It’s 2017, and for many companies, it’s time to take a look at their SEO plans and determine where they can improve. There’s no question that local SEO is more vital than ever before. 56% of all mobile searches are local, meaning that they include city names or other local information in the keywords used.
What does that mean for you as a local business owner? It means you need to be hyper-focused on maximizing your local SEO. It’s the best way to make sure that local customers don’t miss you when they browse for you. Here are the top ways to connect locally and expand your business.
One of the biggest mistakes local business owners commit when designing their websites is not optimizing for local keywords. As stated above, the bulk of mobile searches include local keywords. Customers who are out and about search for local businesses. If they can’t find yours, they’ll visit one of your competitors instead.
You can use Google AdWords’ Keyword Planner to find the best local keywords for your business. You should be utilizing a combination of short and long-tail keywords for the best results.
Another way to make the most of local SEO is to optimize each piece of content you publish for your local keywords. An Atlanta bakery might use keywords like:
- Atlanta GA bakery
- Bakery in Atlanta GA
- Atlanta wedding bakery
When you optimize your content for your specific keywords, it’s important to keep the focus on quality. Google does not look kindly on websites that stuff their content with keywords. Ensure to use your keywords in important locations, such as your title, subheadings, tags, and in the first 100 words of your content.
A good rule of thumb is to aim for approximately 1% keyword usage. That means that for a one thousand word blog post, you would only use your primary keyword 10 times. You can also use some secondary keywords. As long as the content is relevant and highly readable, you’ll reap the full benefits of your keywords.
Have you optimized the meta data on your website for local search? Meta data includes all of the tags and alternative descriptions on your site. It also includes the meta description that displays on Google below the name of your page.
A vast number of local companies don’t give enough though to their meta data. They miss out on opportunities to connect with their target audience because they don’t try using local keywords.
Now is a good chance to review all of the meta data on your website and update it to include your chosen keywords. It’s a change that probably won’t take much time to make, but it can make a noticeable difference in your site’s rank on Google.
When was the last time you reviewed the consistency of your NAP listings online? A NAP listing is any listing where your company’s name, address, and phone number appear.
All of your NAP listings must be identical if you want to optimize your business for local search opportunities. It might sound like a silly thing, but even something minute like using Ave instead of Avenue in a listing can compromise your SEO and make it harder for customers to find you.
Check out all of your NAP listings and contact any website that has your information listed incorrectly. You should also check all of the address listings you control, including those on your website and social media profiles.
If you haven’t already claimed your company’s listing on Google My Business, you should make it a priority for the new year. Google My Business is a free site for business owners. You can use it to give your SEO a huge boost.
The initial step is to verify your business by clicking here. Once you’ve done that, you should check out the existing information and update it to reflect your proper NAP listing, business hours, and other relevant information. We also advise adding photographs and using your local keywords in the image tags.
Everything you write on Google My Business should be optimized for local search. That means that your company description and everything else you post there should include local keywords. This information will enhance your Google search rank and ensure that local customers are able to find you when they browse your chosen keywords.
A private blog network, or PBN, is a collection of authority websites that you use to build links back to your primary business site.
If you’ve heard of PBNs, you may also have heard that link building with them is thought of to be problematic in a lot of SEO circles. The reason for that is that some marketers have created a cottage industry out of building low-quality sites.
A low-quality PBN is one that includes sites that contain “spun” content – content that’s been slightly rewritten but is essentially a copy of existing content. Google frowns on that practice and has punished sites that feature spun content.
The key to using a PBN is to make sure that you post only relevant, high-quality content. You can cover similar topics, but it’s smart not to copy or nearly copy what you have on your own site. Google will pick up on that and it can cost you in the long run.
The key to getting the most out of your local SEO is to be consistent and persistent. Any time your company name appears on the web, you should be using local keywords and other SEO tools. The more consistent you are, the simpler it will be for the customers who are most likely to buy from you to find you.