Local places account for a significant share of online searches. People are using qualifiers like “near me” in everything from finding a place to dine to getting their pet groomed with a mobile provider. That type of online search traffic has increased by 150% over the past few years.
What does this shift in online searching mean for your Australian NFP? It means it’s time to shift to a locally driven landing page. That doesn’t necessarily have to be your home page, but rather a place on your website dedicated to attracting, engaging, and communicating with your local community.
The good news is, this type of localised landing page doesn’t take a ton of experience to create. With the right “factors” on your page, you can easily boost local traffic. Here are some steps our team at Web 105 thinks you should consider.
Step 1: Find Out Where Your Customers Are Located
Before you can fix the problem, you need to define it. You don’t want to do all the work of building a local page for your NFP targeting a region where you don’t have any donors, volunteers, or clients (unless you’re hoping to expand).
You’ll need to consider where your community comes from and where you want to see more engagement in the future. How do you make this happen?
- Make sure your NFP’s mailing or contact address is accurate
- Keep your service areas consistent across all your online presences and accounts
- Set a clear service area on your website and Google Business Profile
- Utilise data like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and paid ad responses to target areas of interest.
For example, if you run a teen health clinic in Perth, you can also include information about Chidlow, Mundaring, Churchlands, or Stirling.
Step 2: Toss in Keywords and Metadata
Keywords are the words or phrases that people searching for your services use the most. You can combine these keywords with city, neighbourhood, landmark, or attraction names that people in your local area use.
Good “local” SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) seeks to match what it is you’re offering with the intent of the searcher. Think of these terms as transactional. Have a headline that reads “Local Animal Shelter in Adelaide” or “Food Assistance near Newcastle.”
You want to strategically put your keywords and local additions in your metadata. That should include:
- The title of your page (meta-title)
- The description of your landing page (meta-description)
- The image-alt tag or image descriptions
- Any H2 or H3 tags
Just don’t crank out a ton of references. Try to make them sound natural and not “stuffed” into your landing page so Google thinks you’re just trying to “game” the system.
Step 3: Verify Your Universal NAP Info
NAP is the Name, Address, and Phone Number of your Australian nonprofit. While that info should be easy to convey, it can quickly get muddied across different business listings, social media accounts, online profiles, and official communication.
You must make sure all your NFP data is consistent. That builds trust in your NFP and gives your page more authority in your ranking. Local businesses with consistent NAP data across their profiles receive 23% or more search engagement and website clicks than those without.
Step 4: Stick to Fantastic Content
If you’re trying to engage local searchers, put out local content. Make your blog posts, video content, and information about upcoming fundraising or volunteering opportunities relevant to your local community.
Speak to your audience and signal that you’re from the area. Mention cities and neighbourhoods naturally or highlight local concerns about the weather and activities. Even a short quote or review from a recent mention by a local newspaper or group goes a long way to cementing your existence in the same space as your local community.
An easy trick of the trade is to answer locally based questions in your FAQ section. Not only will that boost local SEO results, but it will also directly appeal to those most likely to support your NFP the most.
Step 5: Add Local Schema Markup
For this next step, you may need a professional website designer or developer, such as our team at Web 105. Schema markup is the code that helps search engines like Google put your content in context. What you’re doing is providing Google with structured data that is easier to understand. You’ll often find this in AI snippets or summaries of your landing page.
The goal is to add JSON-LD code that includes your NFP’s name, address, phone number, website URL, operating hours, and geographical coordinates. There are free tools like Schema.org that can help, but a professional will know how to do this most effectively in the <head> of your landing page.
Step 6: Don’t Forget the Basics
While you’re focusing on the local SEO factors that will appeal to your geographic area, you don’t want to overlook what makes a landing page effective for conversions. Don’t overlook the power of:
- A compelling headline and subheadline
- The “hero” section that engages the reader (sometimes a video or photo)
- Any CTAs you need to sign up for volunteering, donate to a mission, or engage with your services
- Content copy that is benefits-driven and tells your unique story about providing value to your community
- Social proof and trust indicators with locally based reviews
- A lead capture form of some sort
Plus, make sure the page is mobile-responsive and loads quickly. Every reader, local or not, wants to get their information in as little time as possible.
Wrapping Up
Building a local landing page is a powerful tool for improving your connections with businesses, other nonprofits, community members, and donors. It can be the “make or break” you need to hit your annual mission and goals. With a little research and hard work, you can turn that landing page into a reliable way to communicate who you are, what value you bring, and how others can engage with your services.
At Web 105, we provide years of experience designing and developing websites for NFPs just like you. We know how to turn a landing page into a locally structured success. Give us a call today, and let’s set up a time to discuss how a high-conversion local landing page can benefit your Australian nonprofit.
FAQs
What is a local landing page?
This is a web page specially built, designed, and coded to rank higher in search results for locally based services and needs.
Is doing local SEO worth it?
Absolutely! Local searchers are on the rise, and you want to claim your authority in your geographic location so the people most likely to engage with your NFP know how to find you and learn more.
Is SEO dead now with AI?
Not at all. What AI has done is change how SEO works. One way is to create snippets of responses to search queries based on local page authority. A streamlined local landing page informs those snippets.