If you own a small business and you’re not in on the SEO game, you’re losing time — and customers. Investing in such an important web infrastructure that makes you more visible locally means you’re search engine friendly and can contribute to a boost in your ROI. But if you’re looking for a quick, overnight fix, you won’t find it. It takes time to nurture a local SEO strategy to appease the Google gods. Local SEO is designed to target potential customers in the area where your business is located. Whether you’re an HVAC business, a craftsman, or dentist, the bulk of your business will come from local sources. Makes sense to make those critical connections.
Here are some ways to go about achieving successful small business SEO:
1. Establish Local Places Pages
First off, create a local business page for all of the major search engines, namely Google, Yahoo! and Bing. It’s simple to set up an account: just fill out your complete business information, including location, phone number, and hours. This is the crux of small business search engine optimization.
2. Optimize and Categorize Your Page
You’ll need to add some quality photos, go into detail on your hours of operation (i.e., seasonal hours), and list out the many services you offer. Then, it’s time to ensure your page is properly categorized via local search engines who will not display a business that is mis-categorized or not categorized at all for a particular set of keywords, says Forbes.
How Your Competition is Getting an Edge with Local SEO Services
3. Ensure Accurate Business Citations
Fill out all necessary information with NAP (Name, Address, Phone) data that stays consistent across the board. This is crucial. Listing your business name differently in two different places will only serve to confuse the search engines. If your business has already been listed by someone else, you’ll have to claim the listing, AKA a citation. Tools like Text or Localese can be really helpful in finding your company’s local listings online. While you’re at it, search for different listings of your company name to ensure uniformity.
4. Implement Online Reviews
Google will rank your site according to the reviews you get. They can maintain your visibility in a world where consumers’ purchasing decisions can rely entirely on how your local business is perceived by others. By including reviews, your customers can quickly and easily click on the links that look attractive to them. Just remember not to include fake reviews or accept gifts for reviews. Fortunately, there are ways you can improve your amount of natural reviews, such as including a button on your webpage that prompts visitors to leave a review after making a purchase.
5. Include Keywords in Your Website
Optimizing your website goes hand in hand with local search. Ways you can go about this include ensuring your contact information is prominently displayed on your website, including city or regional keywords within the content, and establishing connections with local organizations and forums to boost visibility.
Have some burning local SEO questions for your small business? Let’s chat
