Top 10 Ways to Improve Your Local SEO

The web has become a more competitive place to be in, but the internet is also big enough for everyone. Most companies nowadays use their websites to market themselves and their products.

As a result, they are forgetting a very important component: Local SEO. With local SEO, you can compete against the big players in your area or even against your own local competition. 

This post will show you 10 ways to improve your local SEO and stay on top of your game!

1) Make A Google My Business Profile

Google has a lot of products that are slowly being integrated into one another. One is the Google My Business listing, an online portal for small business owners to give information about their businesses and stay updated with their clients' reviews.

Many people don't know about this website or ignore it because they think it won't do anything for their business. Well, they are wrong!

There are over 246 million Google users in the US alone. That number is more significant if you include other countries around the globe. 

Imagine what your exposure would be like if only the person living in your city could see your page on Google Maps. As you understand, your Google my business page is the first thing they will see.

2) Optimize Your Homepage

It is one of the most important pages for any business. Your homepage is like your advertisement board; people will walk away if you can't do it right.

When optimizing your home page, make sure to include some keywords in the title of your page or put them in the text where possible.

Also, don't forget to add your phone number, social media profiles, address, or anything that will make it easier for people to contact you or find you!

Your name, address, and phone number are all relevant information for your customers if they need to contact you or find your business location right away.

3) Get Good Reviews

Positive reviews are the lifeblood of any business. A good review can turn a new customer into someone who will recommend you to all their friends.

Online reviews can be just as critical, especially for local SEO. With Google My Business, you can now connect with your customers and send them a link to where they can leave you a review on Google.

Negative reviews will hurt your business, so make sure that you have an excellent customer service system in place.

If you're not getting enough reviews, try some marketing campaigns! Offer special deals or discounts to customers to encourage them to leave a review or provide you with valuable feedback.

4) Optimize for Voice Search

Voice search is becoming the new normal. Talking into a device and having it do what you want or need is convenient, but some pros come with voice search.

Search engines like Google or Bing have rolled out voice-activated services that allow people to look up information about anything just by using their voices.

This new feature has the potential to bring more people into your business because they don't have to go through the hassle of typing out what they want.

Most local businesses don't know that voice search is a thing. If you market your business right, then you can easily take advantage of this newfound technology!

So, go ahead and optimize your website to make it easier for voice-activated services to find, index, and understand what you have to offer.

5) Add your Website to Local Business Directories

There are a lot of local business directories that you can submit to your website. One example is MapQuest (yes, the map website), which only lists local businesses in its guide to help local search results.

Aside from MapQuest, there are many other directories that you can add your website to, such as Yelp, Foursquare, and Better Business Bureau.

Remember that these websites provide a significant amount of traffic because they're designed to help local customers find the best deals and services for them.

It's portable too; potential customers who search for a business in a search engine like Google usually end up using the same business directory to find information about local businesses.

6) Optimize for Local Keywords

Your local content is essential — you need to optimize it for local keywords to get good rankings. Focus on your business name, where it's located, and the services you offer.

Keyword research and content marketing is not an easy thing to do, but it is something that you will have to consider. 

It's time-consuming; however, if you want to stay on top of local SEO, then it's something you will have to learn how to do.

Local keywords have their ups and downs — they are easier to rank while being more competitive.

So, if you want to rank well, make sure that your content is specific. Adding more relevant keywords will help organize your local SEO faster.

7) Let's not forget about Link Building

This step is for more advanced SEO's out there, so if you're trying to perform local SEO for your business, don't worry about this step because it's unnecessary.

The main thing to remember is this: don't build links for the sake of making them — quality over quantity.

As a business owner, If you're trying to rank at the top, then your local SEO will suffer if you build too many low-quality backlinks.

Don't bother with blog commenting and guest posting links because they won't help you get more traffic to your website.

A link to your website is like a road to your business; if the road is broken and in bad shape, it won't get more traffic.

Google is smart enough to know if a link has no value, so don't waste your time building them unless they're high-quality.

8) Be Active on Social Media

Digital marketing is a tedious job, and it can be challenging to keep up with social media.

Unfortunately, social media is also a primary method for you to use when you want to rank well on local search results.

Social networks have always been about socializing. But now, it's not just the younger generations who are taking advantage of this trend; older people, too, are becoming a part of the online experience.

It's also beneficial because it gives your business a chance to connect with new customers and potential leads!

9) Optimize your Metadata 

Optimizing your meta descriptions and titles will increase your chances of showing up in search results.

Meta descriptions are like ad copy — they're the first thing that potential customers will read about your business, so you better make it count.

Although Google has been trying to improve its algorithm for years, meta tags still exist. If you can use them correctly, then you can gain a lot of readership from search engines.

Title tags are also important. If you fail to optimize them, you won't show up higher in search results.

10) Create A Different Page for Each Product or Service You Offer

Your products and services are what will bring in your traffic. If you want to rank well for a specific product or service, create an individual page explaining everything there is to know about that product or service.

For example, if you run a restaurant business and offer delivery services, create a page just for your fast-food delivery.

You can even include the URL that your customers use when they want to order delivery services. Make sure that information is easy to find on all your pages, too!

Anything relevant to your business should be found on the page so that your customers can easily access it.

Google has stated that it will rank pages higher if there is a more vital user experience. It's essential to create a page that has a clear call to action.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I improve my local SEO?

Search engine optimization is not a quick fix. It takes time to improve your rankings, but it will be worth the wait once you do.

SEO is about making changes that benefit your website and increase your ranking day by day.

Is Domain Authority relevant?

If you're trying to achieve local SEO, you'll want to know if domain authority matters. Here's the answer: yes, it does.

Google considers all the links that point back to your website. If any of those links are from low-quality domains (ones with a low domain authority), Google will ignore them and place your website lower in the rankings.

The more links you have from domains with high domain authority, Google will rank your website.

Are social signals a ranking factor?

Yes, social signals are a ranking factor. The more people visiting your website through Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram posts, the higher Google will rank your website.

Is there any faster way to boost my local SEO?

There is no magic bullet to boost your local SEO. As mentioned in this article, you must be consistent with your SEO strategy and make improvements on a day-to-day basis.

It will take time for Google to find all the changes you've made, so expect it to take a while before your rankings improve significantly.

Don't worry. We Can Help You Grow!

As experts in SEO and online marketing, we know how important it is to have a local online presence.

The internet has turned the world into one global marketplace, and there are more customers than ever before, just a few clicks away from your products or services.

We're here to help you grow by giving you access to our years of experience with local search engine optimization (SEO) strategies that will increase your visibility on Google Maps and improve your website traffic.

If this sounds like something you want to learn more about, give Tasty Coders a call 512-770-9091

—we can't wait to work with you!