Whether you own a small business or one with multiple locations, local SEO can provide a massive assist in boosting sales.
For those not quite sure what local SEO entails, simply think about your standard search engine optimization tactics. Yet instead of targeting a general topic, it is more specific to your local area. Take an automobile repair shop located in Chicago as an example. Rather than aiming for the general term of “automobile repair shop”, local SEO will go with “automobile repair shop in Chicago”.
Although local SEO reduces your overall reach, it increases the possibility of your business being found by people that matter: local customers. Did you know that, out of all Google searches in the world, 46% of them are from consumers searching for information about local businesses?
Due to this, your company needs a strong plan in place for local SEO. To help you along the way, consider the following three tips for enhancing your local SEO efforts:
1. Find the right local SEO keywords
First of all, you should identify the local SEO keywords which will bring maximum visibility for your company. Thankfully, this is a simple task. While you can do this with Google Keyword Planner, you also have the option of taking a closer look at your competition and see what keywords they are targeting.
When deciding on local SEO keywords, here are a few other pointers:
- Don’t forget to do variations on keywords. For instance, “Dallas electricians”, “electricians in Dallas”, “Dallas’s best electricians”.
- Google, in most cases, will already know where a potential customer is located. As a result, they will search for “electricians near me” rather than specifying their local area. Keep in mind to also use “…near me” keyword variations.
- Long tail search terms are easy to ignore, but they can produce high conversion rates. If you rank first for, say, “Dallas electricians who install solar panels”, this will generate a concentrated customer base.
2. Optimize landing pages
Linking to the aforementioned point about keywords, you should create landing pages that are optimized for a specific topic. This could be for a location, service, feature, or ad campaign.
When you utilize local landing page optimization, you have a greater chance of targeted customers visiting your website. You can truly highlight a certain topic and improve its local search authority in the process.
Once you have the customer on the landing page, you need to sell them on your business. To do this, you can:
- Provide a clear, informative description of what you are offering.
- Use customer reviews as social proof.
- Utilize visual content such as videos and images.
3. Google My Business
This point is short and sweet: sign-up and get your business listed on Google My Business.
If your business is verified on Google My Business, the rewards can be lucrative. If someone does a local search on Google, for example, your company might end up with a coveted place on their sidebar space. Although even having your location, opening times, reviews, etc. just a quick search away will help customers find the information they desire in a convenient manner.