If you have a brick-and-mortar business, local SEO is very important to bring customers your way. Google uses local ranking factors to send customers to your doors if you’re situated close to them.
If you don’t take advantage of local SEO, you’re limited to competing online with large corporations, which makes success much more difficult. Customers don’t want to travel too far for many of their daily needs and they are likely to use your local business if they know it’s reputable, offers what they need and is located near to them.
1. Improve your visibility
Greater local visibility means more customers for your business. Local SEO companies understand how to build your visibility online by using strategies like building links, getting reviews and including references to the name of your town or city. You can enhance your visibility by signing up and verifying your Google My Business listing.
Optimize your listing in various ways. Make sure your contact information and opening hours are accurate, add photos, and get reviews. This will help to make sure your business ranks well in the results.
For example, if you have a vehicle repair service and people are looking for vehicle repairs in your locality, you want Google to list your business and show customers where to find it.
Another way to enhance visibility is to use relevant online directories. This helps people to find your business at a time when they’re already busy reading online reviews and looking for recommendations. Blogger Local recommends 10 Kansas City SEO Experts for those looking to establish local visibility and help local customers find their physical businesses online.
2. Increase your relevance
Using high-quality content marketing relevant to your local community and adding keywords that describe what you have to offer will increase your relevance.
When people enter these keywords or phrases in Google, you want your business to appear at the top of the search results so they will go to your site. You do need to continually monitor the relevance of your keywords and make adjustments if necessary.
3. Rank higher
Link building also helps to establish the relevance of your local business. You may be able to get a link from a respected industry-specific site, such as a local chamber of commerce. Links from local sources, such as a local directory, newspaper or another local business, can all help.
SEO for Growth suggests packages designed by the best link builders to help you gain quality, relevant links. When you have quality inbound links, Google trusts your site more and your ranking improves.
4. Enhance your reputation
Reviews are vitally important for local businesses. Local shoppers will read reviews about your business and often base their decisions on these reviews. You need to find ways to keep generating reviews and respond speedily to any negative reviews. Local shoppers love to recommend local businesses online if they have a good experience using them.
5. Make it easy for Google and customers to find you
When your business name, address and telephone number appear clearly on your website and your contact page includes specific directions to your location, Google can help people find you more easily.
Google won’t know if you’re a lawyer that practices in Dallas or a hairdresser with a salon in New York unless you make this clear. This doesn’t mean that you have to go overboard and mention your town and profession all over your homepage. If you work them in naturally throughout your site, Google has no problem getting the message.
