GETTING STARTED WITH COMPLETE LOCAL SEO GUIDE

by admin | September 7th, 20 | Local SEO

Over the past few years, a large percentage of consumers have been looking on the internet to find a local business before actually visiting them. To be more precise, about 86% of them rely upon the internet to find details about a local merchant rather than opting for other ways.

So what’s the reason behind sharing this data? By now, you might have already guessed the importance of Local SEO Services for your business. Whether you deliver online services or not, staying on top of local search results helps your services to be found easily. Want to better understand how local SEO functions, and what other benefits it can bring to your company? The team at Digital Website Development has curated a detailed Local SEO Guide for your quick reference.

What is Local SEO?

Before you get started on implementing a Local SEO Strategy for your Business Website, you need to know what local search is and what does local SEO means.

The primary difference between organic and Local Search is that the later has a geographical component attached to it. It can come directly from the user search query or search engine may assume local intent in certain searches. For instance, if you search for “Best Local SEO Service Provider”, the search engine will show results from your nearby areas.

Now that you are well aware of what local search is, you need to secure that top position in the local search engine results. And for that, you need to start optimizing your business’s online presence concerned with your city and location. This complete act is referred to as Local SEO.

The first step in your Local SEO Marketing

The most important part is getting started with local SEO services is setting up your Google My Business page. Although there are other important local SEO listings too, including BIng places and Apple maps, we recommend you starting with GMB.

Google My Business is a free and easy-to-use tool offered by Google to help businesses and organizations manage their online presence across Google Search and Maps. Here are a few quick tips to help you set up your Google My Business profile correctly.

  • Describe your business with proper information that is formatted correctly.
  • Ensure that you select the correct category for your business.
  • Add some good photos to keep the consumers engaged.
  • Add an address that consistent throughout your online presence including Local Directories & Citations.
  • Do not forget to add your correct location as it your local listing is linked with the Google Maps.
  • Get some real reviews to add credibility to your GMB profile.

Just like your local listing on Google My Business, you can create your business profiles on Bing Places and Apple map to make sure you do not lose on any customer from those platforms as well.

Local Directory & Citations (NAPW)

A citation is a process of listing your business’s Name, Address, Phone, and Website URL (NAPW) online. It is done typically in an online directory or similar business listings website.

This plays an important role in your local website SEO as a large number of consumers still look into these directories to get the required information. Besides, Google believes that you are verified business if your NAPW information is consistent across different such local listing.

While most of the local website SEO service providers do this right, here are a few things that you should keep a check on while working on your website’s local SEO.

  • Make sure all your citations are accurate and consistent. Varying information can have a negative impact on your website’s overall SEO.
  • Focus more on local citations with big aggregators.
  • Use automated tools like WhiteSpark to help find and upload local citations on behalf of you.
  • Do not hesitate to go for manual local directory listings.
  • Go for a citation audit and keep an eye over your competitors.

Reviews and Ratings can help boost your Local SEO

If you wish to improve your local search engine ranking, you cannot just ignore client reviews and ratings. They tend to have a direct impact both on the possibility of your business showing up at the top of local search results as well make up the mindset of your potential customers. So you need to dedicate some time to them. Your online reviews are something that serves as a verification of your service and claims made by your website or brand.

Although you can get started with reviews on Google itself, you should take care of your reviews on Yelp page which is used by the Apple maps to place their local search results. You should also keep a check over other local directories to maintain positive feedback and good rating throughout the internet.

On-Page Local SEO is the obvious trick

When you work with the local website SEO company, they do not just help post listings or improve your online reviews, but also work on certain traditional on-page SEO practices to help improve your local online business.

  • Create local landing pages and work on your website structure to rank well in local search queries.
  • Optimize your Homepage for your targeted location.
  • Update your business addresses to match those mentioned in NAPW listings.
  • Introduce a section with testimonials and Google reviews.
  • Add relevant schema markup to your website.
  • Work on local resources relevant to your domain and promote them to gain more traffic and boost your website’s local SEO.

Why you should consider investing in Local SEO Services?

In the present digital era, gone are the days of conventional marketing and print media. With more and more users turning to the online search to get the relevant information about local business, you need to up your online presence with the help of local SEO strategies.

  • Local search marketing is highly effective and delivers immediate results.
  • With the growth of mobile internet, people prefer a quick online search for even for offline services. According to a study, 78% of local searches through mobile result in offline purchases
  • As local listing is a prominent part of local SEO marketing, it is believed to have the highest conversion levels of all local advertising channels.
  • It helps to build your brand and manage your reputation over your domicile.

The next step

Now that you are well aware of what local SEO is and how it can be employed to your benefit, it’s time to get started with your quest to secure that top position in those local search results on different search engines.

  • Like any other process, the first step is to analyze the present situation of your online business. Get started with our free SEO audit of your website’s to help you plan your digital marketing strategies accordingly.
  • Consult some reputed local SEO firm in your area to discuss your audit report.
  • Once you are all set up, hire local SEO experts to take care of your requirements while you sit back and watch your business grow exponentially.

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