5 Ways Small Businesses Can Market Through Local SEO
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your online properties so that you appear in relevant local searches within Google map pack and organic search results.
In other words, local SEO is the process of optimizing your web presence through a variety of methods so that search engines like Google can find you when people search specific things. Local SEO is especially important for small businesses that have a physical location where customers come in to make purchases. It’s absolutely vital for online businesses to harness the power of local SEO in order for Google to know where your business is located and what products and services it offers.
How To Get On Google My Business
- Claim your business listing.
- Fill out all the information you can about your company including operating hours, contact information, and a short description of the company’s focus and services.
- Add your business to Google Maps.
- Make sure that you include photos of the inside and outside of the building as well as any photos of your employees or products that may help to build customer trust in your brand.
- Respond to reviews!
Optimize Your Website for Local Keywords
The first step in marketing your business through local SEO is to optimize your website. Every page on your site should be optimized for a specific keyword related to your business. For example, if you own a restaurant, then you might have one page optimized for the keyword phrase “restaurants in Seattle” and another for “Seattle restaurants.” Generally, pages optimized for longer phrases will convert better and rank higher on search engines because they’re more specific.
Create Location-Specific Pages on Your Website
Location-specific pages on your website are an important part of local SEO because they tell search engines where your company conductsbusiness and helps potential customers find you. In addition to creating a page for each location you serve, it can be helpful to create additional pages for one or two surrounding cities or neighborhoods. This will help you rank higher in searches that include those locations, which can drive even more traffic to your website. Customers in nearby areas will be able to find your business and purchase products and services that they are in the market for.
Encourage and Engage with Reviews from Customers
As a small business owner, you should encourage customers to leave reviews on your Google My Business Profile, Yelp and any other local directories that are relevant for your business. When you receive a positive review, respond to it by saying something like “Thank you for your feedback!” so that readers know you are engaged with the customer and offer excellent customer service. If you receive a negative review, try to fix it or diffuse the situation as soon as possible. You may want to respond privately and see how you can help improve the situation.
Reviews dramatically improve your search engine rankings and conversion rates — as long as they’re positive. For example, in 2017, 97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses before making a purchase decision according to BrightLocal’s Local Consumer Review Survey (2017). Reviews are also some of the most valuable content on your website: they provide social proof that people have used your product or service successfully in the past. They also offer insights into what customers think about what they’ve purchased from you already, which is invaluable information regarding your business — both in terms of SEO rankings and overall customer satisfaction.
Make Use of Citations
Citations are an essential part of local SEO. But what exactly is a citation? A citation is any mention of your business’s name, address, and phone number on another website. Citations can drive traffic to your site and help boost your site in the search engine results pages (SERPs), especially if they are on high-quality websites that have a lot of authority.
The two most important factors that affect how effective a citation is at increasing your search engine rankings are relevance (how closely related to your business the citing website is) and authority (how well the citing website ranks on Google).
Here are some examples:
- A hyperlocal newspaper mentioning your company in an article about local businesses would be relevant and authoritative.
- An online directory listing of all the businesses in your city would be relevant but not very authoritative.
- The Better Business Bureau or Yelp may not be very relevant to your business but they’re extremely authoritative.
Small businesses can grow by making sure their websites are optimized for local SEO.
Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website so that search engines such as Google know your business’s address, hours of operation, and more. It can help your website rank higher on search results pages for searches in your local area.
Simply ensuring that every page on your site has the correct name, address, and phone number (NAP) for your business won’t get you to the top of Google. You need to make sure that each element on your website is optimized for local SEO. A holistic approach is essential to making sure your website shows up in search results.
Why should you care about local SEO?
Millions of people use the internet to find establishments like restaurants, doctors offices, and repair shops within their neighborhood or city. You want potential customers who live nearby to be able to find your business when they search for products or services that your company offers. Local SEO can help them find you!
Some advantages of local SEO are:
- Ranking higher than your competition in Google search results will lead to more website traffic and potentially result in more customers buying from you or choosing your business instead of other businesses nearby.
- Having a strong presence in “Map Pack” results will give potential customers an easier way to contact or visit your store or office location if they have not found what they were looking for through organic search engine rankings.
Conclusion
If you follow the tips mentioned above, you will be able to successfully optimize your website for local SEO. In addition, this process will help your business build trust with your customers and increase visibility in local search results.
Do you have any ideas or questions on how small businesses can market through local SEO? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
