How to Improve Local SEO in 11 Steps
How to Improve Local SEO in 11 Steps
As a small business owner, you are always looking for ways to improve your search presence online. So much of your time is devoted to finding the right keywords to place in your website in the hopes of ranking in the top organic search results, that sometimes you forget about Local SEO. An equally important and beneficial way to connect with your customers online and to drive more in-store traffic or sales to your website. At MarketKeep we have outlined how to improve Local SEO in 11 steps so you can start connecting with your customers in the moments that matter most to them.
1. Claim and Verify Your Google My Business Profile
When a potential customer is performing a search online, nearly 60% of the time they are looking for someone or something close by. That is why it is so important for a business to make sure that they claim and verify their Google My Business Page. If you do not have one or you have not verified it you are missing out on a valuable opportunity to connect with your local customers. So the first step to dominating local SEO is simple, just claim and verify your profile.
2. Search for duplicate profiles and remove them
If this is the first time you are using your Google My Business profile you will want to spend some time making sure that there aren’t any other copies or profiles out there for your business. Sometimes you can simply forget that you created one, other times another employee or friend may have created one on your behalf. Either way, it is important that you find these duplicate profiles and delete them. Why?
Because Google and other search engines hate duplicate content. Remember search engines like Google want to provide the most accurate search information out there and have users continue to use their platform. Therefore they don’t want to display information twice. In order to find duplicate profiles try using a tool like Moz Local. Just type in your business name and address and Moz will tell you have many listings you have online.
3. Beef up your profile with categories, descriptions, hours, and more
Once you have verified your Google profile and removed any duplicate listings now it is time to get to work. You will want to make sure you do the following:
Add Categories
Make sure to submit your company and website to as many relevant search categories as you can. Think of categories like the Yellow Pages. The more sections that you are in, the more likely your business will get in front of potential customers.
More importantly the more relevant the category you choose, the better. So make sure that you are selecting the right categories for your business.
Description
Within Google My Business there is a place for you to describe your business to the world. We recommend that you take full advantage of this by adding a detailed description of your business, products/services, and geographical location that you are trying to do business in.
Products & Services
Google My Business also provides you with a place to add detailed descriptions of the products and services you offer. Make sure to take advantage of this section and fill the necessary information out.
Hours
Be sure to list your hours correctly. It is important that they match the hours on your website and other online profiles.
Photos
Include photos often! According to recent studies 60% of consumers say they have found local companies and products by looking at the images that capture their attention. Don’t believe us? Read this article from BrightLocal.
4. Ask for Google Reviews
Reviews are one of the easiest ways to ensure that your business can be found locally. Specifically, you should aim for the following three items:
- Generating a ton of reviews
- Generating reviews that have a high customer satisfaction rating
- Generating reviews on a consistent basis
5. Take Advantage of Google Posts
A relatively new feature to the Google My Business platform, Google posts are a great tool to utilize to boost your local SEO campaign. This small feature allows you to post social media like posts that will highlight your business and enable you to rank for additional keywords.
6. Ensure that your “NAP” is accurate
One of the most critical pieces to your local SEO strategy is your “NAP” which stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. The more consistent this information is online, the more trust Google will have in displaying your Google My Business profile.
7. Build as many citations as you can
Once you have ensured that your NAP is consistent it is time to invest in additional online citations. The more local citations that you build the better your local SEO strategy will perform.
8. Add keyword content to your website
What many small business owners fail to realize is that your website’s keywords play a large role in your local SEO strategy. If you want to improve your company’s local SEO presence make sure that your website references all the different types of services that you want to rank for online.
9. Get High-Quality and Relevant Backlinks
Links from other high-quality websites that are relevant to your business play a factor in Google’s local ranking algorithm. Here are some of the more popular ways to generate backlinks for your website.
Directories – Getting your business listed in online directories is a great first step for building a foundation of links.
Competitor Research – We also recommend looking at your competitor’s websites to make sure that you are getting the same number of backlinks to your website and finding ways to gaining similar links.
Publishing Content Regularly – One of the best things that you can do for your website is to publish and promote high-quality content.
10. Be Social
There is no denying that social media is a great opportunity to create more exposure for your business online. You can promote the content that you have created, which over time will attract more links for your website. In addition to being more active on social media websites, you can also make sure that they have consistent NAP and keyword-rich descriptions to boost your SEO.
11. Optimize Your Website for Mobile
Did you know that nearly 60% of all online searches are online and location-based? In addition, Google made a huge adjustment to its ranking factors saying that websites will be now indexed mobile-first. So make sure that when you build your website it is mobile responsive.
About MarketKeep
MarketKeep is a digital marketing agency for small businesses and start-ups based in Towson, Md. Our goal is to help small business owners plan, place, and optimize their digital marketing strategies. MarketKeep is proud to offer our clients the following services:
Website Design – As a website design company we build websites that represent you and your brand and instantly builds a connection with your customers online. To learn more about our website design capabilities please contact our website designers.
SEO Company – As a Maryland SEO Company, we partner with small businesses to help grow their organic presence online through on-page, off-page, and reputation management techniques. To learn more about our SEO services for small businesses please contact our SEO team.
Pay Per Click Experts – As your SEM Agency MarketKeep will plan, place, and optimize your SEM campaigns so that you are maximizing your SEM campaign. To learn more about our SEM Services please contact our SEM team.
Social Media Management – Tired of running your social media accounts on a daily basis? Not sure what to post? As your Social Media Marketing Assistants MarketKeep will plan, place, and optimize your social media strategies. To connect contact our Social Media Management Team today.
Local SEO – So many of us rely on our phones to find businesses and products that are close by. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to connect with customers in your backyard. As a Local SEO agency MarketKeep helps to position your business online to acquire Local SEO searches. Learn more by contacting our Local SEO Agency Team.