If you’re looking to expand your business, local SEO is an excellent way to do just that. It can help attract more local traffic while simultaneously increasing search engine rankings and sales.
Step one in local SEO is choosing appropriate keywords. This requires conducting extensive market research into how your specific customers search for services you offer.
Keyword Research
Keyword research is a vital element of any SEO strategy, helping to uncover the ideal keywords to target and provide insight into which queries your target audience is searching for online.
Keyword research is key when it comes to local SEO strategies; it enables your content to rank well with search engines and deliver organic traffic that reflects the ideal customer. Keyword analysis also offers valuable insights into customer concerns that inform content strategies and marketing plans.
Finding keywords with high volume and low difficulty will allow you to drive as much traffic as possible and turn them into customers.
As such, it is crucial that you use a keyword research tool capable of providing data regarding search volume (the amount of times people search your term per month) and keyword difficulty (how difficult it will be for you to rank for that term). An excellent keyword research tool such as Semrush offers such functionality.
On-Page Optimization
An effective on-page optimization strategy helps local businesses rank higher in search results. It includes factors like keyword research, link building, managing local business listings and maintaining brand reputation management.
On-page SEO strategies focus on optimizing website content to boost its search engine results pages (SERPs). This can be achieved by altering elements such as title tags, URLs and meta tags to increase its rank within SERPs.
Google crawlers use invisible metadata on websites to understand their content based on factors like expertise, authority and trustworthiness.
Page content is crucial to local SEO as it informs both search engines and readers what your company provides, while at the same time reflecting your target market with keywords both short and long-tail.
Your business information must be consistent on both your website and third-party listings such as Google Business Profiles or Yelp so search engines can effectively verify and validate it, while increasing its visibility for local searches or Google maps searches.
Local Business Listings
Establishing and updating local business listings online is an integral component of local SEO strategies. Doing this will allow your company to establish trust among prospective customers while also improving search engine rankings.
At the core of local business listing management lies accurate Google Business Profile (or My Business), to maximize your chances of ranking in the three-pack of local results that appears at the top of any local search.
Acquisition and management of local citations are another effective SEO tactic for local SEO. Citations provide direct links back to your website, making them invaluable ranking factors.
Locating local business citation platforms that fit best for your company can be challenging, so it is essential that you select those best suited to you and your business. Options might include news sites, blogs and review-oriented directories among many others.
Link Building
Link building is a critical search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. It can help improve search engine rankings and increase traffic to your website.
Link building can also help your brand develop awareness. On average, it takes seven brand impressions before someone takes an action step; therefore, reaching consumers organically through link building is key to increasing sales.
To bolster your local link profile, employ various strategies to encourage other websites to link back to yours. This could include guest blogging on other sites or exchanging links with local businesses in your area – among others.
Another effective strategy for building local connections is through reviews for your business. Consumers are more likely to trust it if they read positive comments online about it.