If you own a brick-and-mortar store, using local SEO will help increase your local visibility. Use this local SEO checklist when creating your strategy.
According to Google, 50% of people that do a local search will come into a store because of that search. If you’re following a good local SEO checklist, you will be able to make sure you’re showing up on the front page. You’ll also have a good chance of ranking in the coveted map pack.
If you’re a little lost with SEO and aren’t sure how to rank your local business, we are here to help. The following information will lay out simple yet powerful things you can do to boost your local search appearance. Continue reading this article to learn what you need to do to get your local SEO efforts in order.
What Is Local SEO?
Local SEO is the focus on search engine optimization of showing up when people search for local products and services. For instance, if your business is in Chicago, and you’re a plumber, people might search for a plumber in Chicago. Local SEO is a little different than national SEO because you need to let Google and other search engines know you offer products and services to a specific area.
Now let’s go into what you can do to boost your local search engine rankings.
Ensure Your Website Is a Mobile-Friendly Website
Many searches for local businesses are done through mobile devices. People are out and about, and they can’t find something they are looking for, and their immediate reaction is to pick up their phone and try to find it.
If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, it won’t even show up on Google. Since Google’s mobile-first update in 2018, websites that aren’t mobile-friendly are listed at the end of all the websites that are mobile-friendly. This list could be hundreds of websites, so you need to address this issue right away.
Optimize Bing Local Listing & Google My Business Listing
If you haven’t already claimed your Google My Business listing, you should do this right away. Google My Business is a free listing you claim, and it makes your website show up attractively when people search for it on Google. You can put your store hours, photos, and even social updates on your GMB listing.
Another important part of your GMB listing is the review section. When people search for your business and see positive reviews, they will be more likely to pay attention to it.
Keep in mind that if you have multiple locations for your business, you will need to create a listing for each of these businesses to optimize properly. Make sure you link to the landing page for each of the different locations vs. sending them all to the same homepage.
When you’re ready to optimize Bing local listing, follow the same practices lined out for GMB.
Optimize Your Content for Local Searches
When you created your website, you might not have thought about the search terms people were going to use to find you. Having key search terms within your content is essential if you want to rank. If you have multiple locations, you should have multiple landing pages that target keywords for each of the areas you service or where you are located.
Embed a Google map on local landing pages. Put your address and phone number where it is easy to access. Always optimize your title tag and meta description with your local keywords to let search engines know what the local area is that they should rank your content.
Manage Reviews
Businesses that have a lot of positive reviews get more attention from Google, Bing, and other search engines that serve local results. Many business owners don’t know how to get more positive reviews or what to do if they get negative reviews. If you are hoping people will leave positive reviews and ignore negative reviews, you’re hurting your online success.
The first thing you should do to get more reviews on your GMB or other listing is to ask for them. If people don’t know where you want them to leave reviews, they are less likely to leave them. If you’re focusing on building reviews on Google so you can rank higher — let people know.
On the note of negative reviews, the best thing you can do is directly reply to them. You shouldn’t reply to them and ask them to email you unless you also address their specific problem with the review as well.
If they said they had a rude customer service rep that ruined their experience, you could say something like you would be glad to speak with them about their experience and get to the bottom of who they spoke with and what happened. Don’t say something like, “Please email us for help.”
Consider Outsourcing Your SEO Efforts
When you have a core business you’re growing, it can be difficult to spin a lot of plates. You’re trying to provide your product or service, and in your free time, you’re working hard to rank your business. If you don’t keep up SEO efforts, you might lose rankings.
One of the easiest ways to keep from getting overwhelmed and losing rankings is to outsource your local SEO efforts to an SEO company in Boise Idaho or whatever area you live in. You need an Enterprise SEO to provide you proven results and long time success
Following a Quality Local SEO Checklist
Now that you know what you should include in your local SEO checklist, you’ll be able to boost your local rankings. Local rankings are extremely important for your small business and can bring in hundreds of new people to your business.
Do you need more help with your SEO efforts and other important business and marketing issues? Our site has many articles to help you as you’re growing your business.
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