Did you know that after five years of being in business around 49% of businesses shut down? If you are running a business and are looking to stay out of this statistic then we highly recommend using local SEO to increase your online rankings. We have put this short guide together to share our top local SEO tips that you can apply right away.
Read on to learn more so that you can add this to your SEO strategy.
1. Local Keyword Research
One of the first things you want to do is learn how your local target customers research the services and products you offer. What are they typing into the search bar on a search engine such as Google?
Even if you know your customers and industry well, it is a smart move to perform keyword research. For example, if you are an electrician in California you might be aware that people are searching for terms such as “electrician in California.” But, they are also searching for other terms that if you don’t take into account you are basically leaving money on the table.
One way to do some research is to make a list of your products and services and then input those terms into a keyword explorer online. To get an idea of how many people are searching for that term and how competitive the keyword is.
2. Get More Reviews
When people leave you Google Maps reviews this will help improve your business visibility. There are ways you can ask for reviews without breaking any of Google’s terms. For example, you can create a link for free in Google My Business and share the link with customers asking them to leave a review.
According to Google, this is considered a best practice so you don’t have to worry about breaking any terms.
3. List Your Business in Other Directories
Take the time to also list your business in online directories such as Yelp, Angie’s List, Bing Places, FourSquare, etc. These are only a few of the most common directories but you can do a search for others in your area.
Adding your business information to directories will help search engines find your business to recommend when their bots are crawling through directories and websites. You will also receive more local SEO signals.
Make sure that when you are listing your business in these directories your name and place of business are exactly the same across the board. When there is a discrepancy it can make your business look unreliable in the eyes of Google.
Time to Apply These Local SEO Tips
Now that you learned our top local SEO tips, you can apply them right away and start seeing a spike in your walk-in traffic. The more you can tap into your local market the busier your business will stay.
If our article about local SEO came in handy please continue browsing our business section for more guides to help your business grow.
