How to Optimize Your Local SEO Efforts for Greater Visibility

What is SEO?

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a process you can use to increase your ranking on search engines like Google. If you are a local business owner, it’s especially important that you take advantage of local SEO techniques so customers who are looking specifically in your geographic area can find your business online. There are several ways to optimize your website and content for better local SEO results.

Local checklist

Use your location keywords as much as possible

In order to draw potential customers looking for your products and services in your local area, you need to be able to appear in search engine results when someone is looking specifically for those terms. In other words, make sure you’re using your location keywords as much as possible when writing about a specific service or offering. A few quick tips: use location-specific hashtags on Instagram and include a geo-tag on posts that include place names.

Include keyword variations in your business name

A business name is a prime opportunity to help your customers find you when they search. The best keyword choice will vary depending on your niche, but think about how people would naturally use words when they search and incorporate these into your brand name. Also consider including modifiers like best or cheap in your business name so that your business can rise to the top when someone searches those keywords.

Update your business address

Before you can optimize your local visibility, you have to make sure that people are actually able to find your business online. Fortunately, there are a number of strategies you can use when it comes to local SEO. The most obvious step is updating your business address and point of contact information across all of your digital assets: website, social media profiles, email signature. Make sure that whoever manages your website or social media channels also keeps these details up-to-date.

Claim and optimize your Google My Business page

Claiming your business page on Google My Business is free, but takes some time. Once you’ve claimed your business page, make sure it includes a link back to your website—not only will it make you more visible on mobile searches, but it also sends traffic back to your site.

It’s best to add an image of your storefront and an accurate description of what you do. Include as much information as possible. If someone wants to know more about your business, they should be able to find it here. If you have a physical location, include its address and hours of operation, if not, include contact information so customers can reach out with questions or concerns.

Improve the quality of your website content

Content is king. Great content draws in more customers by giving them an easy way to learn about your services and products, and helps you build authority within your field. If your site isn’t providing value through good content, you won’t rank well in search engines—no matter how much money you put into advertising. Improve the quality of your website content by doing keyword research, creating informative articles, and generating useful internal links on your site.

Publish original, high-quality images on your site

Google loves pictures. If you can create compelling images that show off your product or service in a unique and professional way, you should absolutely publish them on your site. Not only will they increase user engagement, but Google’s algorithm gives preference to websites with original, high-quality images when it comes to local searches—meaning these images can bring in more customers!

Grow the amount of positive reviews you have online

One of your first steps in developing a local SEO strategy should be tracking your online reputation. This can include looking at review sites, social media and forums where you’re mentioned or have reviews, and other sources where people are talking about you. The more positive reviews you have, the more likely it is that potential customers will find you through search engines when they’re looking for businesses like yours.

Focus on mobile friendliness

Mobile first, desktop second. Apart from the fact that Google – due to last year’s change – only indexes pages with a mobile address, phones are used by over 5 billion recipients.We use them at home, at work, on the go, everywhere. So make sure your website is responsive to maintain a high level of user experience (UX). The website must look as good as on desktop devices. If your business’s website isn’t mobile-friendly, you could miss out on a lot of potential leads.

Maintain consistency across channels

Maintaining consistency across all your social media channels can help you create a well-rounded presence that’s recognizable and easy to follow. Consistency also helps with local search. It tells Google that you have a strong, established presence in your city or town. You may even be able to leverage it as part of your overall strategy—for example, by creating unique content for each channel. While it may seem like an unnecessary extra step at first, consistency will pay off over time.

Use the potential of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and / or TikTok. Each of these platforms is a new audience with different needs. If you care about development and high-quality communication with clients, they are a perfect tool.

Conclusion

There are a lot of different things you can do with local SEO. You can consider an infinite number of strategies and approaches. But, at some point, you need to put your feet down and decide what’s going to work best for your industry or business. In order to do that, make sure you know who your audience is and what kind of content they want.