When you’re on the lookout for specific information or yearning for the details on something your heard about, pulling out your smart-phone or sitting down at the computer are usually the most convenient ways to expand your knowledge and further your enlightenment on the matter. This is no different for your customers. When your target audience is in the market for a new service or product in your field, you want them to choose your business. Why not narrow their search down to you? Why not put yourself on the map and increase your business recognition? Why not enhance your local search engine optimization? Engaging in SEO is essential for any thriving company these days as it goes beyond just getting you on search engine result pages, but allows your target audience to see all you have to offer. So where do you start? We’ve made that part easy for you as we’ve assembled a list of the most essential strategies to beginning local SEO.
1.) Create a location page.
It’s important to establish a local places page with the top three search engines– Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Creating these accounts is as easy as entering all your essential business information such as hours, phone number, address, and more. Setting up an account with multiple search engine sites means your local listing, or page, will be available to those who utilize Google, those who use Bing, and those who favor Yahoo, which overall maximizes your exposure. When it comes to uploading further information and pictures, you want to aim for the highest quality you could put out there because doing so give customers a glimpse of your business’s true image. Categorizing your page is a crucial step in creating a location page because some search engines will not display your company if you aren’t categorized or categorized correctly. So be informative, thorough, and honest.
2.) Get Online Reviews.
Reviews are a key aspect in whether a customer will choose your business over another. Why? Because positive reviews means you provide positive results. Now how does that fit in with obtaining local SEO? While this isn’t 100% confirmed, studies from authority sites like Moz have found that the more positive reviews you have, the more likely your website and local places page will be in the top search results when someone browses for keywords relevant to your business. So how can you encourage more high quality reviews? When a customer opens a certain landing page or submits an order, you can add a prompt that requests them to leave some feedback or when they’re commenting on a particular product, you could even go the extra mile to ask them to leave a review. Don’t be afraid to ask for them, because your competitors aren’t.
3.) Optimize Your Webpage.
This strategy is a separate post itself but the skinny is your website is a crucial asset in achieving success with local SEO if you set it up the right way. One of the important factors to have all your contact information (Name, Address, Phone) on your webpage so visitors not only can reach you, but know you’re legit because your information exactly matches your local places page. Going beyond that, posting content specific to your area and using keywords relevant to your city (i.e. Dallas Cosmetic Dentist) or region are excellent ways to gain more attention.
4.) Engage in Social Media.
This might come as a surprise, but you can rank your social media business pages. The more followers, activity, and engagement you have on your social media pages, the higher up in the search engines you’ll be placed. Having an account with all the leading sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram where you can engage by posting stories, promotions, and new products, will only benefit your business more.
Entering the world of local SEO isn’t as hard as sounds. For more ways to increase your recognition and watch your business grow, check out our blog!
