If you own a brick-and-mortar store and operate on a regional level, it would make send if you practice local SEO.
This digital marketing tactic allows you to promote your business to local customers.
For example, you own a flower shop in Miami, Florida. Local SEO allows your brand to be visible when someone searches for a “flower shop in Miami” online.
Mind you, internet users who would use such search queries can either be:
- Looking for a flower shop nearby; or
- Ready to buy a bouquet of flowers
This explains why you should optimize your business’s online presence for local SEO. And here are seven ways to do it:
Have a GMB Account
Whether you have a business website or not, you can start practising local SEO by having a Google My Business account.
You can opt to do it yourself or hire an agency that offers local SEO packages.
When you have a GMB account, it allows your business to be visible on Google Maps. You can also rank for local search results and Google Search Knowledge Panel.
But more than having a GMB account, you must ensure that your business profile is well-optimized. Here’s how:
- Verify your business ownership via GMB
- Provide updated business information
- Upload high-quality images (i.e., business storefront)
- Encourage customers to leave a review
Use Online Business Directories
Besides having a GMB profile, it can also help if you list your business on online directories. Some examples are YellowPages, MapQuest, Foursquare, and Yelp.
For one, it can boost your local business’s online visibility. Moreso, if you do not have a business website yet. Secondly, it can help boost your local SEO efforts.
The key here, though, is accuracy and consistency. Meaning, you have to use the same business name, address, contact numbers, and emails across all your business directories.
As for your business description, it has to be unique in every directory. That way, search engines will not flag your content for duplicates.
What’s important, though, is that you optimize your business description for a specific keyword. And that keyword should be location-specific as much as possible.
Get Customer Reviews
If you want your local business to succeed, you should make it easy for your existing customers to leave positive reviews.
Doing so allows you to achieve two things:
- It helps optimize your GMB profile
- It encourages other people to buy from you
According to a 2017 BrightLocal Consumer Review Survey, 85% of customers treat online reviews as personal recommendations. That said, it is vital to encourage your customers to leave a review.
You can opt to ask your customers in person. You can also send a post-purchase email or social media DM.
Optimize for Voice Search
According to Google, 27% of the global population online uses voice search. And 40% of those voice searches have local intent.
Using our previous example, someone would say, “OK, Google, where can I buy a bouquet of flowers near me?”
If your business is not optimized for voice search, you are less likely to appear on search results.
The key here is to consider how customers ask their questions. Meaning, you might need to adjust your content so you can optimize for long-tail keywords.
Be Mobile-Friendly
In case you haven’t noticed, the majority of the tips above revolve around mobile users. This explains why being mobile-friendly is much if you want to boost your local SEO efforts. Not to mention that more than 50% of internet users worldwide are on mobile.
You can start by putting Accelerated Mobile Pages in place. Doing so can boost your website’s page load speed on mobile. It will also help if you are using mobile responsive web design.
If you have an image-heavy website, make sure that you are using lazy loading or a content delivery network (CDN). That way, you are not hogging your site visitor’s mobile data bandwidth.
Use Location Pages
Whether you serve a single local area or have many store branches, it is essential to have location pages.
It can be your About Us page, wherein you can declare that you serve a local community. Here’s an example:
“We are a flower shop based in Miami, Florida.”
If you have a couple of locations, then you can opt to list down all your branches. Still, make sure that you include the following:
- Address
- Phone number
- Store hours
- Parking available (if applicable)
It will also help if you have Google Maps attached to every location.
Another thing you should keep in mind is to share relevant information. If you own a flower shop, you can list the famous events and venues where you can render your services.
Generate High-Quality Backlinks
Backlinks serve as the backbone of PageRank, which is the foundation of Google’s ranking algorithm. Hence, there is no dining that backlinks are an essential ranking factor.
That said, you should make it a goal to generate quality backlinks for your business.
Sure, your GMB account and online business directories can help you generate backlinks. But their quality is questionable. Not to mention that these backlinks do not being in link equity.
When we say “high-quality backlinks,” we mean links from relevant and authoritative websites.
For our flower shop example, it can be general knowledge websites that focus on flowers. You can also generate backlinks from travel websites with a dedicated page for local flora and fauna.
Lastly, you can write a guest post on housekeeping websites. The topic can be about how indoor plants and flowers can beautify a home.
Promote Your Business Using Local SEO
To recap, practising local SEO allows you to promote your business to local customers. That’s because most local customers have the intent to buy.
And for your local SEO campaign to be successful, you can do the following:
- Have a Google My Business account
- Use online business directories
- Get customer reviews
- Optimize for voice search
- Have a mobile-friendly website
- Use location pages
- Generate high-quality backlinks
It is essential to stay on top of local SEO searches if you want your business to succeed. Following these tips can also help future-proof your entire digital marketing campaign.
That’s because you already have a solid SEO foundation in case Google decides to update their algorithm.
