Updated Nov. 29, 2019
For any local business, achieving and maintaining strong online visibility is critical for success.
Furthermore, your client base must be able to find you via smartphone or your risk falling behind your competition. In fact, as of last year, 30% of mobile searches included a location.
This means your local SEO strategies need to be as effective as possible. But with so many factors attributing to a successful local campaign, how do you get the most out of your plan?
To help you out, let’s go over some local SEO strategies and tips that will help you succeed.
Google My Business
Since Google is the most used search engine, every local SEO strategy needs to include ways to gain rank in Google.
The single most important business listing impacting your local Google ranking is a Google My Business page. Yet surprisingly, according to recent data, 56% of local businesses have not yet claimed their Google My Business listing!
Securing a Google My Business account is key when implementing an effective local SEO campaign. Make sure your local SEO strategy includes this free but critical element for you.
Optimize Your GMB Profile
It’s equally important that all the information on your listing is correct. Double-check you’re your business name, phone number, and address are all up to date.
Take things a step further by adding a compelling business description, including photos of your business and adding other relevant important information like hours of operation and services. Your listing should also include your business logo and a link to your website.
The more robust your profile, the more positive impact it will have on your ranking.
It’s All About Engagement
Google wants and measures engagement as an important metric to determine relevance. They want to see engagement on both sides of the equation.
As the business, are you serious about your online presence? Are you constantly adding valuable information to your profile? Google will refer your business provided you demonstrate that you’re a worthy match for those looking for your goods and services.
On the consumer side, if the profile gets clicks and engagement once ranked, this will drive up your rankings even further and help keep you at the top.
The Importance of Reviews
Your SEO campaign can be top-notch, but if you have a bad reputation your potential clients will go to your competition.
In addition to improving your online reputation, good customer reviews now help your rankings. They also increase traffic to your site, which leads to higher conversion.
Therefore, it’s imperative you’re performing review management.
Sourcing positive reviews to sites like Yelp, Facebook, and other directories helps boost both your reputation and rankings.
You should also ensure you’re providing responses to negative reviews. This shows your audience you’re proactive about the customer experience.
For a more comprehensive guide to responding to reviews, check out our popular post on the subject.
Take Advantage of Location Pages
When search engines index your site, they’re finding logical matches that will eventually affect how you appear in search engine results pages.
Since you’re a local business, it makes sense to include a geographic element within your content.
One of the best ways to do this is by adding geographic landing pages to your website. This allows search engines to connect you with a certain location, allowing you to appear for geo-specific search queries.
If you have multiple locations, have a landing page created for each one. You can also break down the different cities you wish to rank for and create corresponding landing pages.
Local Links
Healthy link building is critical for any successful SEO campaign. This includes local SEO.
In order to optimize your link building for local success, make sure you go after backlinks from local websites relevant to your industry. You should also consider reaching out to the local Chamber of Commerce and other business associations in your city.
When going after these local connections, keep in mind that links from sites with strong domain authority will work wonders for your rankings.
Get the Most Out of Your Local SEO Strategies
In today’s ever-changing online marketing landscape, it’s important to stay educated on current techniques. If you don’t, your risk getting buried under the competition.
Make sure the tips discussed above are getting implemented and reap the benefits of your local SEO strategies.
We provide a wide range of local SEO solutions to help grow your business. Contact us today.
