It’s one thing to rank well on Google’s SERP (search engine results page); it’s another thing to attract potential customers who actually are located in your area of business. If you run a local business, you’ll need to implement a local SEO strategy. Local SEO is a critical component of your SEO strategy as a whole. Poor local SEO not only means that you’ll have a tough time attracting customers in your area; it also means you may be attracting people from places where you don’t do business. If this happens to be the case, you’re wasting valuable marketing dollars on leads that aren’t qualified. With that in mind, the following are six tips that will help you improve your local search rankings:
1. Set Up A Google My Business Page
Arguably, one of the most critical steps you should take to improve local search is to set up a Google My Business page. It’s free to set up and allows you to provide Google with valuable information about your business, including your NAP (name, address, and phone number) as well as things like your website URL and your store hours. By setting up a My Business page, your location will appear in Google’s Local 3-Pack (the local listings displayed at the top of their SERP) and Google Maps. Not only will your business get more local exposure, its presence in these two features will also help build trust.
2. Create A Mobile-Friendly Website
First of all, more people use their mobile devices (meaning smartphones or tablets) to use the web than they do desktops. It’s why Google now factors in how mobile-friendly a website is into their overall search rankings. On top of that, many people perform mobile searches when they are on the go. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, it will hurt your rankings and make your site difficult for mobile users to navigate. To ensure that this doesn’t happen, you should use a responsive web design. Using a responsive design will ensure that your website will be correctly displayed no matter what type of device is being used.
3. Optimize Your Website Using Local Keywords
Google’s algorithm has evolved to the point where it automatically identifies from where users are searching. While some users still use location-based keywords in their searches, they often don’t have to. Either way, Google can infer from their search the location they’re looking for, which is why you should use local keywords to optimize your website. By using local keywords in your URLs, your page titles, your content, your meta tags, your meta descriptions, and more, you make it easier for Google to match
4. Keep Your NAP Updated Across Channels
First of all, make sure your name, address, and phone number is displayed on all of your web pages and social pages. It’s information that you’ll want your audience to have easy access to. Secondly, make sure your NAP is consistent across every channel. If your phone number changes or your address changes, you need to update your NAP everywhere. If you forget to do so, the conflicting information can affect your local search rankings. Finally, make sure that you submit your updated NAP to online directories, such as Yelp.
5. Add Location-Based Landing Pages
If your business has multiple locations, it can’t be overstated how important it is to set up multiple landing pages for each location. Your landing pages help potential customers find their nearest location and provide valuable information about each. Additionally, location-based landing pages have proven to be an important factor in search engine rankings. According to Moz, location-based landing pages influence overall visibility on Google’s search engine by as much as 24 percent. Finally, linking your location-based landing pages to your Facebook Local Pages, your Google My Business pages, and even your Yelp listings can help improve visibility on Google’s SERP.
6. Encourage Online Reviews
Positive customer reviews help to build trust. They also help to build your presence online. People are much more likely to click on a link or explore your website if you have a high number of positive reviews. Customer reviews on your Facebook page, Google My Business page, Yelp, and other online review sites can significantly influence customer behavior. As such, they have a big impact on your local SEO as well. Because of this, you’ll want to encourage customers to leave reviews whenever possible.
Local SEO is vital to your ability to generate leads in your area. A good local SEO strategy can help you generate higher quality leads, not to mention more customers.
These six tips will help you improve your ability to rank for local search and bring in new clients. ServiceWorks can help you offer those clients a great experience so they’ll keep coming back. The software lets you take online orders, optimize service routes, accept credit card payments, and so much more. Try it for free, no credit card required.
