Because you have a local business, and you want to reach out to prospects in a specific geographic location. That’s the exact reason you need to optimize your website for local SEO.
And because 46% of all searches on Google are seeking local information.
Optimize your website for local SEO, and you’ll start seeing positive results. In this article, let’s look at the basics of doing local SEO for your business website.
1. Keyword Optimize Your Site
New website and no traffic? Don’t let panic grip you.
You need to start by optimizing your site for local keywords. There might be many common local search terms in your industry. You need to find your primary keywords by doing keyword research. What next?
- Once you have a list of keywords, you need to add them to your site’s home page and other relevant product/service pages.
- It’s critical to optimize the meta titles and descriptions with the respective keywords.
- Also, include the local search terms in your site’s page URLs.
Keyword optimization tells Google your website belongs to a specific niche. And that is how it gets a place in Google’s local search results.
2. List Your Site on Google and Popular Local Directories
Listing your site on Google is simple enough; start by creating a Google My Business profile and listing your business on this all-crucial platform. Next, you should find the best niche directories. Also, look for some well-known local directories.
- You need to ensure that your business details are correct and consistent on these platforms.
- Whenever you list your business in a directory, make sure to add your website link.
- Additionally, you must create social media pages of your business on channels like Facebook and LinkedIn. Make sure you put your website link on all such social media handles.
Putting your site on all significant and relevant online platforms is the holy grail of local SEO. This essential local marketing strategy gets the desired visibility for your site among target online searchers.
3. Create Pages for Products and Services
While doing keyword research, you realize that there are separate search terms for the different products and services you offer. So how do you get organic website traffic from all of these keywords?
- Create website pages for the different products and services you sell. Make sure you optimize these pages for all the relevant search terms.
- Link each of these pages to your home page so that users can navigate to these pages with ease.
Product pages pave the way for optimizing your site for product-specific local searches. Hence, this local SEO strategy helps you grab a significant share of the overall online traffic from those search terms.
4. Use Schema Markup
Adding schema markup to a site tells Google more about the business. Thus, this piece of code helps the site get a place in Google’s Local Pack.
- Adding a local schema markup helps showcase your business’s local nature.
- A product and services schema displays the nature of your core business, helping your site to rank for product-related search terms.
You can add these two types of schema markups to your local business website by visiting schema.org and generating the relevant codes there.
5. Fix Any Technical Issues on your Website
Fixing technical issues is vital for a website’s local SEO strategy. It’s a process that helps you to improve the user experience of your local business website. So what do you need to fix?
- Audit your website to learn about any error pages on it. Then, make sure you redirect the error pages to the most relevant site pages.
- Work on optimizing the loading speed of your website.
- Don’t forget that many users are visiting your site from mobile devices. Hence, you must make sure the website is mobile-friendly and works fine across devices and browsers. Did you know?
30% of all Google mobile searches are related to location.
- An easy-to-navigate website makes sure that users stay on it for long. And if they do, it’s great for local SEO.
Google loves it when you offer a great user experience to site visitors. And that’s why you must focus on enhancing and polishing its features, content, and interface.
6. Publish Value-Driven Content
To reach the desired level of prospects, you need to rank for many more local keywords. Online searchers look for answers to everyday problems, and if you offer great information, they find your business in the local search results.
- You’ve got to publish blog posts and infographics that meet your prospects’ local search intent. Talk about local issues and try to build an audience for your content.
- Make sure to optimize every content piece with the relevant keywords.
Content is the lifeblood of any SEO campaign. If you can get your website content to rank for the relevant keywords, you can earn guaranteed traffic back to your local business website.
7. Work on Generating Quality Backlinks
Quality backlinks are critical to local search rankings. So the idea is to get high-quality niche-local sites to mention your website in their content. Backlinking helps Google know that your website has authority and deserves a position higher up in the local search results.
What are the best ways to build quality backlinks for your local business website?
- Write and submit guest posts for niche sites.
- Participate in the community by sponsoring local events and charities.
- Partner with other businesses in your area.
- Do something newsworthy and get local news outlets to talk about your business.
Remember, local SEO isn’t about luck but sheer hard work. Work towards building good links, and it will help your site reach the top of the search results.
Over to You
If you’re looking to get new customers from your local business website, then local SEO is your go-to strategy. Local SEO helps you connect with people looking for products and services in a specific geographic location. Feeling handicapped because you don’t know where to start?
The good news is that DaDigitalSense Marketing is a full-service local SEO agency with a terrific performance history. Local Marketing is our passion. So do connect with us for a free one-on-one consultation.