While it would be wonderful to have people travel across the world to experience your products/services firsthand, they probably prefer to do business with those who are closer to them. With that said, your business should aim to cater to your locals and optimize your website to attract people within your area. This is where local search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play, and it’s something that could lead your small, local business to become not just a regional favorite, but a global empire.
In case you didn’t know, local SEO is somewhat different than regular (or national) SEO. When you execute local search engine optimization into your website content, you’re satisfying a small geographical area such as a city, region or state. However, what applies to regular SEO will also apply for local SEO. Sound confusing? Let us clarify.
Learn the ins and outs of local SEO and start promoting your business within your region today!
Local Search Optimization Ranking Factors
If you’re looking to optimize your website for local search, keep these important ranking factors in mind:
- Single-Page Optimization: Local SEO rules here are the exact same as regular SEO, as the website’s domain and keyword focus on the page are very important. The local SEO comes into play with your contact information, so be sure your business’s name, address and phone number (also known as NAP) are in the header or footer of your site. This is so it’s displayed on all content pages and posts. Also, make sure your phone number includes the actual area code so search engines can associate this with your website’s local area.
- Internal Links – Just like national SEO, your website needs high-quality links from external websites to point back to your website.
- Google+ or Google My Business – It makes sense to take advantage of Google’s social media for SEO purposes. Although they’re not as popular as other social media channels, they will certainly help with your local SEO efforts.
- External Directory References: The consistency of your NAP on third-party external directories also weighs in on your local SEO. Yelp, Angie’s List, Manta, Foursquare and Internet Yellow Pages are examples of external business directories for local searches.
- Reviews: The quantity and diversity of online reviews will also have an influence on your local SEO. It’s wise to encourage your customers to leave reviews about your business; you can even offer an incentive to those who do!
- Social Media: In case you didn’t know, Google+ authority, Facebook fans and Twitter followers will have an impact in determining your website’s local search performance. Strive to have a strong social media presence on one or more channel.
Mistakes to Avoid: What Confuses Local Search Engines
Mistakes do happen with local SEO, mainly because we’re human and SEO can be confusing. Keep these tips in mind to avoid common mistakes made with local SEO and ensure you don’t create a negative impact for yourself:
- Make sure your digital business listing is the same as your business’s actual physical address.
- Don’t create more than one listing for your business in local search directories.
- Be consistent when listing your business name, address or phone number in online directories.
- Categorize your business in the proper local directories directories.
- Double check that your business is verified in local directories.
These are all tasks you will have to check on a regular basis, so make sure you have this list down and you do what you can to avoid these common mistakes.
Take some time and build out your website’s local SEO. You’ll attract new business, your local clientele will thank you for it, and you’ll get more exposure than you imagined!
Want to Learn More About Local SEO?
If you want to learn more about local SEO and how it can help your business’s website, mark your calendars for our free Meetup on July 28th at 11:30 am! You don’t want to miss this seminar, as we’ll be taking a look at every major aspect of SEO. Save your spot now on the Meetup page!
If you consider yourself an intermediate in SEO, take your SEO knowledge one step further and join Mickey Mellen and Jenny Munn for the SEO Bootcamp on August 25th! Get more details and save your spot for this 1-day event!
