If you’re a small business owner, you probably have a lot on your plate. You may not have time to worry about the latest changes in online marketing. Still, we’ve got good news: there are plenty of local SEO tips that can enhance your brand’s online visibility—and they’re not complicated! We’ll walk you through all of them so you can give your website a boost and drive more leads to your door.
The first thing you must do is explore and learn more about local SEO and the steps you need to take. Local SEO can be a lot of work, but if done right, it will put your business on the map and generate more leads for your small business.
Get Your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) Consistent.
Your company name, address, and phone number should be consistent across all your online profiles—your website, social media accounts, and local listing sites. Make sure you use the same format for all your accounts. It makes it easy for search engines to find you and helps consumers look for you on a map or in person.
Optimize Your Website for Local Searches.
- Use local keywords and phrases on your website.
- Add a local phone number, address and map to your site.
- Add business hours and other physical-location details specific to each region where you’re targeting customers (e.g., “We’re open Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm, except on holidays.”).
- If possible, add a contact form or email address specific to the location(s) where customers will be contacting you.
Get Reviews on Authoritative Sites
Get more reviews on authority sites, like Yelp, the Better Business Bureau, Google+ Local, Facebook Places, etc.
While there are several sites you’ll want to get reviews on, Yelp is one of the most important ones. If your business has a positive reputation with Yelp users and has a lot of reviews (more than 10), that can help push your site higher on Google search results pages.
Google+ Local and Facebook Places are important for small businesses to have their profiles listed. The Better Business Bureau is less important than these other websites because most consumers don’t use it often when reviewing businesses or checking out their ratings. However, suppose you do have a BBB listing. In that case, it’s still worth having in place so that potential customers know where else they can get information about your company before deciding whether or not to purchase from you.
You should encourage customers who have had good experiences with you over time by asking them directly if they would leave reviews online after each visit. This way, there will be more positive reviews of how great things went.
List Your Business in Online Directories, Including Google My Business.
In addition to listing your business in online directories, you should also list it on Google My Business or Foursquare. The more places you can get the word out about your business, the better. If you don’t have a listing on these websites yet, there are simple steps that you can take to create one. You need to only provide them with basic information about yourself and your business:
- Name of company or website
- Address
- Phone number
- Hours of operation
- Types of services offered (e.g., interior design)
You don’t need to pay for any of these listings—they are free!
Furthermore, if you don’t already have an official website for your small business, then now is the time. Not only will having one help with local SEO, but it will also make visitors feel like they’ve entered into some sort of special club, especially when they land on your site after searching for something specific in Google Search or through another directory site like Yelp or Foursquare.
Don’t Forget; Content is Still the King.
Content marketing has been around for a long time, and it’s still as important to small businesses. However, it’s important to remember that content is still the king. Content marketing is an essential part of any marketing strategy.
A solid blog content strategy can help small businesses attract customers, build trust, and generate leads. It also enables you to build authority as a specialist in your field and generate sales. In addition to these benefits, publishing blog posts can help you drive traffic to your website.
When it comes to attracting customers with blog content, there are three major strategies:
- Build brand awareness by providing useful information on topics related to your business or industry.
- Then, position yourself as an authority within that niche by offering expert advice in the form of blog posts (and other forms of content).
- Create compelling offers that encourage readership (and engagement) with each blog post you publish.
SEO for blogs is a great way to get your blog in front of the right people. You can use SEO to grow your blog’s audience and increase traffic, which will help you make more money.
You might be wondering how SEO works on a blog—after all, how can you optimize something that already exists? The answer is: by changing some of the words you use.
When someone searches for something on Google or Bing or another search engine, they’re looking for content that matches their search query as closely as possible. So if they search “how do I learn how to play guitar,” they want to find something that answers that question directly, and they want it to be on page 1 of the results (or close).
If your blog post has those two things or more, then there’s a good chance it will show up at the top of search results for people searching “how do I learn how to play guitar.” You can learn more about the application of SEO in your blogs online or from a local SEO expert.
Cultivate Local Relationships with Other Small Business Owners.
You can also start cultivating relationships with other small business owners. You may not know it, but plenty of other local businesses could benefit from your services. Take the time to get to know them and see how you can complement each other’s offerings.
By doing this, you will increase the number of people who know your business in the area and may be willing to refer customers to you.
You will also learn about their methods for attracting new clients, which could help improve your company’s strategy for generating more leads.
Local SEO Looks Simple, But Professional Expertise is Required
Local SEO looks deceptively simple and is often seen as a one-size-fits-all solution. However, local SEO requires time, effort, and specialized knowledge. Therefore, hiring a professional is highly recommended if you are new to the industry or don’t have adequate resources to dedicate to your local SEO strategy.
The best way to find an experienced professional for your project is through referrals from friends or family members who have used their services. Another method would be reaching out directly and asking questions about their experience within this field of work before deciding whether or not they’re suitable for your business needs.
Do ample research and learn more about the SEO business you plan to hire. You can do this by reading online reviews about the company, communicating with their previous customers, visiting their website, etc.
Local SEO is a Critical Part of Digital Marketing Success.
Local SEO is a critical part of digital marketing success in the digital marketing world. And it’s also an essential part of local business success. Local SEO can help you grow your business and drive more customers to your store or restaurant—even if you’re a small business with no online presence at all!
Many small businesses don’t have their website yet because they aren’t sure where to start or which platform will be best for them (eCommerce? WordPress? Squarespace?). But even without a dedicated website, you can still do many things right now to get started using local SEO and grow your reach online through targeted content creation and link-building strategies like blog commenting and guest blogging.
