Local SEO can help your business gain recognition online and expand its presence within its community. It works by making sure it appears in relevant search results when potential customers search for products or services you provide.
First step should be optimizing your Google My Business page and other listings for local searches by using keywords relevant to your business and targeting the search intent of target audiences.
Keyword research
Keyword research is an integral component of search engine optimization (SEO). It allows you to pinpoint the most relevant search terms to target in order to increase organic visibility on relevant search engine results pages (SERPs).
Local keyword research is crucial for businesses that rely on local clients, as it allows them to appear in geographically targeted searches, helping more leads discover them and increasing organic website traffic, foot traffic and inquiries.
As part of your initial strategy, brainstorm the services your business offers. This step is crucial because it allows you to generate a list of keywords you can then use in keyword research.
Once you’ve assembled your list of keywords, use tools like Ubersuggest or Google Keyword Planner to assess search volume and SEO difficulty for each term on your list. This will enable you to determine which ones to prioritize and whether or not they warrant further exploration.
On-page optimization
On-page optimization of your website is one of the key components of local SEO. Optimizing title tags, headers and content along with adding meta data all play an integral part in helping your site rank for keywords relevant to your business.
Maintaining an up-to-date, mobile-friendly and optimized site can help your company secure higher rankings on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs). Ensure every page of your site contains your NAP (name, address, and phone number) while structured data mark-up provides important details about your location and services offered.
An integral component of local SEO is properly managing your Google My Business (GMB) profile. Doing this allows you to control how information about your company appears on Google and respond to reviews; additionally, by properly administering GMB you may increase the odds that your business will appear in local packs and maps searches on Google.
Link building
Link building is one of the cornerstones of local SEO. Links allow your business to rank higher on Google’s local search results pages.
There are various strategies for building links, from reaching out to other businesses or writing guest blog posts for them, to seeking links from websites with local audiences and high domain authority.
Another effective strategy for building local links is creating content relevant to your customers, such as articles about local events and trends.
Local link building can be an excellent way to raise brand recognition and drive referral traffic back to your website, while simultaneously improving Google rankings for multiple keywords.
Social media
Social media marketing can be an excellent way to market your local business and drive visitors to its website, but before diving in headfirst you must understand each platform fully or risk missing opportunities to expand and reach new customers.
Social media can be an immensely effective SEO tool that can have a dramatic effect on search rankings. Social media can have an indirect influence on factors that determine SERP (search engine results page) positions such as on-page optimization and link building; plus it may drive quality website traffic directly to your blog or business website.
Are You Wanting to Expand Local SEO with Social Media? When looking to boost local SEO through social media, start by promoting content on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Doing this will give it new life while sending high-quality social signals directly to Google which could boost its search ranking.