Best 10 Ways to Improve Your Local SEO Local SEO can be a tricky thing to master. If you're not careful, it's easy to fall into the trap of over-optimizing your website without actually improving your visibility in the local search results. The good news is that there are plenty of ways that you can improve your local SEO—and none of them involve hiring a developer or spending an arm and a leg on development costs. Here are my top ten tips for making sure that your website is optimized for local search:
Local Directory Listings Local directory listings are an important part of your local SEO strategy. They are usually free to list on, and they can provide a lot of traffic and links, which can help improve the discoverability of your website. However, they’re also difficult to rank in and expensive to pay for. There are many types of local directories that you can submit your business listing to— business directories like Yelp and TripAdvisor, neighborhood directories such as Patch (which covers over 300 US cities), niche industry-specific sites like Angie’s List or Thumbtack (for service providers), industry-related news sites like Patch or Mediabistro (for professionals), gaming sites like GameSpot or IGN, discussion forums like Reddit or Quora—and that doesn’t even include mobile apps offering local services such as Yelp or Foursquare! Because there are so many options available it is easy for webmasters looking into improving their SEO strategy to get overwhelmed by all the possibilities while trying to decide where they should start out first with their efforts due diligence when deciding where best invest time effort money resources into building up quality links backlinks away from main site blog news page articles pages articles pages blog posts content pages content posts
Optimize your Google My Business Listing Your Google My Business listing is your online business card. It's the first thing people will see when they search for your business and it shows up on Google Maps and other platforms. You can list all the important details of your company (like opening hours), add photos, and include a link to your website.
Google My Business has become an essential part of local SEO marketing because it helps users find more businesses like yours that are nearby—so claiming this listing is key! If you don't already have one you'll need to claim it before continuing with this guide: •
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Go to google.com/business/register-for-google-business-tools/[link] and enter the information required into the fields provided (name, address, phone number). Click "Next." Afterward, you'll be asked which type of business you own: select Restaurants & Cafes from the dropdown menu then click "Continue."
Optimize On-Site Content and Site Structure There are a few things you can do to ensure your site is optimized for local search results. •
Optimize for mobile. If your site isn't optimized for mobile, it could be hurting your rankings. Google has been focusing on improving the user experience in their search results, and they've made it very clear that this means making sites easier to navigate on mobile devices. Additionally, if you want to be found in SERPs (search engine result pages), you need to make sure that the information displayed matches what people are looking for—and if users have trouble seeing or interacting with content on your page, they're likely going to leave right away.
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Make sure navigation is easy. While we're on the subject of user experience, let's talk about navigation! Navigation should be intuitive and easy so that anyone who visits can easily find what they're looking for without getting lost or overwhelmed by choices too many options might create confusion instead of clarity when trying .
Get Reviews and Ratings Reviews and ratings are an important part of local SEO. They help you get found by customers in your area who are looking for businesses like yours. Here are some ways to get reviews: •
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Ask customers for reviews after they visit your business. You can do this by sending a follow-up email or including a review form in your receipts. You can also offer discounts or freebies as an incentive for their time. Ask industry experts like bloggers, journalists and other professionals who have written about the topic of your business if they would be willing to write a review or mention you on their website (with permission). Reach out to competitors asking them if they would be willing to share their experience with using your product or service on social media and other websites where people interested in what you provide might look for answers about products/services like yours.*
Maintain an Active Social Media Presence
Social media is a great, easy way to connect with your customers. It's also a good way to build trust and establish yourself as an expert in your field. Social media can be used as a great resource for generating awareness of your brand and getting more traffic to your site. If done right, social media can help you develop customer loyalty and engagement while also increasing the number of visits to your website or blog. You’ll want to focus on building an audience around the content that speaks most directly about what you do best, so people will remember who you are when they need help with something related (and then they might come back).
Use Social Proof and Online Customer Service To Bolster Your Local Reputation Social proof is a powerful tool—so powerful that it can make or break your business. Social proof is the idea that others will be more inclined to purchase something they see other people have already purchased. In the online world, social proof comes in many forms, such as reviews and testimonials on your website, reviews on third-party sites like Yelp or Amazon and even customer service interactions (whether live chat or phone). Using social proof effectively means using all of these types as often as possible so customers know you’re legit. Let’s look at each in more detail: •
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Reviews & testimonials: These are specifically written by people who have tried your product or service and liked it enough to take time out of their day to share their experience with others. They help convince new visitors that you've got an awesome product/service by showing them someone else thought so too! Customer service interactions: This could include anything from a positive review posted after an interaction with one of your employees (like this one), reaching out to someone for support because something went wrong with their order or even just answering questions about pricing through email (which I'm sure happens all the time).
Harmonize NAP Data Whether you're a business owner or an SEO, everyone can agree on one thing: NAP data is important. Why? Because it helps people find you! This type of data is also known as “NAP” or “NAP Data” and stands for Name, Address, Phone number. It's essential that you provide all three pieces of information (or the equivalent) to Google and Bing so they know exactly where your business location is located. Doing so will help customers find you easily and quickly when searching online; You want them to click on your website link!
Develop a link-earning strategy Develop a link-earning strategy. Links are the currency of SEO, so it's important to have a long-term plan for earning them, and to make sure that you're getting all of the links you deserve.
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Your own website: On your website, you should be linking out to other sites that help explain what you do; they should also include valuable information that people want. This is an excellent way to show Google that your business has value in its own right, as well as being interested in helping others succeed. Your blog: If you have a blog on your website (and if not, consider setting one up), make sure it's regularly updated with fresh content that's relevant to what people would search for when looking for local businesses like yours. Make sure each article includes links back to other useful resources on topics related specifically around whatever subject area may be covered—this will help draw traffic from new readers who might not have known about these resources before!
If you don't know how to implement any of these techniques, you'll need to hire an expert. If you don't know how to implement any of these techniques, you'll need to hire a Local SEO marketing company that can help you improve your local presence and get ready for changes that are coming in the next few years. This is particularly important if you are currently struggling with Google's ranking algorithms or have been penalized by them in the past. To find an experienced local SEO expert who can help you improve your rankings and reach potential customers, check out our guide on hiring an SEO consultant: What You Need To Know About Hiring An Organic SEO Consultant
Conclusion We've given you the tools to start improving your local SEO. If you don't know how to implement any of these techniques, you'll need to hire an expert.
