Does your business have a local SEO strategy? If not, it’s time you put one together.
Local SEO can do so much to help you build your business. It’s one of the best ways to reach your local target audience – the people in your community who need the services and products your small business provides. With the right local SEO tactics, you can convert more of the users who visit your site, strengthen your local reputation, and take the lead among your competitors. Follow these steps to make it all happen.
Optimize Your On-Site and Off-Site SEO
Of course, the first step towards improving your local SEO should be to focus on improving your website SEO. Many of the local people who are searching for businesses like yours are going to be using local search keywords – that is, words and phrases that include local place names or phrases like “near me” – and you need to make sure that your website is appearing near the top of those search returns. You may want to work with a Phoenix company that performs local SEO services to optimize your title tags, headers, content, meta descriptions, and so on.
Reach Out to Customers Via Social Media
If you’re wanting to engage with your customers online, social media is the place to do it. Social media provides a forum where you can share your content, get feedback from customers, talk to customers, and even make sales. Lots of people will engage with your social media profiles instead of your actual website, and will turn to social media platforms to get answers to questions they have, to post reviews, and engage with other customers. Being active on social media also gives you the opportunity to generate backlinks to your website.
Claim Your Business Listings
Now that Google Business Profile has been replaced by Google Maps & Search, you want to make sure that you’ve claimed your business listing on Google Maps. However, Google isn’t the only search engine out there and you shouldn’t assume that potential customers will only be looking for your business on Google. Claim your business listings on Apple Maps, Bing Places, and other directories prioritized by less popular search engines to maximize your local search traffic. Register for business listings in business directories like Yelp, HomeAdvisor, and Angie’s List, too.
Fill Your Site with Local Content
Regularly sharing fresh content on your website will help keep your search rankings high, because it shows search engines that your website is active and it can increase your authority as a thought leader in your industry. Each time you post some content on your blog, it’s also a new chance to include new search keywords and phrases on your site. Ensure that your content is locally optimized with keywords and phrases that target local search.
Incorporate Internal Links
Internal links from one page on your website to another can help customers navigate your page and find what they need to find. To improve your local SEO, make sure that internal links make sense and that they help customers find important parts of your site – such as your location page with contract information, shopping pages, and discussion forums. A strong internal linking structure will boost your page’s authority and improve your search engine rankings.
Put Location Pages on Your Site
Location pages on your site help customers find your brick-and-mortar locations so they can come shop in person. Most people who search for local businesses visit those businesses within the next 24 hours, so you need to make sure you’re easy to find. You can even integrate Google Maps into your location pages to help customers find you.
Get Involved in Your Local Community
Getting involved in your local community builds goodwill with your customer base and can generate positive press for your business. Online news articles, social media posts, and influencer mentions for your business also serve as backlinks. Consider sponsoring a local charity, funding a scholarship for local college kids, or hosting a local event.
Make Sure Your Website Is Responsive to Mobile
Mobile traffic accounts for 60 percent of all web traffic these days, so it’s important to both your user experience and your SEO rankings that your website be responsive to mobile search. Search engines will ding your website if it’s not mobile friendly, and users will be less likely to stay on your website long enough to make a purchase if they have to deal with desktop view on their phones or tablets.
When you’re looking for a way to bring in more business, turn to local SEO. With local SEO, you can reach the people in your community who are looking to support local businesses like yours. It’s a no brainer.