When you want to learn more about the businesses or services in your area, pulling out your smartphone or sitting down at the computer are usually the most convenient ways to get the information you need. And it’s no different for your customers.
When your target audience is in the market for a new service or product in your industry, 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?
These days, attention to SEO is essential for any thriving company. It goes beyond just getting you on search engine results pages, allowing you to hone in on your audience and get more calls and clicks from the the people in your area. So, where do you start? We’ve made that part easy for you with our list of four local SEO strategies that are guaranteed to improve your search rankings and bring more customers to your door.
1.) Create Online Listings for Your Local Business.
One of the first steps you should take to instantly improve your local SEO is to create online listings with the top three search engines—Google, Bing, and Yahoo.
Creating these listings is fast and easy; all you have to do is enter your essential business information, such as hours of operations, phone number, address, a brief description, and a link to your website. You should also be sure to categorize your page, as some search engines will not display your company in search results if your business isn’t categorized correctly.
By setting up accounts with multiple search engine sites, your local listing will be available to those who utilize Google, those who use Bing, and those who favor Yahoo, which maximizes your overall exposure and allows you to reach a wider audience.
To create a truly professional listing page, upload high-quality photos of your storefront, logo, or office. This can help customers find you more easily when driving to your location and can also give them a glimpse of your brand’s personality.
2.) Get Customer Reviews Rolling In.
Online reviews are a crucial determiner of whether a customer will choose your business over another. Why? Because positive reviews mean you provide positive results. Now, how does that fit in with improving your local SEO? Well, the more positive reviews you have, the more likely it is that your website and local listing will be in the top search results when someone browses for keywords relevant to your business.
The tricky part, however, is getting your customers to actually leave reviews. One of the best ways to get more reviews is to simply ask. When a customer opens a specific landing page or submits an order, you can add a prompt that requests them to leave some feedback. You can even create an automated email that can be sent to recent customers, asking them to comment on the product or service they just received.
Lastly, in addition to your business listings on Google, Bing, and Yahoo, be sure to create pages on popular review sites like Yelp, Foursquare, and Facebook, as many potential customers look to these sites for insights into a business’s performance and reputation.
3.) Optimize Your Webpage.
Having a website that is optimized for searchability is an important part of achieving success with local SEO. That means ensuring your website works well, is easy to navigate, and includes relevant and updated content that targets your local audience.
Going beyond that, you will want to take some time to identify a couple keywords that will help bring the right customers to your page. If you own a pet store in the Dallas area, for example, you may want to focus on keywords like “pet store in Dallas” or “Dallas pet supply.” Then, use those keywords consistently throughout the content on your website to gradually start increasing your ranking for those specific search terms.
4.) Engage in Social Media.
It might sound obvious, but utilizing social media is an SEO tactic that won’t fail you. The more followers and activity you have on your social media pages, the higher up in the search engine results you’ll appear. Create accounts on all the major social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can use these accounts to increase your business’s local recognition and engage your audience by posting blog articles, promotions, and announcements.
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!
