If you run a business with a physical location, local SEO is a must. Local SEO is optimizing specifically for local search results; that is, showing up searches in searches of customers near you.
If you have a physical location, it is more than likely that most of your customers are local, or don’t have to travel across the country to get to you. So, since the people close to you are the ones you want to target, wouldn’t it be nice to show up in their search results more frequently? Well, here are some tips.
1. Claim & Optimize your Google Business profile
If you haven’t already, you need to set up a profile through Google. This will associate your website, reviews, etc. under the same profile, making it easier to find you. Make sure you include your business name, address, email, and phone number. For even more credibility, add high-quality images, business hours, and a description of your business. Besides making your business look more trustworthy, this will also help with SEO, since now Google explicitly knows who you are. The, to top it off, post updates, promotions, and events to drive more engagement with local customers.
2. Encourage Customer Reviews
Asking satisfied customers to leave reviews on Google or Yelp is one of the best things you can do for your small business. Reviews not only show other customers social proof of the quality work you’ve done for them, but also help Google to provide a searching customer with information about your services. Once you have reviews, whether positive or negative, respond to them! In your response, you can not only improve customer relations, but you should also use keywords about your business to further improve local search relevance.
3. Build Local Citations and Backlinks
Try to get listed on local business directories like Yelp, Yellow Pages, Chamber of Commerce, etc. The more links to your site, the better. Plus, these sites will help Google understand that you are local and therefore a good search result for a local customer. Additionally, partner with local bloggers, newspapers, or influencers to create content that links to you.
2 Responses
Small Businesses have so much potential to rank really well if they only did these things. This post is really good and has a lot of great information for small business owners to help them rank well!
Often in class, I think about SEO in terms of big businesses, but it is essential for small, local businesses, too! I wish small businesses understood the importance of good SEO and strategies for local discovery. This was a great comprehensive guide!