Improving local SEO isn’t hard at all, and is a requirement if you want to remain competitive in your industry. Believe it or not, even with the advances in modern technology, over one-third of all small businesses don’t have a website.
You would think having a website is a core part of boosting a company’s sales, but alot of businesses are still lacking in their overall marketing efforts. This allows YOU to surpass your competitors who are lacking in this area of marketing and acquire customers at a very low cost.
If you have a website and are looking for innovative ways to boost your sales, you’re already ahead of the curve. You probably know that the area of improving local SEO is a vital aspect of your marketing plan, but you don’t know how to boost your rankings.
I want to share with you some tips for improving local SEO so that you can get more local traffic and surpass your competitors. This will only help you to get more visibility, more customers, and more revenue for your business.
Here’s the first tip for improving local SEO that you will want to do starting right now. It takes less than 5 minutes to do:
Create A Google Business Profile
Since you’re looking for tips on improving local SEO, you’re probably wondering how to get your business listed on Google.
To get listed on Google, you will want to create a Google Business Profile Listing. This is the equivalent of being on the Yellow Pages of the internet, and having a Google Business Profile will influence your local SEO rankings.
Setting up a Google Business Profile isn’t hard at all, and you will want to make sure that your profile is 100% completed. Here are some tips to keep in mind when filling out your Google Business Profile:
- Make your description of your business thorough
- Mention the products and services you offer
- Update your website with frequent updates and posts
- Strive to get more customer reviews
- List commonly asked questions and answers
Here’s the next tip for improving local SEO for your business:
Insert Your Business Location In 5 Key Areas Of Your Pages
To boost your SEO, it’s important to put where you’re located in certain parts of your web pages. You may think that having your location on the “about us” or “contact us” page of your site is all that’s required, but there’s more that you need to do.
You will want to include your business location in 5 particular places on site. These locations include:
- The headings (H1, H2, H3, etc)
- In the title tags of your page
- Sprinkled throughout the body copy of your pages
- The footer of your website
- The meta description of your website
In some instances where possible, you can mention your location in the domain name of your website.
Here’s another tip for improving local SEO:
Keyword Selection Is Important
When optimizing your site, it’s important to use keywords that people are typing in the search engines. You always want to write around keywords that people are typing into Google.
This way you will be found whenever someone enters their search query. Otherwise, you won’t be found at all, because you won’t be ranking for what people are searching for.
There are many internet marketing tools that you can use to do keyword research. Some of the best are:
- Semrush
- SpyFu
- Ahrefs
With these tools, you will find the keywords that people are typing in to find businesses like yours with ease. Plus, you’ll find low competition keywords that are easy to rank for that your competitors aren’t thinking about ranking for.
Here’s another tip for improving local SEO:
Encourage Positive Online Reviews
Everyone knows that online reviews are critical to the reputation of a business. It’s important to get as many positive reviews as possible so that you can stand out from your competitors.
A ton of positive reviews will make you look like a top-notch business in your niche, and alone can make people choose you over your competitors.
You can ask for reviews from your customers in a variety of ways. These ways include:
- Have your staff ask customers for their feedback
- Offering an incentive to customers who write a review
- Comment on the reviews that already exist for your business
- Use surveys that help you to improve certain areas of your business
Here’s another tip for improving local SEO:
Have A Mobile Optimized Website
Having a mobile-friendly or mobile-optimized website is great for user experience, navigation, appearance, and overall SEO rankings.
Over one-third of all mobile searches are location related. This means that the people looking for your products or services are more than likely in your area, and are using a mobile device to do so.
It’s important to have a website that looks well on mobile. User experience is a huge factor when it comes to keeping people on your web pages, and it’s important if you want to get more sales.
Not having a mobile-optimized site makes people lose trust in you, and makes it frustrating when browsing around your site. This is a factor that can make people choose other businesses over you.
Here’s another tip for improving local SEO:
Submit To Local Website Directories
You want to be found on Google, but you also want to be found on local directories on the internet.
Depending on the products and services that you offer, being included in these local directories will help to get sales from people who are interested in what you do. You will want to submit to directories such as:
- Google My Business
- Foursquare
- Angi (formally Angie’s List)
- Bing Places
- Care.com
You will also want to search for directories that are specific to your location. Being submitted to these directories will boost your rankings, and ensure that people can find you easily.
Final Thoughts About Improving Local SEO
Improving local SEO is a must if you’re a business owner that wants to get more sales. You’ll be able to get a “leg up” over your competitors and boost your sales effortlessly.
All kinds of businesses can use these tips to boost their SEO rankings.
Companies in real estate, affiliate marketing, law, the restaurant industry, medical, plumbing, home improvement, pet care, spas, fencing, heating and cooling, painting, and more can use these tips to improve their local SEO presence.
Improving local SEO can be done with minimum effort, and these tips will help you to rank ahead of your competitors with ease.