In a world where people are increasingly shopping online rather than in stores, Local SEO is one way for businesses to boost their visibility in the market and attract more customers. But the local search optimization process goes far beyond just optimizing your business listings and creating relevant content; it also involves making sure your website is properly optimized to rank higher in SERPs.
In this article, we will review the most important website-based local ranking factors. These criteria are often overlooked, but if you take the time to improve them, it can significantly boost your rankings and drive more traffic to your site.
A well-optimized website is the most crucial local SEO ranking factor, and one of the few you have complete control over. Search engines send scores of robots, or spiders, to visit page after page on the web to learn more about each site and to find links that lead to other pages. This process is called crawling.
When it comes to Local SEO, having a well-optimized website is even more important because it signals to Google that your business is legitimate and worthy of being included in the search results. If your website doesn’t meet the minimum requirements set by Google, you will be ranked lower in the search results.
Your website’s URL, HTML text content, meta data (including title tags and meta descriptions), and other elements are all important in determining your rankings in SERPs. Ensure that all of these are up to date and relevant to your local business.
One of the best things you can do to improve your rankings is to include local keywords in your content. Use a keyword research tool to discover the keywords most popular in your area and use them in your title tags, metadata, and in the body of your content.
You can also include your city, state, or metropolitan area in a page’s URL, which is another great way to tell search engines that you are a local business. Be sure to include these keywords in a natural way and not overstuff them, however.
Another great strategy is to create a dedicated page on your site that discusses the specific city or region you are located in. This can be a very effective way to get your content to rank higher for local search terms, as it shows that you are an authority on the subject. Airbnb, for example, has a page that talks about staying in Miami.
Having a strong social media presence is also important in local SEO. This helps to connect with your audience, build trust, and share information about your business. You can also get your audience to share their experiences with your business by encouraging them to post reviews on your social media pages.
Local SEO is an important part of any online marketing strategy and can help your business grow and thrive. Using these strategies can help you stand out from your competition and capture the attention of more nearby shoppers.