When you have a local business, there’s no doubt that your online search marketing is crucial to your success. After all, word of mouth and traditional ads can only take you so far. To really drive traffic and grow your business, you need to rank well on Google. And that’s where Local SEO comes in. Local SEO involves optimizing your website and business listings for a specific region so you can get found in searches by customers in that area. It also includes leveraging keyword research and link-building to improve your Google ranking. And it’s something almost every local business can benefit from.
Jim Reynolds is the CEO of Sofia Marketing, a digital marketing agency that specializes in Google Search Optimization and paid ad management. He explains why Local SEO is important and how to optimize for it.
If your company has one physical location, you’ll need to sign up for a Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business). This is free and essential for any local SEO campaign. It allows you to add your address, services, contact information and photos, all of which are important for your local rankings. You’ll also want to make sure your name, phone number and address (NAP+W) are consistent across all of your online listings. This includes your Google Business Profile, social media profiles and directory websites like Yelp.
It’s also important to create content that’s relevant to your local audience. This can include blog posts that mention local events, news or landmarks. It can also be content that’s useful to potential customers in your area, such as a guide to the best things to do in your city or tips for using your product or service.
You should also strive to build as many quality backlinks as possible. This can be done by guest posting on relevant blogs and websites in your industry. You can also network with other local businesses and ask for links if they’re in a similar niche as you.
Another key aspect of local SEO is generating customer reviews. These can help you rank higher on Google and show potential customers that other people have had a positive experience with your business. Managing your reputation on Google is an ongoing process and it’s important to respond to any negative reviews promptly.
Citations are a big part of your local SEO ranking, accounting for 11 percent of the local pack-ranking factors. They’re mentions of your business’ name, address, phone number and website (NAP+W) on other websites, even if they don’t have a link to your site. It’s vital to have a strong presence on local citation sites such as Yelp and Yext. Acquiring reviews is an ongoing process that should be a priority for any local SEO strategy.
You should also use a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner to find keywords that are relevant to your local audience. This will allow you to see how many people are searching for those specific terms and how competitive they are. This will give you a good idea of which keywords to focus on when creating your content.