Search Engine Optimization (SEO) plays a significant role in bringing attention to a business, generating leads for it, and increasing its revenue. It’s a fantastic tool for boosting search rankings, and it helps you stand out from your competition.
Besides traditional SEO, local SEO helps you focus on the specific area in which your business operates. In this post, we will go through some steps that will help you optimize your website’s local SEO.
What Is Local SEO and Why Is It Important?
Local SEO is optimizing a website for a specific geographic location. In other words, if somebody types in keywords without mentioning the name of the place they are in or without adding “near me” next to the keywords, it will still show the nearest results.
For example, you type “gym” into your search engine. The local SEO will give you a list of all of the gyms near you, and you will also see their location on a map, their addresses, work hours, reviews, etc.
If you optimize your website for local searches, you are telling Google what your address is and that you want to appear as a result for your potential local customers. It helps you get more exposure to people near you.
This is how a lot of local businesses attract new leads and convert them into customers. If you want to consult with a group of professionals and don’t know where to start, you can always reach out to us and we will clear any concerns you may have.
Now let’s see the most important steps in optimizing your webpage for local SEO.
Build a Link-Building Strategy
Your brand’s website ranking highly depends on the signals that are related to the specific city. You create those signals by implementing local links. These links are called “backlinks” or “inbound links,” and the process of adding these links to a website is called local link building.
Local link building uses links from local websites on your website. For example, if you add new content to your website, other websites can also add your link to their website. The more clicks on your link, the higher Google will push you up the search engine rankings.
The signals you will use to direct leads to your website must be in the text. The same goes for your address – the map isn’t enough. You need to type down your local address too.
You can use link-building tools like SmartSites, Klient Boost, or WebFX’s SEO Checker. These tools can tell you everything about your website’s SEO, like where your website has issues and how to fix them.
Use Citation and Directory Listings
Citations are online references to your webpage. Most of them work as online business directories. Some of the most common citations for local SEO include Yelp, Facebook, Google My Business, and Bing Maps.
Before discussing how citations work, let’s explain NAP and why it is essential.
The Use of NAP
The features that are in citations are called NAP. NAP is an acronym that stands for name, address, and phone number.
You also want to keep your NAP prevalent and consistent. Of course, these three things must always be the same.
For example, your business is listed in other directories like Yelp or Google My Business. If the information you list is the same on every other website or directory, your business will seem more authentic to Google, boosting your website to the top of search rankings.
Types of Citations
In local SEO, we also divide citations into three categories:
1. Structured citations keep NAP info in its existing format (for example, social media and directory listings).
2. Unstructured citations are less common and don’t always have the same format (for example, if your business’s name is mentioned but has no other details).
Choose the citation that makes the most sense for your type of business.
Optimize the Content of Your Website
Your webpage’s content should clearly display all of the relevant details of your business. These details are usually found on the homepage, which is the main page of any website. If your homepage is well-optimized, leads are more likely to stay and explore other pages you have linked to your website.
Besides the location, leads will also type in a service they are looking for in their search engine. After NAP details, your homepage should also include everything your business offers.
Also, make sure you create a webpage for every product and every service. If your business operates in multiple locations, make sure you have separate web pages for those locations.
The content isn’t just the text you put on your website. Instead, the elements of your website, such as the URL, H1, and H2 headings, meta description, title tags, internal links, etc., should contain keywords and phrases related to your business.
Optimize Your Website for Mobile Devices
Since mobile phones are slowly replacing desktop devices, optimizing your mobile website appearance is a necessity. Furthermore, people who check out businesses on their phones are more likely to call the company they’re interested in.
According to HubSpot’s marketing statistics, 88% of mobile customers will contact a business within 24 hours.
This statistic confirms that your website must adapt to smaller screens and display all necessary information. Needless to say, your local SEO should also be working seamlessly on your mobile phone.
For example, its loading time should also be the same as if it were loading on a standard computer. It will increase the rate at which your leads will return to your website.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of Online Reviews
Reviews can further endorse your business online, making it more relevant to search engines. The more positive reviews your business has, the more search engines will show your website as a top result.
Remember to check them on the directories where your business is referenced, whether it’s Yelp, Facebook, or others.
You must encourage your customers to leave reviews and express your willingness to improve constantly. It will leave a fantastic impression on your leads, customers, and search engines.
Also, if you come across any negative reviews, don’t hesitate to respond and figure out what you could do better in the future.
To Sum Up
Unlike traditional SEO, local SEO helps you attract customers that are geographically closer to you. It’s an excellent tool for gaining new leads by combining local keywords with local link building. You can use so many resources to reach your local audience and lower the number of your competitors.
