Now more than ever search engine optimization (SEO) is key to a successful and relevant web presence.
Don’t let the nay-sayers fool you, SEO is still very important. However, what works and what doesn’t has evolved over the years.
Nowadays, the practice of SEO has become closely focused on an end-user’s web and consumer habits.
The bottom line? Your business’s SEO habits need to be targeted towards your local demographic, otherwise, your efforts fall on blind eyes.
Looking to master the art of local SEO? Here are a few local SEO tips to set your business on the right track…
What is Local SEO?
In order to understand how to truly optimize your web presence for success, it’s worth understanding what you’re dealing with.
The prospect of successful SEO may appear daunting. After all, there are literally hundreds of factors which affect its progress.
Local SEO is simple enough though if you understand the basics.
Local SEO is based on targetting your SEO practices specific to your customer market and local geographic area.
With thanks to Google’s algorithm update, it’s vital that your SEO is geographically targetted to your area.
This Google algorithm has been established to give smaller, local businesses a fighting chance in search engine results.
If your business has not included local SEO in its web page optimization, you could miss your fighting chance!
Follow These Local SEO Tips
To get your business web page optimization on the right track, let’s get started with these local SEO tips:
1. Google My Business
Have you ever Googled your own business? How does it feature in Google’s search engine results?
If your business feature is non-descript, void of important contact details or a website address, your local SEO is not up-to-scratch.
When your customers Google you, they are looking for information about your business, it’s that simple.
This is why one of our most important local SEO tips is establishing your Google My Business feature.
When your business is Googled, the Google My Business feature is a small pop-up window that appears on the search engine results page.
This feature should contain your business name, address, operating hours, contact details and a Google map location.
Essentially, this feature is a pop-up box of vital information which makes life easier and far more convenient for your customers.
In order to set up your Google My Business feature, you need to claim and verify your business with Google.
After that, you can enter your business details, mark it as a location on Google maps, add photos and respond to reviews.
2. List Your Business Locally
Google is not the only place to list your business – don’t fall into this common trap!
Another one of our handy local SEO tips is to ensure your business is listed in various local directories.
There are literally dozens of opportunities for business web listing. Some of these include Yelp, Bing, Yahoo, Better Business Bureau, TripAdvisor, Whitepages and more.
You don’t have to stick solely to the web either. Make sure to list your business in local telephone directories, with local boards, and in local newspapers.
Just keep in mind these multiple listings need to be consistent. Remember the all-important trifecta of information: your business name, address and contact number.
All too often, that’s all your customer’s are looking for.
3. Make it Mobile Friendly
The secret’s been out for a while – very few people actually search on computers any longer. Instead, they have migrated to the palm of their hand.
By that, we mean the mobile phone! Research has shown that a vast majority of web searches throughout the U.S. are done on mobile phones.
Additionally, most end-users are looking for information in real-time. They want to know where your business is, and they want to know now!
If your customer cannot find the information they need or navigate your website on their mobile phone, they’ll move on.
That’s why another one of our local SEO tips is to ensure your website is built to be fully responsive and mobile friendly.
If your existing website is not built responsively, then it’s high time for an update!
4. Local Content is King
The saying used to be: ‘content is king’ in the world of SEO. Nowadays, the word ‘local’ has slipped its way in.
Local content targetted to your local customer and geographic area is what it’s all about these days.
Google search looks at how ‘locally relevant’ your content is. Are your press releases and blog posts targetted to your geographic area?
If not, your content may need an update.
Remember to create content that is useful and shareable to your geographic audience. Use local names and places in content titles and share information about local events.
5. Establish Local Engagement
A great way to show that you value your local customers and their feedback is by engaging with them.
Local engagement and responding to queries and reviews promote your website to relevant or like-minded audiences.
This, in turn, boosts your web presence and ranking on Google, making your SEO efforts a success.
Not only this, but consistent local engagement also helps to establish your reputation, showing you are a sincere business.
A great way to boost your local engagement is by establishing a business blog, creating local content and responding to reviews.
Use your business blog to create a meaningful link network by linking to external sources, other blogs, and local businesses.
6. Local Advert Extensions
Local advert what?
We get it, this sounds way too technical! But it’s quite simple really. Local ad extensions are a powerful SEO tool for local web searches.
This feature is accessible via Google AdWords, allowing you to add location information about your business into your ads.
So essentially, this means that when a customer stumbles across your ad, they will have access to:
- Information about your business location
- A direct contact button
- A direct link to a web page with information about your location.
If your business has not utilized Google AdWords or local ad extensions, this is a sure-fire way to increase your local SEO score!
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