Local SEO is more important than ever for local businesses which are trying to boost their revenues. More than 50% of people who did a local search on their smartphone went to the physical store within one day. A true asset for local companies! Local SEO is not really different from organic SEO, it just has a local focus. Here are 10 steps to help you boost your Local SEO strategy.
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Local Content
Localizing the content of your website is inescapable. You still need to respect the main rules of effective SEO content: value, details and regularity. But to promote your local business, you should add key terms and location and write about local events, local places or any local subject which fits your editorial policy!
Google My Business
Setting up your Google My Business page is the first step for an effective local SEO strategy. GMB is a tool that allows you to manage how your business appears on Google Search and Maps and to provide main information to users. You only have to add some basic information about your business: name, industry, location, hours and photos.
Google Local Pack
This tool built by Google is a section within the search results that shows 3 local businesses related to the user’s query. This “pack” appears in the #1 sport 93% of the time. To rank for these results, you need to add as much business information as you can in your GMB and to collect online reviews.
Reviews
Specifically, positive reviews are the best for local SEO! 84% of users trust online reviews as much as they trust their own friends. Feel free to ask your consumers to leave a review if they are satisfied of your business. Also, don’t forget to always reply to the reviews, whether they are positive or negative. Google states that this will help you to boost your visibility.
Local Citations
A local citation is an online mention of the name, address or phone number of your local business. You should try to get as many citations as you can in local online listings, directories or review sites. It will help users to discover your local business!
Structured Data Markup
You can add structured data markup to your website’s code to provide search engines information about your hours, address, menu, website and phone number. Also, local businesses can add GPS coordinates within structured data and Google can use this to display location information to users, especially those on mobile phones.
Local SEO Links
Getting backlinks from websites (news site, blogs, local writers…) which have an influence in your local market is necessary for your business. It’s even better when these sites are authoritative! The links provided by sites trusted by Google can really help you to boost your rankings. These links should ideally include your local keywords in the anchor text.
Title & Meta Description
The title & meta description tags allow you to control the first things that users see about your website in the SERPs. You need to carefully write these major pieces of information about your business in order to attract users. As a local business, you should think about adding your keywords and location to your title and meta description.
Local Keyword Research
First thing to know: your keywords must include your location. Then, you should see what keywords your competitors rank for, use Google Autocomplete to generate more search suggestions, and finally create a“Service” in “Locations” list, which is a list of your services merged with your location.
Website Performance
Google requires all websites to be mobile responsive and to load quickly, even for local businesses. To improve your page speed, you can start with easy actions, such as compressing your images, implementing AMP, prioritizing visible content and trying to minimize server response time. This will give you a competitive advantage!
