Things You Need to Remember About Local SEO
Running a business means you have a lot to remember, including how to market your business properly. You probably already have a website and you are on social media. You probably even have at least a basic understanding of SEO, as well. However, you might not know that simply SEO is not enough for all businesses. If you have a brick and mortar operation, such as a store, or you meet with your clients, then you need to focus on local SEO. This means you are not only need to understand SEO, you also need to be able to layer in localization to make it more effective.
Fill Out Everything on Business Directories
When you fill out business directories and listings, make sure you include all the necessary information. This includes the name of the business, the location, hours, number, and the website at a minimum. Fill out as much as possible to help give your company a better shot at standing out in the local field. If they allow you to add a paragraph or two about the company, make sure you are using keywords, just as you would when it comes to the content you have on your website. This can help to further your SEO goals.
Make Sure They Are Accurate
Over time, there may be certain changes that your business undergoes. Perhaps you have changed location or changed the phone number. Maybe you are offering different services or products. Regardless of what changes they might be, you will want to make sure that you update all the listings, as well as your website. Do this all at once. It might seem time consuming, but you want all your online information about your business to match up from one site and directory to another.
Request Reviews
All types of businesses could use some reviews, but it can be difficult to get them. Unless you are a restaurant or café, most people do not even stop to think about leaving a review. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. If you have had a great interaction with a customer, you might want to let them know that you would appreciate a review and let them know where they can leave it. Do not try to put any pressure on them to leave a review, but just mention it casually. Not all your patrons will leave a review, but some will. Eventually, these reviews will build, and it can mean good things for your business.
After all, you probably check companies online before you buy from them, and you are more likely to buy from someone who has great reviews than someone with no reviews or negative reviews.
Local Content on Blogs and Social Media
You should also be creating regular blog posts and posting to social media regularly. Your posts, wherever they might be, should contain local terms to help with your local SEO. This does not have to be in every single post, and you shouldn’t overuse keywords and local terms in any of the posts and articles you right. You need to use them naturally. Make sure that you are adding fresh content to the social mediate sites and your blog, as well. These are the best things you can do to help with your SEO.
You should add these to your blog posts, as well as your posts to Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere. It might seem like a small thing, but this can drastically help with your search engine rankings when it comes to the local area. Consider how people look for things online. If you were looking for a restaurant that was located in the Outer Banks, wouldn’t you type the name of the city into the search engine? You might type “Thai restaurant in the Outer Banks”, for example. People tend to do this when they are looking for just about anything, and it can truly help your rankings.
When it comes to content, remember that you do not have to rely solely on written content. You can also work on other types of content that will help to get people into your store. This could include something such as audio content through podcasts, or videos for the store and your specialty. Again, in your descriptions of these pieces of content, make sure you are using keywords and phrases with local tags.
Getting Even More Local
One of the other things that some people are doing with local SEO is focusing not only on the city where their business is located, but focusing right down to their neighborhood within that city. This may not work for all businesses everywhere, but it is something that many can consider. In addition to the city name, add the neighborhood name, as well. Those who are looking for whatever your specialty is in that neighborhood will have a much better chance of finding you.
Ultimately, this will allow you to have more of a local impact in a smaller and smaller geographic location. You can try it and see how it works for you. If your area is not subdivided into smaller neighborhoods, do not worry about it. Simply use your local SEO techniques with the city or town name as you have been doing.
You Can Get a Grasp of Local SEO
Local SEO is akin to regular SEO; you just need to look at it through the lens of someone who is searching for a product or service like yours in your specific city. Little things, such as using the name of the city as part of your keywords, as mentioned, can help greatly.
You need to put in the same amount of care and attention as you are building your business and developing your marketing plan. Search engine optimization, local and otherwise, is marketing for the long haul. Make sure you learn how to do it properly, or work with those who can help you. It takes some time and work, but the results are well worth it.
