When embarking on an SEO journey, marketers may feel like they’re taking on the whole world. Businesses from every corner of the world compete in the SERPs, and in 2020, the online competition is tougher than ever.
However, SEO can also take place on a smaller scale, requiring distinct strategies that help local businesses outperform others in the region.
Let’s talk about local SEO, and explain what business owners can do to stand out in the search engines, get more clicks, and enjoy increased foot traffic and sales. Here are 9 tips.
1. Start With the My Business Profile
Google offers local businesses a golden opportunity to instantly rise in the search results with the “Google My Business” feature. It only takes a minute to fill out the basic name, address, and phone number (NAP) info, but there is so much more you can use to your advantage.
You can add product and service information to the GMB profile, giving users a clear vision. Add images and video tours to make them feel like they’re actually there in person. Include a pic of the storefront so they know what to look for on the street!
As far as low-effort, high-return strategies go, this should be a top priority, according to Vital Design.
2. Get On All the Right Directories
With your GMB profile filled out, you’ll appear on Google Maps and start to gain local recognition. Some directories will reach out to you, but typically you need to make the first move with websites like Foursquare, Yelp, and TripAdvisor.
Establish good relationships with these websites and give them more than enough information to represent your brand in a good light. Consider directories to be part of your PR strategy, and always keep up with the crowds as they leave comments and feedback.
3. Switch Up Your Keyword Strategy
As a small business, you won’t be able to compete with multinational corporations in the search engines with standard one-term keywords, so you’ll need to make your keywords longer, and include regional search terms that attract the local crowds.
Mentioning your location more on your blog and in conversations on social media, and use long-tail keywords that reflect how people use mobile and voice-activated search.
Terms like “best”, “most” and “nearby” are great to use in conjunction with the name of your state, city, or neighborhood.
4. Make Content with Local Flavor
Every region has its own distinctive vibe, with different scenery, weather, and seasonal activities. Be a part of the community by making content that is specific to your surroundings, and appeals to out-of-towners with a unique experience they can’t find elsewhere.
Think about what makes your city or state different from all the rest, and make content that will bring folks from all over to experience what you have to offer.
Also try to orchestrate promotions based on the peak seasons or slow months, like when college students are in town or a big convention takes place. As Wordstream mentioned, stay tuned to the local buzz and generate interest with relevant topics.
5. Stay Engaged on Social Media
Even though social media is a global arena with hundreds of millions of participants, we still tend to use these platforms to find out about happenings and offerings in our area. The information is timely, relevant, and helps us make decisions fast.
If you aren’t posting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at least three to five times per week, you’re missing out on huge audiences that would otherwise be very interested in what you bring to the table.
The written word is useful on social, but you get far more engagement by posting images, videos, and creating promotions with limited-time offers. These will not only appear more readily in search engines but will also compel online users to become real visitors and customers.
6. Build Backlinks Organically
No matter how big or small your brand, backlinks are some of your greatest assets when climbing the search results ranks. According to Inc., many businesses will be willing to exchange backlinks in a reciprocal agreement.
Get in touch with local news sources or regional blogs and ask them for a guest post opportunity or write-up. If you’ve had a good response from the community thus far, it should be no problem.
When there is a local review roundup or events list, make sure you’re on the page with a link to your website. Yes, you’ll be pitted against the competition in real time, but it’s better to be in the game than watching from the sidelines.
7. Get Plenty of Positive Reviews
It should go without saying, but if you offer great customer service, great reviews will be inevitable. The key here is to follow up with positive reviews on social media and your business profile to show your appreciation and keep customers coming back.
If the reviews aren’t 100% positive, that’s okay, just don’t ignore them and hope they go away. They won’t. It’s always better to provide a professional and measured response to any negative reviews and make sure you offer a way to fix the problem ASAP.
Even if that particular customer won’t be returning, this is just good etiquette that shows other potential visitors you care. It will pay off big time in the long term.
8. Earn Those SERP Features
Since small businesses don’t have the budgets or experience to directly compete with big-box brands for organic search results, SERP features are like a secret weapon.
If you provide clear and valuable responses to commonly asked questions, you can jump to the top of the search results page and enjoy the position zero spot, above the rest.
Bulk up your FAQ page and continue to push local content out on your blog and social media to get the edge against larger competitors in the area.
9. Make Your Site Lightning Fast
Small businesses are known for great customer service and being a pillar of the community, but aren’t known for the most dynamic or accessible websites.
By having a website that loads fast and offers a great user experience, you will stand out from the crowd in a big way, and attract whole new audiences as a result.
If you aren’t sure how to bring your site up to speed, tools like Google Accelerated Mobile pages can help.
Conclusion
Local SEO has its own set of rules and takes some trial-and-error to figure out since it isn’t as closely studied and analyzed as general SEO.
However, most of the core principles are the same, and you should still maintain best practices regardless of your location. Make your business the best on the scene by mastering SEO and getting the in-person traffic you deserve.
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