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A good SEO strategy is a must for any business striving to stand out on search engines. But for brick-and-mortar outlets that rely on local customers to survive, it’s local SEO that makes all the difference.
why? Because effective local SEO efforts are critical to dominating local search rankings and outperforming your local competitors. It gives you the increased visibility you need to reach potential buyers who are ready to spend.
If you’ve invested time and money into optimizing your local search, but you’re still having trouble making your brand visible above the scroll, it might be time to make some changes. Here are some local SEO tips to enhance your local business marketing strategy and put your small business on the map.
Claim and manage your Google My Business listing
Want Google’s attention? If your goal is to get noticed on Google Nearby and other local searches, a Google My Business listing is usually the best place to start.
A search engine’s own local business tool, Google My Business (or now Google Business Profile) offers distinct advantages over other local search assets. It’s automatic reliability.
Verifying your business and claiming a Google My Business page creates an online profile that Google instantly recognizes as authentic, provides a baseline of authenticity, and increases your profile’s visibility in Google’s local search results. may increase.
Applying for Google My Business also grants you basic admin rights to your profile, allowing you to upload photos. Update your contact information, business description, and hours of operation. Manage online ratings and reviews across platforms.
This not only supports local SEO ranking efforts, but also helps improve customer experience and increase traffic to your website.
For brick-and-mortar businesses, managing a GMB can also have significant local SEO benefits for Google Maps. A Google-owned property and a popular local business search tool, Google Maps provides prospective customers with an engaging and detailed view of your business pulled directly from your GMB profile. At the very least, optimizing your GMB profile will have a positive impact on how your map is displayed, helping prospects find your business and contact you quickly.
Related: How to set up Google My Business for your small business
Update your business listing information
Inconsistent information across online business directories can compromise your local search presence. This is because incorrect or incomplete NAP details (name, address, phone number), misspellings or even minor typos in your profile make it difficult for Google to determine which information to trust. . If Google can’t verify which information is correct, it can affect your local rankings and erode the online presence of valuable local keywords.
While it can be a tedious process, registering and updating your business name, location, and contact details in online business directories and review sites is critical to building the brand alignment that the Google Local Algorithm requires. am. Accurate and consistent listings in online directories and major platforms such as Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor (where applicable) and BBB are key to improving your standing in organic search results.
Updating your information on niche review platforms and local directories can also help improve your local SEO and increase your ranking and credibility on important local search pages. Usually appearing on major platforms and just below Google’s coveted 3-pack, these local listings offer a great opportunity to increase your visibility across your local community. Optimizing your business listings on local sites increases your authority in search engines without compromising your position on locally relevant keywords.
Optimize your content for local search
Optimized content is at the heart of any SEO strategy. A quality blog, article, or landing page drives engagement, draws traffic to your site, tells search engines that your brand is relevant, and gives people the information they want to see.
But for local business owners who want to reach local customers, building a local content strategy is essential. Local businesses that create local content and create blogs and landing pages that target the interests and needs of their local customers not only improve their relevance with “near me” and hyperlocal search queries, but also increase their Strengthen and strengthen your position among competing companies. Valuable local search space.
In other words, the more credible, high-quality local SEO content your business produces for a local audience, the more opportunities you have to link and direct users to your website. And a higher percentage of traffic generally translates into higher domain authority, better rankings, and a more dominant business presence in local-oriented searches.
Regardless of your business category, it’s important to incorporate content built with location search in mind into your local SEO strategy. Creating content around local news, events and profiles based on local keyword research builds a presence to target more local searchers (and local leads) for key industry keywords We offer you a great opportunity.
RELATED: 10 Fundamentals to Understand SEO
Create a location page on your website
For local businesses with multiple brick and mortar stores, creating unique location pages is an effective way to boost your local SEO. Original detail pages with accurate NAPs and location information, specific to multiple locations, are a powerful local SEO tool, helping Google search engines know you belong in local results .
Each new location page provides new online assets to rank on your local page and connect customers to your website. Combining these location-specific pages with wider contact pages (complete with Google Maps of all store locations) can provide even greater local SEO lift, turning your site into a local search magnet.
If you choose to add your own location pages to your website, make sure your contact and location details for each unique storefront are accurate and consistent with other listings on the web. please. It also helps make each unique phone number clickable on your mobile device. Not only does this improve the customer experience, but it also makes it easier to reach key points in the buyer’s journey.
RELATED: How to Make Your Small Business Website Really, Really Effective
Incorporating a few local SEO tips into your larger digital marketing strategy can make a big difference and get your business closer to the highly ambitious local market. But like any other of his SEOs, it’s important to keep an eye on new developments so you can adjust your strategy when the time is right.
