Local consumers typically begin their hunt for nearby goods and services with an online search. To be discovered, you need to appear in local organic & Map Pack search results. After that, you may attempt to turn those people into customers by inviting them to visit your business, scheduling an appointment with you, or some other means of monetary exchange. Among the most effective strategies for increasing local exposure via SEO are detailed in this section.
Take Over All Local Business Listings
An established Google My Business profile should form the backbone of any effective local SEO campaign. You may have noticed that Google now suggests relevant enterprises on search results pages or pondered how freshly opened businesses suddenly appeared on Google Maps.
Use your company description’s SEO Darwin potential by strategically inserting relevant keywords there. From there, be sure to add things like correct business hours, photographs to assist first-time consumers in finding your location, and a compelling call to action, such as a link to the company’s website.
While Google My Company is the most popular business-listing platform, many other companies exist. In this section, you should include a reference to your website, fix any mistakes that may have been made, and, as we shall see in a moment, properly cite your sources. Instead of relying just on Yelp! & Google My Business, one might expand your citation and backlink profile by exploring other, less well-known channels.
Maintain Accurate NAP Data
Listings for your company should always include up-to-date NAP (name and location) data. Search engines like Google are more likely to trust your listings if they have the correct information. Conversely, changes to the data render Google’s view of the situation inaccurate. Warning signs include a misspelled name or an unreachable phone number. In such a case, Google may decide not to show your GMB listing because it cannot verify the validity of your company.
Further, not only must your NAP data be accurate, but it must be consistent as well. Besides this, in the future, it is highly recommended that you maintain a close check on your NAP data. Any time your company’s address changes, it’s vital that you make that shift public immediately across all channels. The NAP details of the Google My Business profile should also be reviewed frequently.
Make Something Amazing
Your audience will get your messages, offers, and CTAs (calls to action) through the content you provide them. However, the search results page is one of many places your small company must compete. You also face competition from media outlets, informative websites, major corporations, local review sites, or many other content producers that provide material directly or indirectly related to your goods and services. With such stiff competition, your material must be remarkable to get noticed. Ensure your local content strategy aligns with your company objectives before diving in with both feet and churning out blog entries.
Use these tried-and-true on-page local SEO strategies to get your content seen by as many people as possible.
Mobile It Up
It is hardly surprising that localization plays a significant role in mobile search (82%). For this reason, Smartphone friendliness should be your priority for local SEO. You will lose many prospective customers who use mobile devices if your site is not optimized for mobile use. The remarkable thing is that it’s simple to create a site that works well on mobile devices. First, make sure your current location is mobile-friendly by switching to a WordPress theme that supports responsive design. An additional step is to use a third-party plugin, like WP touch, which automatically generates a mobile-friendly version of your website.
Functionality is crucial, but so is the speed at which things load. It is important to remember that 53% of mobile users will leave a site that takes longer than 3 seconds do to load. So nearly half of your prospective clients might be lost due to your website’s sluggish loading times. Improving your site’s mobile performance will positively affect your search engine rankings and bounce rate. If you have optimized your site and are still experiencing slow load times, it may be time to look into a new web host. Invest in a dedicated server. You and your website’s visitors will enjoy better performance, but it will cost you more.
Make Your Social Media Presence Known
However, social media is for more than just celebrities and major corporations. Instead, it is an effective platform for companies to launch their web presence. This is the busiest page for informing prospective consumers about new products, events, specials, pricing, availability, etc. You might think of your social media profiles as real-time versions of your company. Creating a social media presence may help you connect with others, observe and analyze trends, and even conduct business.
Verify The Accuracy Of Local Listings
For Google, nothing is more important than the quality of life for its search users. A significant setback to your local exposure is inaccurate, out-of-date material that poorly affects the searcher experience.
If a company’s contact details are correct, customers may save time reaching an unresponsive establishment or going to an unopened one. Alternatively, their GPS may reroute you to your prior position. Unfortunately, when several versions of crucial company data are scattered over the web, it becomes difficult for browsers to determine which version is accurate.
You do not want Google’s algorithm to doubt the veracity of your company details since it aims to provide the best response for every search.
Conclusion
It might be intimidating for a small company to take on local SEO. However, even if you have a marketing team, you may need to spend more time on administrative and promotional chores as a company owner. We hope this manual equips you with all the knowledge and tools you need to decide what tasks you can handle in-house and which ones you should outsource.
It’s OK to bring in a consultant or agency to help round out your staff’s knowledge and experience, but you should be well-versed in the tasks.