Going local, the only competition you worry about will be other businesses in the same region you’re working in. A good way to top your competitors is to have a strong local SEO. If you’re unsure where to start, this might be a good place to start.
Business Directories
Google My Business can be a key tool for a strong, competitive SEO strategy for your small business. When you create your account, include a description of your business, as this can influence SEO.
Use it effectively. Add vital information about your business, such as business hours, photos to help potential customers find your business, and a call to action.
Yelp is another strong contender and should be considered by businesses that want to improve their local SEO. With Yelp!, you should link to your business website, correct information, and include accurate citations.
In addition, it might also be beneficial to you to incorporate outlets that aren’t as popular–for the ability to add more citations, at the very least.
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews, specifically positive ones, aid SEO immensely. Making them easily accessible is imperative to gaining as many as possible.
Regarding local SEO, asking for reviews through a physical medium might be possible.
Do remember that business directories have differing review protocols
Mobility
Concerning local SEO, mobile accessibility is a key component of your local SEO strategy. However, now more than ever, making your website mobile-friendly is incredibly easy. Use a good WordPress theme or a third-party plugin to make an optimized mobile site without too many complications.
Functionality is important, but loading speeds and page speeds are also important. Slow websites can be costly. Improving your mobile site's performance can net you better rankings in the SERPs.
Identify Local Keywords
Finding keywords for local SEO can be difficult. However, starting with broad and long-tail keywords can ease the challenge of knowing what keywords to use. When you find a decent list of nonlocalized keywords, utilize any existing customer data to determine what areas you should use your marketing strategies in.
Selective Local Content
Having local content and a consistent source of local content can help your SEO ranking immensely by possibly bringing more organic traffic to your site. With local SEO, you should focus on content that is related and accurate for customers in the area you’re serving so you can cut out competition, gain better ranking, and connect with more potential customers where you are.
Optimize Web Page SEO
Optimizing local SEO requires strategies different from those for bigger businesses. Incorporating input and testimonials from your customers, a citation, and an interactive Google Map on your site are good starting steps for you to use in your strategy.
The strongest tactic for you to utilize is having a separate landing page for the region you are targeting, and making sure to have unique content for every landing page.
Consistency in Citations
Citations, consisting of your business's name, address, and phone number, have been mentioned several times. Information like this is extremely useful for your audience and even more helpful for the search engine–it is one of the leading ranking factors for local SEO. These citations can help establish your credibility.
However, you must monitor and ensure that the citations are consistent every time; if there are any differences between them, their impact can taper slightly.
Local Backlinks
Improving your website's credibility and Google ranking requires local backlines. The more links directed to your website, the more credible the search engines perceive it.
To gain backlinks, especially from high-quality websites, start by researching popular domains within your area. Once you have this information, choose a backlink-building strategy and work from there.
Structured Data
Data markup helps search engines find key information about your business, which is displayed in the meta description. Here, you want to specify key business details, such as a business address, customer reviews, and contact information. When information is made accessible to search engines, you may get improved ranking factors.
Google states three factors that determine how local listings appear in the search engine: relevance, distance, and prominence. Prominence is used as an indicator of your business's popularity. Social media and engaging with your potential customer base will be necessary for your local SEO strategy.
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