When it comes to your local business, the best marketing strategy is to rank well on Google. If you’re a wedding photographer in Seattle, a small Italian restaurant in Los Angeles, or a local contractor in Columbus, getting your website to the top of the search results is the only way to get a steady flow of customers.
Local SEO is a specific branch of traditional SEO that’s designed to help your business appear in local search results. By implementing a range of strategies and techniques, you can boost your chances of appearing in the “map pack” and organic “blue link” search results that will drive traffic to your site and grow your business.
There are a few different components to local SEO, including keyword research, online reviews, and local listings. Let’s take a closer look at each of these to find out how you can improve your local ranking.
The first step in local SEO is identifying the keywords that are most likely to bring people to your website. You can do this by searching for the products and services you offer in your area and noting the keywords that come up most frequently. Once you have a list of keywords, use them throughout your website and in your social media content to maximize your chances of showing up in local search results.
Another important part of local SEO is enhancing your online reputation through attracting high-quality backlinks. These are links from other websites to yours, and they can significantly boost your search engine optimization rankings. To attract these backlinks, reach out to local bloggers and journalists in your area and ask them to feature your business or write a blog post about it.
Your website also needs to be properly optimized for local searches by including the appropriate schema markup. This is a special code that tells search engines what kind of information your site is providing, such as its location. You can create your own schema markup with this tool from Hall Analysis, then paste it into the
Lastly, you should also include your local information in online directories and review sites like Yelp, Angi, and your Facebook profile. These are all considered citations, which is the name given to online mentions of your company that include its name, address, and phone number (NAP). When you have a large number of these citations, it signals to Google that your information is trustworthy and should be included in local search results.
Keeping up with local SEO is not an easy task, but it’s crucial to the success of your local business. By following these tips, you can increase your chances of appearing in the Google map pack and organic “blue link” search results, thereby bringing in more local traffic to your site. And that, in turn, will lead to more sales and a stronger presence in your community. Ready to get started?