When I first started getting into SEO, I had no idea what an in-depth, immersive process it is. For all the articles out there that talk about jumpstarting SEO as part of your marketing strategy, none of them can truly prepare you for what a long, complicated process good SEO can be. If you’re a small business, you might not have the budget necessary for exhaustive SEO, but you can use local SEO to your advantage for great results. And it’s easy to do right now.
Local SEO is a more targeted SEO strategy that helps businesses market themselves online to local customers. If you run a business that sells primarily to people in your city or community, you can’t afford to skip out on local SEO. The first place people go to find local businesses is online, and your company has to have a presence in that space to make sure it’s found.
We’ve talked about local SEO ranking factors in the past, but how do you start with local SEO? Here are a few ways that can help you get started on the right foot.
Use Local Keywords in Your Website Content
You know that keywords are important, but finding the right keywords to use in your web content requires a calculated strategy in order to get the most out of your keyword research.
The connection between keywords and local SEO is simple: When conducting keyword research, look for local keywords.
Local keywords that include your city, state, or region should be implemented the same way that you would implement any other keyword; they belong where it makes sense and where they best enhance the web copy. Typically, you’ll insert local keywords in:
- Your About Us page
- Location pages
- Any company-specific content
- In blogs
If you’re not sure if a keyword belongs on a certain page, the safest approach is to either leave it off or consult with a professional on how it is properly implemented. Search engines like Google are very sensitive to what could be conceived as spam, or what are known as black hat SEO techniques. Inserting keywords in a way to manipulate search engines will only flag your website as problematic, hurting your SEO. As long as you are mapping keywords to your content in good faith with the right intentions, you should be able to avoid Google’s spam radar.
Try these tools to conduct your local keyword research:
Look for long-tail keywords that not only make the most sense with your location and business model, but are also easy to capitalize on.
Local keywords are an easy way of assuring website visitors that you exist in their region and serve their community. When you put these keywords into your web content where they belong, you have a stronger chance of showing up in search results when people search for businesses in your city.
Get Listed in Google My Business
People expect to find what they want fast, especially when Googling for information. The more time they have to spend to find what they’re looking for, the less of a chance you have to sell to them and turn them into customers. Google My Business (GMB) is one of the quickest ways to capture the attention of search engine users.
When you successfully fill out your GMB profile, your listing appears to the right of any relevant search results in all of its details. This immediately places your company information directly in front of search engine users who might be interested in your products and services.
It’s up to you to decide how much information about your company you want to display in search results, but generally, the more you share, the better chance you have of people interacting with your brand. People click on websites more when they feel confident about what it is they’re about to find after clicking.
Some information you should consider posting to your GMB profile is:
- Name of your business
- Address
- Phone number
- Hours of operation
- Directions
- Business description
When filling out these details, make sure that each one is accurate and free of typos. Any misinformation could seriously hurt your chances of ranking high for certain keywords, thus slowing your web traffic and decreasing your odds of making a sale. Accuracy is key.
Google is the leading search engine across the entire internet. According to Internet Lives Stats, 3.5 billion searches are conducted on Google every day. Don’t wait any longer to claim your free listing on Google My Business and get in on the action.
Create a Webpage for All of Your Locations
Location pages were mentioned in the previous section about localized keywords. While many businesses just list the location(s) they serve on the homepage of their websites, creating one or more location pages is much more beneficial for local SEO.
One big plus of a location page is that it allows you spotlight the location of your business in detail. When writing content for the page, consider:
- Who works there
- What products and services you sell there
- What makes it special
- Information about the surrounding area
- Images of the office, staff, and surrounding area
The obvious value here is that it gives your company personality and color where it might otherwise be lacking. People want to feel welcomed when they walk through your doors and to feel a sense of familiarity. It reassures them that you are in fact a real business in their area.
On a more practical level, there is a lot of SEO value packed in a well-written location page. These pages make it easier for search engines to pick up on where you’re situated, raising your chances of ranking well for keywords.
While one location page can be used for each of your different offices, devoting one page to each location is even better. It enhances the SEO value of every page and improves your rankings for local keywords. The same practices should be applied to each page.
Generate and Showcase Online Reviews
How much do consumers care about business reviews? A lot, it turns out. BrightLocal’s 2017 Local Consumer Review Survey found some extremely revealing statistics about consumers and reviews:
- 97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses in 2017
- 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations
- 68% of consumers left a local business review when asked
With stats like these, it should come as no surprise that online reviews can have a tremendous impact not only on your SEO, but on your business as a whole.
If people are leaving positive reviews of your business, it is more likely that more people will click through to your website and buy from you.
If people are leaving negative reviews of your business, it is more likely that you will see a decrease in your overall SEO and, ultimately, a decrease in sales. People simply will not trust a business riddled with negative reviews.
What’s the trick to generating good reviews that spotlight online? It’s simple: Be a good business. Be authentic and ethical when you interact with customers and deliver a good experience. Negative reviews shouldn’t be seen as a harmful act but as an opportunity to reexamine your business model and improve in certain areas.
Do you not have any reviews but want some? Ask your favorite customers to leave reviews online. As the BrightLocal finding indicates, most of them will do it.
The best place for people to find reviews about your company ultimately depends on what you specialize in, as some reviews sites are industry-specific. That said, your Google My Business profile and your Facebook business page are two popular, heavily-used platforms where reviews can be easily found and read.
This is an especially beneficial marketing strategy for small businesses that might not have as big of a reputation as a chain store or corporation down the block. If their reviews are full of low ratings and harsh words, this is the perfect chance to get a leg up on them.
This isn’t the definitive guide to local SEO. There is still a lot more that can be done to transform your digital presence into a model example of local SEO. What’s important is that, as your business grows, so does your attention to your digital marketing efforts.
These tips should serve as a great foundation for practical SEO that you can do today as a small local business. It’s easy to make your customers find you as long as you have the right keywords in place and the right pages set up around the web.
SEO still takes a lot of time and finesse to do it right, however exhaustive the depth and scope of work. If you want to leave the work to a professional marketer, we can help. We have years of proven SEO experience that have risen the online profiles of businesses both big and small, enhancing their reputation and generating more profits. Contact us today to learn how our local SEO advantage program can elevate your online presence so that your local community can find you and buy from you.
