The concept of geotagging is not new. It has been used on websites for years. However, the significance of geotagging keeps increasing. Geotagging is swiftly becoming a key requirement for effective local SEO.
More potential consumers will keep searching for information on their devices, and searches will also add their current location to the search results.
Today, there are several pieces of misinformation floating around regarding if you should add geotag photos to rank your business in GMB (Google My Business), as well as organic search results for the web. Read to learn more.
Geotagging: What is it?
Geotagging is the process of associating location data with photos. When done correctly, you’ll be able to pinpoint your photos on a map.
The latitude and longitude of the position are two digits in the photo file’s EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) data.
What’s EXIF data? Rather than the photo itself, metadata saves contextual information about the photo. This could be the camera settings when the picture was captured or the resolution of the timestamp and shot.
There are also fields in the EXIF data that store the location of the image. You can now access the data with a regular photo library app. Simply use this data to pin your pictures on a map.
As you read on, you’ll understand why geotagging is important, and how to use it.
Importance of Geotagging
With geotagging, you have better insight into the activities of consumers. You can use it to analyze how and where consumers interact with your brand and thereby provide targeted messaging and offers. It offers clues about where people are when they engage with a website.
Also, it’s more common today for consumers to tag their social media content. They often include their locations when sharing stuff with friends and families. You can apply geotags to mobile devices with location services. Your brand’s awareness will be enhanced with geotags. It also offers you insight into foot traffic, which is useful when planning and analyzing, especially in the public sector and retail industry.
Another benefit of geotags is that small businesses like restaurants and retailers can use them to observe how consumers engage with their brands. This is helpful when they plan their advertising campaigns. Also, public planning departments and local governments can use geotagging to have a better understanding of their constituents. It helps them determine where products and services are needed.
How to Optimize Photos for Local Search
Understanding how to optimize your photos for local search is important. Below are some of the best ways to make the photos of your business appealing to organic search results as well as Google My Business, especially whenever a potential customer searches for local businesses related to yours.
Always upload new photos
Uploading a few new photos every month is cool. This is what most businesses do. However, to stay on top of the competition, try to upload a few new photos every week. Upload them to your website(s), Google My Business listing, and other business listings online.
Use great photos
Only upload high-quality photos. This makes you look more professional. The photos of your products or services must be top-notch. Add some creative flair to them.
If you want to enjoy better conversion, great photos are part of the factors that get you just that. Photos are among the key elements that convince a potential customer to do business with you or not. To add geotag on images is beneficial to your visibility online.
Your snaps should be on the map
With geotagging, the location data of your photos is included. This helps you see the place they were taken. This also enables them to be displayed on the map.
Almost every smartphone has this capability built in. Simply use a smartphone to retroactively add geotags to your photos taken with a camera.
Add descriptive names
File names are also effective for geotagging. Always include something descriptive on your photos when uploading them to your website. Even if this may not have much effect on your ranking, it’s still good practice.
Conclusion
Geotagging helps you manage how consumers engage with your brand. This is useful for your next marketing campaign. Add it to your website optimization strategy. Ensure that your photos are of great quality and upload them regularly.
