Now that we are one month in to 2019, it’s safe to make some predictions. I’m not generally one to bet, but I wouldn’t mind putting my money on the importance of local SEO.
Less than one year ago, Google made a huge change in local search history – probably the biggest one yet. With the update, Google only showed the first three businesses as opposed to the first seven. This meant more territory for local businesses to fight over, though the goal was to provide a more user-friendly experience for users.
Local SEO Remains a Mystery
A year later, local businesses are still trying to find ways to secure a top three spot. If you aren’t business number one, two or three, it’s easy to feel frustrated. Why should the other pizzeria in town get your customers when you’ve worked hard to build up your fan base?
This is why local SEO matters and will continue to matter in the future. If you are a local business with local customers, it’s imperative that you are ranking well so that people can find you. Otherwise, they’re going to continue finding your competitor, and this can put a serious damper on your business.
10 Tips for Improving Local SEO
Here are 10 essential local SEO tips that come to you fresh and updated for 2019.
Let’s begin!
- Make sure you have a physical address in the town you are targeting. The same, consistent physical address across your profiles will help optimize your local presence.
- Utilize Google My Business because, well, Google loves itself. Anything you do well on Google will help your rankings. Google has increased the importance of GMB, so any information you add on Google Search, Google Maps and Google+ is beneficial.
- Include a map to your location. People want to know precise locations, and a map is a visual way to tell them exactly where you’re located. You can add the code to add a map to your premises on your contact page.
- Don’t forget to include other useful details that will help people choose your business. These include store hours, driving directions, phone call links and social media links. Google will recognize this information and boost your rankings, too.
- Your website should include helpful, informative content. Google puts a lot of emphasis on high quality content and will penalize websites without it. To avoid being penalized, your organic SEO plays a big part in your rankings.
- Encourage website reviews from your customers. People read reviews, as this information helps them make informed choices. Google also takes reviews seriously because they indicate that a business is legit and will benefit users.
- Optimize your inbound links which can come from other businesses, webinars, community events and more. Inbound links tell Google that you are an authority and have a good reputation as a local business.
- Incorporate the right keywords into your content. Think about the types of keywords that your customers will be searching for, and use them in your content. This way, when people search for keywords related to your business, they’ll be more likely to find yours.
- If you have multiple branches or locations, create their own separate web pages. You should optimize the websites with the location they are located in to help drive more traffic from that particular area.
- Another way to optimize your local SEO is to have specific web pages for your individual products and services. Add distinct details about them and add links for authoritative value.
Here is a new tool we discovered as well: https://linkokay.com/
If you would like to learn more about improving your local SEO and building a stronger local fan base, set up a consultation with WSI Net Advantage. Fill out our contact form or give us a shout at 510-687-9737.
And check out this blog for even more ideas, click here.
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