Improving your local SEO is an important part of making sure that you are reaching as many customers as possible. However, if you don’t know how to do it, then this can be a frustrating and time-consuming process.
This blog post will show you 7 steps that will help improve the way people find your business online!
Contents
1. Do your research – learn about what keywords and phrases are being used to find businesses like yours
The first step is to do your research and learn about what keywords and phrases are being used to find businesses like yours. You can use Google AdWords Keyword Planner or another tool to help you figure out what people are searching for online when they need services similar to your business.
Keyword research is essential because it helps to narrow down a list of possible keywords that can be used, and then use those words for SEO ranking.
To derive the best results from keyword research you need to know what different terms could lead people to your blog or website specifically.
When people think about your product or service one word might come up – whereas another person searching for similar information may search using a different phrase. For instance “coffee” and “buy coffee online
There are three main types of search intent: navigational, informational, and transactional.
Navigational searches are when someone is looking for a particular website or business. They know the name of the site they’re looking for and they type it into the search engine to find it.
Informational searches are when someone is looking for information about a particular topic. They might not know exactly what they’re looking for, but they have an idea of what they want to learn more about.
Transactional searches are when someone is looking to buy something or take some kind of action. They might not know what they want yet, but they have an idea of the type of product or service they’re interested in.
2. Make sure your website is optimised for those keywords and phrases
Once you know what people are searching for, you need to make sure that your website is optimised for those keywords and phrases. This means making sure your website’s title tag, meta description, header tags, and content all include the relevant keywords and phrases. The benefits of a well optimised website include:
- Improves the quality of Google’s search results
- Helps you rank higher in local searches
- Helps your site appear prominently in organic search results
- Can help with getting more traffic to your website
- Reduces the amount of competition you have for certain keywords
- Improves click-through rates (CTRs) from SERPs
Google also takes into account other factors such as how often a keyword is used on a page, the relevance of the keyword to the page’s content, and the website’s overall authority.
3. Claim and optimise your Google My Business listing
The third step is to claim and optimise your Google My Business listing. This is a simple process that only takes a few minutes, but it can have an immediate impact on how easily customers find you online!
It allows you to tell the world about your office location, phone number, website address, hours of operation, and other important details.
A Google My Business listing is fundamental for making sure that customers know how to find your business online. All you need to do is register with Google My Business and enter in the information that’s appropriate for your business.
Steps include:
Claiming (adding) or verifying (verifying what you’ve already entered) the web page associated with your business on Google Maps Adding features like an image, description defining what makes your company special, managing contact information Visiting other listings by category or type – either related or unrelated Add links back to their website location on blogs and websites where they were mentioned so they can add it as a claimed listing
4. Get involved with the local community – sponsor events, join local organisations, etc.
The next step is to get involved with the local community. You can do this by sponsoring events, joining organisations and groups in your area, or other ways that you feel will help improve the way people find your business online and get backlinks as a news source, event sponsor, and attendees.
5. Write blog posts and articles about topics relevant to your target audience
Another great way to improve your local SEO is by writing blog posts and articles about topics that are relevant to your target audience. This will help you attract attention from people who are interested in what you have to say, and it can also help with getting backlinks as other websites will be more likely to link to your content if it’s of good quality.
List of article types that can help:
- How to topics (e.g. how to choose the right local SEO company)
- Industry trends
- Opinion pieces about current events or hot topics in your industry
- Interviews with interesting people in your industry
- Tutorials
- Checklists
- Cheat Sheets
- Infographics
6. Use local directories to list your business information
Another way to improve your local SEO is by using local directories to list your business information. This includes listing your company name, address, and phone number on websites like Yellow Pages, Yelp, and Foursquare.
Citation building is so important because it’s a major factor that Google uses to determine a website’s authority.
The more high-quality citations you have, the higher your website will rank in search results. In addition, citation building can help improve click-through rates (CTRs) from SERPs and increase traffic to your website.
20 of the top local directories in the UK:
- Yell
- Yelp
- Foursquare
- Central Index
- Hot Frog
- Thomson Local
- 118 Information
- Scoot
- FreeIndex
- Fyple
- Dentons
- Find the Needle
- iGlobal
- Find Open
- My Local Services
- Call Up Contact
- Gladiator Business
- Infobel
- Brownbook
- La Cartes
7. Build High-Quality Backlinks
One of the most important factors in improving your local SEO is building high-quality backlinks. This means getting links from websites that are authoritative and respected within your industry.
There are many ways to go about this, but some of the most common tactics include submitting articles to directories, guest blogging on other websites, and participating in online discussions and forums.
Some benefits of having high-quality links going to your website:
- Improved search engine ranking
- Increased website traffic
- More online visibility
- Boost brand awareness
- Increased customer trust and loyalty
- Improved online reputation
Local SEO FAQ
What is local SEO?
Local SEO is a branch of search engine optimisation that focuses on improving the visibility of a business in local search results. This includes ranking higher in SERPs for queries that are related to the business’ location, as well as increasing click-through rates (CTRs) and website traffic from those searches.
What are the benefits of local SEO?
Some of the benefits of local SEO include improved search engine ranking, increased website traffic, and more online visibility. In addition, local SEO can help boost brand awareness, increase customer trust and loyalty, and improve online reputation.
How do I improve my local SEO?
There are many different ways to go about improving your local SEO, such as writing blog posts and articles that target your ideal customer, getting involved with the local community (e.g. sponsoring events), using local directories to list business information on websites like Yellow Pages, Yelp, Foursquare, etc., building high-quality backlinks from reputable sources in your industry, and more.
What’s the difference between global and local SEO?
Global SEO focuses on improving the overall visibility of a website in search results, whereas local SEO specifically targets websites that are focused on a location.
What is the difference between organic and paid traffic?
Organic traffic refers to visits from search engines where no money has been spent for ads or links leading people to your site. Paid traffic indicates when you have purchased an ad somewhere online (e.g. Google Adwords) that sends visitors directly to your website through targeted keywords related to what they’re searching for.
How do I use citations in my local SEO strategy?
Citations are very important because it’s one of the major factors used by Google to determine how authoritative a website is within its industry. The more high-quality citations you have, the higher your website will rank in search results. You can build citations by submitting your business information to local directories online.
Why is my business not appearing at the top of Google Maps?
Some of the most common reasons why a business isn’t appearing in Google Maps is because the listing is incomplete or not optimised properly, your listing has fewer citations and reviews than the competition taking the top spots.
Why aren’t my local rankings improving?
There can be a number of reasons why your local rankings aren’t improving, but some of the most common ones include having low-quality backlinks, outdated website information, incorrect business NAP (name, address, and phone number), and not using Google My Business.
My website isn’t optimised for local SEO, what do I do?
If your website isn’t optimised for local SEO, it will lose out to competitors who are using the right strategies. Some things you can do include: implementing Google My Business and Analytics on your website, having a consistent NAP across all pages (name, address, and phone number), and building high-quality backlinks from reputable sources in your industry.
How can I get more reviews for my business?
Getting more online reviews for your business is an important part of local SEO. One way to do this is by encouraging happy customers to leave a review on Google My Business, Facebook, or Yelp about their experience with the business.
You can also incentivise them in return for taking and posting high-quality photos of themselves at your place of business which can help attract new customers.
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Conclusion
If you want to improve your local SEO and drive more traffic through the search engines, many things can be done.
From improving quality backlinks to creating citations for Google Maps listings, these strategies will help make sure your business is one of the first results in a customer’s organic searches.
If all this sounds too complicated or time-consuming and you need an expert opinion on how best to use these principles as part of an overall strategy, please feel free to contact us for a free quote.