more like a quick fix than a solid algorithm, but it seems to work.

The single most important signal is, of course, Google My Business. You’ll need to go through a short process involving a postcard and some verification codes to confirm your location. A verified listing is the bare minimum for any local SEO effort, although this can be frustrating—Google isn’t always great about sending the postcard or getting it to the right address.

There are still a few listings worth pursuing—oddly enough, Eniro seems to have some effect. And, as mentioned, acquiring local links is always useful and often easier than general link building, especially if the business is well known in the area or has loyal customers.

In summary

It’s often quite easy to gain visibility in local search results, even for businesses that previously weren’t visible at all—this can be a quick win. However, in more competitive local markets, there are unfortunately fewer shortcuts. A tactic that works well in larger markets—comparing all locally ranked companies with tools like Majestic to identify shared local links—doesn’t work as well in Sweden due to the lack of available data. In those cases, you’ll have to rely on good old-fashioned traditional SEO to climb the rankings.