If your business is a local one, optimizing your website for local SEO is essential. Doing so can attract potential customers in your vicinity and turn them into loyal customers who become repeat buyers.
Local SEO is an incredibly straightforward process. All that’s required of you is to incorporate relevant keywords and phrases that pertain to your business into your site content.
Keyword research
Local keyword research is the process of finding keywords that are pertinent to your business and target market. Doing this helps you appear in geographically tailored search results, attracting more local leads to your website.
Local keywords are especially crucial, as 46% of searches on Google involve local businesses or services (SEO Expert Brad). Conducting keyword research can help your website stand out in these results and boost its rankings in local searches.
Before you begin keyword research, create a list of all the products and services your business provides. Additionally, create an inventory of keywords related to those services.
Once you have your list, utilize a free keyword research tool to uncover keywords that correspond with your products or services. A great option is Ubersuggest.
This tool will show you the search volume and SEO difficulty of keywords entered. Furthermore, you can look into related questions people ask and other information to determine the most beneficial keywords for your business.
On-page optimization
Local search engine optimization (SEO) emphasizes on-page optimization as one of the most critical elements. This is because it informs search engines what your website and pages are about, helping you rank for relevant keywords that drive relevant traffic.
On-page optimization is essential for building authority and generating quality backlinks – which are crucial ranking signals. It may also reduce your bounce rate and enhance other metrics like Google Analytics conversion rate.
Keywords:
On-page SEO focuses on optimizing each page of your site with specific keywords relevant to both your business and what customers are searching for. It isn’t simply about stuffing the same phrase into every sentence (though that can still be effective), but creating intelligent keyword targeting content that flows naturally and meets users’ needs.
Link building
Link building is an integral component of local SEO and an influential factor in Google’s algorithms. According to Google, backlinks are one of the three most significant elements when calculating page rank; consequently, having quality links increases your chances of ranking well in localized searches.
Start building local link building by creating high-quality content about your business niche that includes keywords related to its area of operation. These should appear throughout all pages on your site, including in their title tags and URLs.
Reach out to local newspapers and online communities to see if they would like to feature your content or offer. This may require more manual outreach, but the effort can yield some quality local backlinks in the process.
Another effective local link-building strategy is to partner with other nearby businesses, such as your chamber of commerce or charity. Often these partners will be eager to exchange links and promote each other on their websites.
Social media
Social media is an effective tool for marketing your business online and cultivating relationships with customers. It allows you to stay in tune with what your audience wants and needs, as well as promptly respond to them when necessary.
No matter if you’re using Instagram to display fun pictures of your team, tweeting about an important event, or crafting thoughtful blog posts for LinkedIn, having a strong social media presence will enable you to connect and engage with your target audience.
Social media can help boost your SEO by promoting local events and activities related to your business. Additionally, it helps establish you as a thought leader within the industry.
Content you publish on your website should be relevant to and beneficial to your target audience, in order to earn inbound links and appear higher in local search results.