10 Essential Strategies For Local SEO

Local SEO For Google

Local SEO can be a very powerful thing if done correctly and there are a number of things that you now need to do to show up locally in the map pack and on mobile. We’ve added a list of these great strategies below – so take a look and start ranking now.

 

  • Take advantage of Google Places. This free listing service from Google can help drive traffic to your site. Make sure to fill out your profile completely. This includes adding information on the products that you offer as well as photos and videos. Use important industry-related keywords in the description box. Just be sure to avoid adding too many or it will come across as being spammy. Repeat this process on both Yahoo! Local and Bing Local. One added benefit of being listed on Google Places is that your business will be more likely to come up for mobile searches.
  • James Neal of SEO company SEO Organic suggests you choose geo-targeted keywords. This means including the name of your city in the titles of your pages, as well as in any headings or Meta tags. You should also periodically mention the name of your city or town in your content.
  • Make it easy for your customer to reach you by creating a “Contact” page that includes all of your contact information. Additionally, adding an “About” page can help increase trust, making your visitors more likely to do business with your company. If you own a restaurant, you should also post your menu online for people to peruse.
  • Do your best to encourage your customers to leave ratings for you online. For instance, you may want to request feedback through your social media accounts. People like to see a lot of positive reviews from other customers.
  • Keep your social media accounts active. They are a great way to build long-term relationships with your customers. Be sure to regularly post interesting content to your accounts so that your followers don’t wind up forgetting about you. Maintaining an active social media presence may also help your site get listed higher in the search results.
  • Think about creating a separate landing page for each location that you own if your business has more than one location. This will allow you to optimize the page for the specific city or town for each location.
  • Find other businesses in your community that may be interested in linking to your site. For instance, if you sell pet-related products, a local veterinarian may be willing to link to your site.
  • Enclose your business address in an HTML [address] tag. This helps solidify that you are a local business with an actual address, which can help boost your standings in the search results.
  • Make sure your site is mobile-friendly. These days, most people use their cell phones to look for local businesses. Because of that, search engines favor sites that have mobile-friendly designs. Either create a separate version of your site for mobile devices or use responsive web design to ensure that your site displays correctly across a wide range of devices.
  • Don’t forget about traditional advertising methods. Building your reputation in the local community is often best accomplished through newspaper or radio ads. These types of ads can help build name recognition. Then, when people find themselves in need of the products you sell or the services that you offer, your company’s name will be one of the first that comes to mind.

 

 

richardhale

Richard Hale is the Founder of Hale Associations, a company that provides Web Development, SEO and Marketing services globally.