Local SEO strategies when implemented right can help your business get recognised locally and raise its search engine ranking. These tips and tricks will help you work on your local SEO skills so that your business can thrive in the local community.
Optimize for Google My Business
Google My Business has become the most crucial part of local search. Google My Business is used by Google to share content it can verify and support. So, in order to get recognised online more, your goal is to have your business meet Google’s needs.
Here’s what you want to do:
- Create a Google My Business page and verify it
- Use Google Posts on your account
- Encourage your customers to provide their reviews online
Interacting with your audience is extremely important. You need to develop a strong bond with them by responding to their feedback and reviews. This makes the customers feel seen and appreciated by the company they choose to put their trust in. Your company’s authenticity can easily get recognised by the search engine as well as rewarded for it.
Also, make sure not to do this just for the SEO. Creating a strong bond with your audience through regular and authentic interaction will help your business expand.
Engage on social media and add posts to Google My Business
Speaking of interactions, social media is very important for the success of any business. Everyone used social media platforms to get informed these days, so utilising them to get your brand recognised as well as to get your message across is also very important. Examine what social media platform your target audience uses and make sure to be consistently active there.
Ensure your name, address, and phone number are consistent online
If you want to reach a wider audience, you have to make it easy for people to find you. In other words, your name, phone number, and address need to be easily visible on your site. The best position of this set of information is the header or the footer of your website.
Optimize online directories and citations
When it comes to citations and directories, consistency is the key. You need to make sure you verify your citations are complete and consistent across the four data aggregators.
Discrepancies such as abbreviations, misspellings, wrong phone numbers, and so on can be very problematic. Your business won’t show up in search results if Google can’t determine which information is correct and which isn’t.
Perform a local SEO audit
The emphasis should be on the “local”. Your goal is to develop locally and your SEO should reflect that. That’s why many Australian companies perform a local SEO audit.
Once you master the basics, you’ll most likely feel like stopping there. However, SEO is an intuitive process and you need to keep up the good work and keep experimenting in the field of SEO in order to adapt to any changes that will come over time. A local SEO audit includes some of the following:
- Google My Business Audit – How does your Google My Business appear in the SERPs? Is the information you provide correct and accurate?
- Google Search Console Audit – Does your site have any errors that would hinder indexing?
- On-Page SEO Audit – Does your site accommodate all the on-page SEO elements which can help raise your ranking?
- Citation Audit – Are all of your citations correct?
- Competitor Analysis – Can your site keep up with your competition?
- Website Audit – How well is your website performing?
If you’re not sure how to develop and improve your local SEO audit, you can invest in professional SEO services in Sydney and get experts to help you out so you can get started on developing your most efficient SEO strategies.
Improve your internal linking structure
Though external links are very important, your internal linking structure can boost your SEO ranking too. Internal linking structure:
- Supports your site navigation
- Assists with your site hierarchy and information architecture
- Distributes page authority and ranking power
Optimize URL, title tags, headers, meta-description, and content
Every piece of content you put out gives you a new opportunity for your page to get recognised and ranked even higher than before. That is why you need to optimise the title tags, meta-descriptions, URL, and generally the content you provide the best you can. How can you do this? Well, you should be using high-volume keywords in your title, header, URL, body, and meta-description. The goal is to come up with geo-targeted content so that your content can get recognised locally.
Add location pages to your website
In case your business is one brick and mortar location, make sure to create location pages. These pages inform your users of your name, address, store hours, phone number, special store information, parking information, reviews from other customers, and promotions.
Create local content
If you are trying to get recognised locally, then you should aim to provide local content. Your content creators need to be able to write content for your users, not the search engine. Though it may be tempting to write about general topics, in order to attract a local audience, you will sometimes need to focus on writing about local industry or news.
Ensure your website is mobile-friendly
When it comes to both web design and content creation, you need to make sure that your users can easily access your website on all devices. This is especially important for smartphones. Everyone has a mobile on them wherever they go and most of the time it’s easier to just quickly google something on the phone. So, your website needs to be mobile-friendly. This means that your website navigation and loading speed needs to be in excellent condition. It also means that your content needs to be adjusted to phones and can easily be viewed and read on the phone screens.
Get inbound links with relevance and authority
Another great way to boost your local SEO ranking is through inbound links. Essentially, inbound links are letting Google know that you are a legitimate business and they are able to raise your domain authority. Here are a few ways you can get inbound links:
- Sponsorships or Partnerships
- Guest Blog Posting
- Scholarships
You can easily start with your own personal network such as business improvement districts, licensing bureaus, trade associations, and so on. Then, over time you can start considering sponsoring meet-ups and webinars, hosting community events, or promoting something local that you are passionate about. You should also start building strong relationships with influencers and prominent people who can get your business recognised on social media. Getting a guest blogger can also get your business a lot of new users and partnerships.
Participate in your local community
Lastly, at the end of the day, everything you do is to get recognised locally and the best way to achieve that is to be active in your local community. There are numerous ways you can be more included in your local community and its events. You can organise meet-ups, sponsor humanitarian events, partner up with non-profit organisations, and so on.
Conclusion
In conclusion, local SEO has the purpose of getting your business recognised locally both amongst other local companies and potential new customers. Working on your SEO includes both your approach to SEO strategies as well as your networking skills and how well you are ready to integrate into the local community.Â
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