Key Local SEO Strategies to Improve Your Online Presence
Competing for top Search Engine Results Page (SERP) spots is a challenge in any industry. No matter how hard you work at it, it seems like there will always be another company occupying the highest placements for the most lucrative keywords. The variety for formats in SERPs today also do not help matters as organic results compete with ads, ‘zero-click’ results and map packs.
Local SEO is a bit easier to access, especially if you are a local business. Because fewer organizations are competing for a high rank, fewer resources are needed to achieve success. Google also prioritizes ‘local’ results when relevant search terms are used. Whether you are working on your own or with a reputable local SEO services provider, you can build a greater online presence by implementing some of the following strategies for your business.
Essential Strategies to Boost Your Local SEO
Google My Business
If you are hoping to boost your local SEO, you must make optimizing your Google My Business profile your top priority. This platform integrates with Google Maps to display your business to users who search for relevant terms while in your geographic area.
Fill out your company’s entire profile, including your address, map marker, hours of operation, website link, and correct business category. Be sure to verify your listing as well to increase public trust in your business. Photos also help in this regard. Reviews provide the ultimate social proof, but they may be harder to come by. You can encourage your customers to leave reviews by adding a call-to-action on your website.
On-Page Optimization
Each page of your website provides an opportunity to further your local SEO goals. Be sure to follow these guidelines during the process of designing your site:
· Include relevant local keywords on each page.
· Ensure your content is useful and appeals to people looking for information in the area.
· Mention other local points of interest in your content so residents or tourists will see your brand when they search for things to do in the area.
· Create a NAP (name, address, phone number) footer and place it on every page of your website. The information you put here should match your Google My Business page and be formatted according to Google’s schema requirements.
If you want to be sure that you are taking full advantage of what on-page optimization can do, work with a digital marketing agency offering local SEO services. They can help you fine-tune your webpages to maximize their SEO potential.
Link-Building
Links are as important for local SEO as they are for general SEO, helping you signal to Google that your site is valuable and deserving of a high rank. The three main general link-building considerations still apply:
· Authority: Prioritize links from high-authority websites in your niche.
· Relevance: Links should be from sites that are related to your niche or from content that’s relevant to your business.
· Authenticity: Links should be acquired in an organic fashion and should not look like they’ve been paid for
Remember that while a backlink is more valuable for SEO, inserting a quality link into your content will still provide a rank boost and should be done whenever possible. For local SEO, you should also place particular importance on links from businesses and organizations in your community. This shows Google that your business is part of the area’s social fabric and improves your rank.
Image Optimization
Visual content has become increasingly integrated into search engine algorithms, so businesses hoping to improve their local SEO must now optimize their images as well. Use descriptive file names and alt tags that incorporate keywords, especially local ones, and be sure to place your images inside optimized content that also contains relevant keywords for your business.
Photographs of your front window or the street your business is located on provide excellent opportunities to capitalize on image optimization’s local SEO potential. You can add them to your citation listings and social media content as well. If you do not already have some photos like this, consider taking some.
Social Media
Social media is key to both general and local SEO. The stronger your company’s social media strategy is, the more prominent it will become in your community, and the better your website will rank online. The following factors contribute to your social media presence:
· How old your profiles are.
· Whether or not your profiles are complete and contain consistent NAP information.
· How many likes, shares, retweets, and other favourable indicators you have.
· How large your following is, and how much it has grown recently.
· How many times others mention your brand on social media.
· How many reviews you have.
Executing a strong social media strategy often takes significantly more effort than most of the suggestions listed here. Investing in local SEO services from a trusted digital agency can help your business reap the SEO benefits of social media without overwhelming you.
Authentic Reviews
Reviews are both a significant local SEO ranking factor and an excellent tool for nurturing leads. Users who see your company’s website at the top of their SERP paired with a selection of positive reviews are much more likely to visit your website or even make a purchase from you.
Adding reviews is an effortless way to increase your content posting frequency, which will help your rank. Reviews are also unique and often contain keywords that will match what other users are searching for, even if you have not intentionally targeted that keyword yourself. This will help drive traffic to your website and ensure that you reach as much of your local market as possible.
Citations
Citations are directories that list the NAP of other companies. Google uses citations to verify the information about your organization. Directory sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and even Facebook provide business citations, and you can easily create your listings with them for a quick SEO boost. You can choose which directories you want to focus on using the following criteria:
· Authority:
Listings and directories with more authority provide a more significant SEO boost than little-known ones.
· Consistency:
All information within your citations should remain the same from site to site.
· Relevance:
Local directories are more useful for local SEO than national ones.
Instead of trying to list your website in every directory yourself, remember that a digital marketing agency can help you quickly accumulate many high-quality citations.
Personalization
Website personalization helps to reduce your bounce rates. Your website should easily accommodate mobile browsing with a responsive design that adapts well to all devices. That way, users who are travelling in your area can easily find your business.
It is also a good idea to accommodate voice search, as users are much more likely to use this feature when they are out and about. Incorporate more ‘near me’ keywords and keywords phrased as questions into your content to get your website in front of more users taking advantage of this popular feature.
Set Your Sights on High Ranks in Local Search
Local SEO presents a significant opportunity for businesses of every size to increase their visibility online. It is an excellent way to help your business lay down roots in your community and achieve a healthy ROI in the process.
