When it comes to building an online presence, local search engine optimization is essential. If you want to build the online presence of your business, it is essential to focus on all the factors. Through local SEO, you can drive local search traffic to your business.
When you get top position in local search results for relevant keywords, you will start getting tons of foot traffic to your business. With the rise in competition, it can seem difficult to gain higher rankings. Here we have shared some useful local SEO tips & techniques that you can implement in your business. These tips will help you improve your local search presence.
Create Google My Business Account
This is a basic yet essential factor when it comes to local SEO services. Google is the largest search engine in the world. Do you know that 46% of the searches on Google have local intent? If your business is not listed on Google, you will be missing out on a lot of business. Setting up a Google My Business account is so simple and quick. After you submit all the information to your Business Profile, the data will appear on Google local search results, the Google Search Knowledge Panel, and Google Maps.
Get Reviews from your Customers
When doing local SEO, one of the major mistakes business owners and many marketers make is they try getting fake reviews. Note that fake reviews will not create a positive impact on the search rankings. In fact, it can result in a penalty. So, avoid generating fake reviews. It’s not about quantity; it’s more about quality. Getting reviews from happy customers won’t just optimize your Google My Presence; it will also help your other customers to buy from you.
Optimize for Voice Search
How we type is not always how we speak. With voice search becoming popular, it is so vital that you optimize your business’ presence for voice search. It is expected to grow more in the upcoming years. That’s the reason why you need to optimize how people ask questions when they speak into devices. When doing voice searches, people are more likely to use long-tail keywords as compared to regular searches. Keeping in mind these things would help you optimize for voice search.
Gather Local Keywords and Use Them
The keyword research process will vary a bit for local SEO. One of the important things to keep in mind when doing keyword research for local SEO is making sure that keywords are relevant to local customers. In local SEO, you are required to find out profitable keywords with local search intent. There are various tools you can use for conducting local keyword research. You use Ahrefs, Semrush, Google Keyword Planner, or any other. Once you have the list of keywords, you need to use those keywords in your site’s meta description, permalink, content, etc.
Get Relevant and Quality Citations
Another essential part of local search engine optimization is building citations. A citation is an online reference to a business that features the business’ name, address, and phone number (NAP). In general SEO, links are essential for building authority, while in local SEO, citations help with building the authority. There are tons of online directories out there. You need to get citations from only those directories that are relevant and high-quality. When building citations, you need to focus on three types of citations – general, niche-specific, and geo-specific.
Have a Dedicated Webpage for Each Product/Service
Your business will have different products or services. On your website, you need to create a separate page for each product/service. Listing all the products/services on a single page can be an easy task, but you should avoid doing that. This way, you are not confusing search engines by listing more than one product/service on a single page. When listing down all the products or services on a single page, your local SEO effort won’t be much effective.
Maintain NAP Consistency
In local SEO, NAP stands for name, address, and phone number. The mistake that many new digital marketers and business owners make is they can’t maintain NAP consistency. In order to get the best out of your local SEO strategy, it is crucial to maintain NAP consistency. A minor variation in the NAP does create an impact. When building citations, you need to use the exact same name, address, and phone number in all the citations.
Keep your GMB Account Updated
After submitting all the information in your Google My Business account, your task is not complete. After getting a higher ranking on the search results, it is still essential to keep your GMB account updated. When users across the internet enter a search query and find your business, they rely on your business listing for the correct information. Therefore, it is extremely important to keep your name, phone number, address, business hours, etc., up to date.
Final Thoughts
With around 46% of Google searches with local intent, it’s so crucial for your business to work on local search engine optimization. Making your business website’s local SEO work won’t cost you so much; it will still provide fantastic traction in the long run.
The crucial thing is continuously implementing the right strategies. To help you improve the local search presence of your business, here we have shared some amazing local SEO tips & techniques.