How To Improve Local SEO

Many people see SEO as a way to compete on a global scale. While this is true in some ways, local SEO can greatly impact your business by allowing your company to reach local customers. From appearing on local searches to interacting with customers, local SEO can greatly affect your business. 

Here, we discuss how to improve your local SEO, and how to set up your websites and social media accounts to better interact with your local customers. Without further ado, let’s dive into the topic at hand.

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO refers to how your business ranks in local searches. For example, local SEO dictates whether your business appears on that search if someone types in your business’s area. Several factors can impact local SEO, from your business’s contact information to keywords on your website. Whether or not you’ve claimed your business on Google My Business (GMB) can also impact your ranking. 

Ways to Improve Local SEO

There are several ways to impact your local SEO ranking. Here, we cover some of the easiest (and most impactful) ways to influence your business’s ranking. While there are more in-depth ways to impact local SEO, these are great starting ways to boost your website and take a step toward local searchability. 

Conduct a Local SEO Audit

Before you dive into building your local SEO, conduct an audit to see where your business stands. This includes checking Google My Business to see how your profile appears, doing an incognito and mobile search to see where your business appears and general searchability, and ensuring your name, address, phone number displays correctly across your accounts and social pages. 

It would be best if you also took a moment to assess your website. See how your pages appear to an outsider, how easy it is to find information on your pages, and how often your business mentions its location. If you have few references to your location, you could take advantage of the free SEO ranking of your website content. 

Claim Your Business

Let’s start with the basics: claiming your business on Google My Business. This is a great way to get your business to appear on local SEO searches and the “snack pack” search. You may be wondering, “What is a ‘snack pack?’” If you’ve ever searched for a service in an area, and a list of businesses pops up at the top of the search results (usually below the ads), this is the “snack pack” of local businesses Google pulls from. 

Some things that impact whether or not your business gets featured (and if it shows up on the first page in general) depend on whether or not you’ve claimed your business and how well-developed your profile is. Claim your business on GMB and confirm correct information while updating any mistakes to ensure customers have the best information possible and to help your ranking choices.  

Some information to prioritize on your GMB profile includes:

• Your business name
• Physical address/store location
• Exact map location
• Business category
• Phone number and website
• Business hours
• Photos of your business
• Categories that fit your company
• Additional phone numbers/contact information, when relevant 

Keeping this information up-to-date is crucial to maintaining your SEO ranking. According to one source, 97% of search engine users have searched for local businesses, meaning if your business shows up in local searches, you’re on your way to snagging significant traffic. 

Optimize for Mobile

Another way to get your website in the top results for local SEO involves optimizing your site for mobile. How often have you searched for a business near you while on the go, finding their website doesn’t work on your phone? By prioritizing mobile design alongside general SEO upkeep, you can direct local traffic to your site without worry. 

Another way to increase customer contact is to add direct “call now” buttons on your website for mobile users. Many customers look up websites on their phones to call them easier, meaning having a streamlined contact setup can greatly improve customer interaction chances down the line. 

Prioritize Customer Feedback

Collecting customer reviews signals to search engines your business is legitimate and helps customers decide if your business is worth visiting. Even negative customer reviews to flesh out your profile, making your business appear legitimate. You can incentivize customers to leave reviews in many ways, from offering coupons to in-store details. However you prioritize collecting these reviews, they can significantly impact your business’s appearance for future customers and Google. 

While you can ask for Google My Business reviews, any other location where Google may look for customer reviews (for example, Facebook, Yelp, etc.) may all impact your SEO ranking, making it a crucial part of local SEO ranking. 

Build Local Links

Building links is a crucial part of SEO, and the same applies to building local links. Local links differ from standard authoritative link building because you want to attach your website to businesses with authority near you. That includes local universities, business bureaus, the local Chamber of Commerce, etc. By tying your business to these local websites, you not only direct Google toward your business as one with authority backing you, but it also helps you rank for local searches. 

Of course, make sure to value quality over quantity with these links. You can always build a page of nearby attractions or link to various authority sites for licensing information. If you get creative with your pages, you can offer helpful content to visitors while signaling to search engines you’re worth ranking for local searches. 

Post on Social Media

Social media posts have grown exponentially in Google search importance, meaning connecting your business’s social media to your website is essential to local SEO. Mixing in posts about local events, talking about your physical location (where applicable), and other local pulls can all boost your business’s local SEO rankings and help attract local customers. While you don’t have to spam your social accounts with local posts, having one or two can make a major difference to your ranking, so be sure to work those into your posting schedule. 

If you’re interested in learning more about SEO ranking or want to take your social media accounts and website to the next level, Planted Marketing can help. We offer professional social media consultation and services for small- to mid-sized businesses and would happily provide our years of experience to your company. Contact us today to find out more: info@plantedmarketing.com!