Augmented Reality and Local SEO: Looking Into The Future

Augmented Reality and Local SEO

Mobile technology has come a long way over the past decade, with smartphone and tablet technology experiencing rapid development. Today, mobile phones are not only devices that are used only for calling and texting, as they have become versatile devices that can perform a variety of functions such as gaming, mobile browsing, music and video playback, and even augmented reality.

When it comes to augmented reality, the relatively new technology has improved by a significant amount since being introduced to the world, with more applications and devices being able to support it. Augmented reality is defined as a real-world environment that is enhanced by virtual graphics that integrate with the said environment. While it may be a new technology that is still only used by a limited number of platforms, there have been a good number of successful applications so far.

Notable examples of successful augmented reality applications include the game Pokemon Go, Google Translate, Amikasa, Quiver, Holo, and Yelp Monocle. Among the mentioned applications, Pokemon Go has seen the most success, with over millions of users worldwide, making it a surprise hit. With the success of these applications, it would not be surprising that it other industries would tap into the technology. One of the industries that can see future success using augmented reality is SEO, as it could be used as a viable marketing tool that can generate interest that can lead to more organic traffic.

With SEO in mind, here are the best ways to implement augmented reality into your local SEO strategy.

Local SEO and Navigation

Perhaps one of the best places to implement augmented reality is at Local SEO, which can help boost marketing by a considerable margin. We have covered local SEO strategies in some of our previous articles, and we have seen that focusing on mobile optimization is one of the best ways to help users look for your business.

One of the most important elements in local SEO is location, as it would allow users to be able to look for your business on services such as Google maps. Geotargeting helps Google identify your location, which helps them adjust location-based search results. This means when I search for the best Pizza places near my area, all of the results that would show up must be within the Manila area.

Best Pizza Place

So how does Augmented reality help local SEO? For starters, it can help users navigate through cities and look for places they want to go using augmented reality tools and applications. The number of users using navigation tools has been increasing over the past few years, in part due to how well these tools have been performing, with more accurate locations and larger directories of businesses and landmarks.

How will AR help your business?

Other than making it easier for users to navigate through different cities and landmarks and find their desired locations, augmented reality also helps boost search traffic and website dwell time as well. It is common for users to search for a website of an establishment to inquire and look into their services, and then find the location in a map service.

Augmented reality can also be used as an interactive marketing tool as well. Interactive advertisements viewed through AR lenses will soon become more common. Examples of application of augmented reality in marketing can be found on e-commerce sites and several big brands. Take Adidas and Converse, for example, where they used augmented reality for users to virtually try out and fit some of their latest shoes. Some furniture companies have also used augmented reality to help their users visualize what piece of furniture would be an ideal fit inside their home.

With so many choices available for users today, using augmented reality to allow your users to experience what your business has to offer can become a crucial factor in their decision to go to your business. This increased level of user interaction ensures that your brand remains visible and relevant despite the presence of new technology.

How to optimize for Augmented Reality

Optimizing for augmented reality is wholly similar to optimizing your business for local SEO. We have touched on these topics before, and here are some key steps that you should do in order to prepare your business for augmented reality:

Optimize your Google My Business listing – One of the very first things you need to do when setting up your business is optimizing your Google My Business listing. This means adding all of the crucial details, which include business address, operating hours, and contact details.

Create a Virtual Tour – Adding a virtual tour for your business gives users a glimpse of what your business establishment contains within its premises. First impressions truly count, which means that users would be able to view can be a major deciding factor on whether they would be interested or not.

Observe proper Online Reputation Management – In today’s internet, online reviews can make or break a business, and greatly affects your searchability when it comes to users looking for top search results. This makes managing your online reviews on Google and Yelp is crucial and ensuring that you attain good scores lies in your business’s actual performance and weeding out negative reviews that only aim to attack or harm.

Geotargeted Keywords – Good local SEO means utilizing geotargeted keywords, which allows your business to show up in local SERPs quicker. This is important, whether your business is in a big city, or even a quiet town, as there will always be users that would search for establishments near their area. For good measure, having at least 2-3 geotargeted keywords (you can use city names, street names, and even country names) ensures that users have different ways to find your business within a certain area.

Key Takeaway

Augmented reality is a technology that will become even more present in the near future. With the rising number of mobile users and the rapid development of technology in general, more and more businesses and brands would be looking for a way to stand out in a very crowded digital world. Implementing local SEO strategies to prepare for augmented reality is one of these methods, as it ensures that your business has more opportunities to become visible for your users.

If you have questions and inquiries about SEO, leave a comment below and let’s talk.

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Sean Si

About Sean

is a Filipino motivational speaker and a Leadership Speaker in the Philippines. He is the head honcho and editor-in-chief of SEO Hacker. He does SEO Services for companies in the Philippines and Abroad. Connect with him at Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Check out his new project, Aquascape Philippines.