Local SEO for Small Businesses

Local SEO can be a powerful tool for small businesses to target potential customers in their area. It can help them increase their online visibility, increase traffic, and ultimately grow their business.

One important thing to remember when doing local SEO is that it requires consistent information across all online directories. This can be a difficult task, but it is essential for improving your local search rankings.

Keyword research

Keyword research is the cornerstone of any SEO strategy. It’s used to identify search terms that are relevant to your target audience and to help you determine how competitive these keywords are.

Local SEO strategies involve optimizing websites, managing Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business), and building citations in relevant directories. These tactics can help your clients improve their online visibility, which in turn leads to increased traffic and business.

You can track local SEO progress using a tool like Position Tracking. The tool allows you to see how your business ranks in the SERPs of specific cities and neighborhoods, enabling you to make changes to your website that will increase its visibility. It also shows you how your competitors are ranking for a particular term.

On-page optimization

Local SEO helps you rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs) and connect with customers in your area. This is especially important for small businesses and agencies that need to boost their visibility.

The best way to optimize your website for local SEO is to create original content that is relevant to your local audience. This will help you establish credibility, boost your ranking, and improve your conversions.

Creating local content requires thoughtfulness and attention to detail. For example, you should not write a blog post about Manhattan bakeries and then mention an accountant’s office in the same article. Similarly, you should only link to websites in a related field of business. Otherwise, you could be penalized by Google. Page speed is also a crucial factor for local SEO.

Google My Business

It’s important to optimize your Google business profile and keep it updated. This is because your GMB profile feeds information directly into the local SERP, and is often the source of your listing in the local map pack (the group of 3 businesses that appear above organic search results) or in the Knowledge Graph.

Your GMB profile should also include an accurate, complete business description, service offerings and hours of operation. It should also list a phone number that is answered locally. Adding keywords to your phone number is against Google’s rules and will cause your listing to be penalized.

Lastly, it’s essential to have consistent citations across online business directories and review sites. Inconsistent information can confuse and devalue your listings, as Google cannot verify which one to trust.

Citations

A citation is a mention of your company name, address and phone number on the web. It is one of the three core components of local SEO and has a major impact on your search engine rankings.

Having the same NAP information on every online business directory can signal to Google that you exist and are a legitimate company. However, if you have inconsistent listings or if your NAP is not complete, it can damage your visibility and rankability on local searches.

There are thousands of different internet directories. It would be impossible for most businesses to manually submit their information to all of these. That’s why it is important to use data aggregators to create accurate listings across the web. These services are also useful for monitoring and updating existing listings.

Reviews

Reviews are a critical part of local SEO, and a major factor in the Prominence factor, which is one of the top three ranking factors for the local pack. Authentic, detailed 4 and 5 star reviews are an excellent way to build trust and authority with customers and search engines. It is important to consistently generate and cultivate reviews, both good and bad, and to be responsive to incoming reviews, either positive or negative.

Whether you’re looking to attract new customers or expand your reach, local SEO is an effective strategy for any business. By using the right keywords and optimizing your Google Business Profile, you can rank higher in SERPs and capture a larger local audience. The results can be immediate and lead to more business over time.