Opinion holder entrepreneur Contributors are their own.
There is one thing that keeps startups and existing businesses alive. In business, sustainability is everything. Mass sales are great, but they have to be sustainable. New growth is great, but it has to be sustainable. If you come up with another business/startup maxim, you can tie the word sustainable to it. If you want long-term success, you have to create something sustainable. Local SEO is one of the best ways to do this. Level the playing field for organic traffic and stay front and center in local search results. Check out these top local SEO tactics from Auctus Marketing experts to help your business.
Pixabay
RELATED: Here’s what really matters for SEO in 2016.
First, let’s think about it this way. In a world ruled by keywords, you want to make sure you have a seat at the table. Indeed, big companies spend a lot of money ranking for the top keywords in their industry. It can be hard to fight against it. But you can compete in another area: local SEO. In fact, changing “can compete” to “must compete” is a better statement. However, local SEO is merciless. It should be set properly from the beginning. Here’s how.
Register with Google
Get your business listed on Google’s local listings as soon as possible. Prepare to be amazed at the power of Google for your business. Contrary to what you might think, they really want your business to be discovered. They will walk you through the process of listing your business locally on Google. Make sure to select the correct category during setup.
Choose an appropriate title tag
This is one of the easiest ways to significantly impact your search rankings. Be sure to include localized SEO information when filling out the title of your web page. This code is important. Note that Google does not rank sites, it ranks individual pages. Therefore, it is essential to localize each page to influence organic search results. According to Moz, the best formats to use are: Primary Keyword – Secondary Keyword | Brand Name.
RELATED: 5 ways small businesses can compete with giants in SEO
listed in the appropriate directory
A simpler version of this is….moz move to local. They have many great resources. Why go there in the first place? We want to be listed in the good, high quality online directories used in your industry. These directories help with search rankings. Also, consider applying to Yahoo and Bing. Yahoo’s business directory costs money, but the money is well spent.
Take advantage of Google+
Set up your Google+ business page and maintain a positive presence. Activity on Google+ pages is weighted differently than activity on other social media platforms. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that Google+ is owned by Google. If you have your own world, you can make your own rules, right? Maybe. Either way, the reason Google+ works so well in rankings is because it was designed specifically for SEO. Post like you would on Facebook and let your customers post reviews too. A Google+ business page review is a powerful local SEO one-two combo punch.
Related: Why Every Entrepreneur Should Focus on Local SEO
location page
Make sure to create a geo-targeted location page that targets the top locations your business serves. Doing this will increase the rank of certain locations over time. On these pages, add your actual location to the URL and title tag, and use the city/town name several times on the page itself. (Example: www.BobsPlumbing.com/Boston , Boston, MA Plumbing Services | Bob’s Plumbing). You can add any number of location pages, but we recommend creating pages for your main target areas and focusing only on those.
Be aware of NAPs
NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone Number. Place this information in a prominent place on your home page (menu, header, or footer). Check out our mobile page. You definitely want to NAP there. Also, if you only have one location, make sure all pages have a NAP. This puts you right in front of your customers while they check your online girlfriend presence. They can always be reached by phone. Also, place a Google Map on your page so people can navigate from their location to your business. It is a convenient service for users as well as increasing the search rank.
Now you have an SEO strategy to compete with major industries and companies. If you think about it, all great companies first started out as kings or queens of their local space. Use these tips to do the same. They don’t just keep you alive and sustainable. They lead you to long-term success.
