With all the emerging marketing trends, it becomes even more challenging for a small business to compete with big rivals. Massive companies with unlimited cash flow can easily take advantage of national SEO and other paid marketing strategies to top the list on SERPs. However, if you think that you can’t beat them just because you have no budget, perhaps it’s time to find how you can maximize the power of local SEO.
Why Do You Need to Optimize Your Local SEO?
As a small business owner, it is imperative to focus on your local customers first. Even some of the big brands on the market today had to experience starting from scratch. Since you don’t have unlimited money and resources, you might as well put your time and effort in optimizing what you have in front of you.
Here are some of the proven and tested methods that can help you maximize the power of local SEO:
1. Establish your presence on Google My Business (GMB).
The first step to establishing a presence on search engines is to claim your business on GMB. These days, local customers tend to rely on Google Maps. Your business cannot be displayed without a Google My Business listing. Moreover, once you have proven to Google that your brand is legitimate, there’s a high possibility that your business will be displayed on the sidebar space when a customer searches.
2. Ask for reviews and comments from your happy customers.
According to the 2017 Local Consumer Review, 85% of local customers rely on online reviews and personal recommendations. Gaining positive feedback from your clients can help enhance your GMB presence. The good news? It’s easy to get. Ask your customer directly after making a sale, or you can send an email requesting your customer write a brief yet positive review. However, it’s essential to screen your reives and comments first so that you’ll only get favorable comments in return.
3. Work on optimizing voice search.
Voice search is fast gaining popularity. SEO experts generally believe that it will be vital for every business to optimize for voice search in the years to come. You should take advantage of this strategy today. In a general web search, people tend to type in keywords, but there’s a big difference in the way customers speak into their devices. Since speaking is more comfortable than typing, local customers are likely to use long-tail keywords. It is the reason why you have to adjust the optimization of your content. Think of having a more conversational tone. Of course, you must consider the 5Ws and H as well.
4. Grab your local customers’ attention by writing about the latest stories within the community.
You can expect to entice more customers if you turn your content into something more relatable. Writing blog posts of local stories, crafting videos for local beneficiaries, and setting your webpage locally are some of your options.
5. Optimize the mobile version of your website.
With mobile phones readily available, more and more people are using them to search for websites. Thus, if you don’t want to be the least sought, create a mobile version with the best features. (e.g. high-quality images, fast loading)
6. Use popular keywords in your locality.
It is a good thing that Google Planner is now providing filters for local searches. Therefore, one can identify popular search terms in a given area. To take advantage of this feature, you must be able to include local terms, specific landmarks, and hot spots in your content.
7. Be specific about your location in your “About Us” page.
If your business is situated in just one specific location, including an “About Us” page is beneficial. Local customers can easily find your business information. This page encompasses your business’ name, address, store hours, testimonials, and the like. However, you must also take note that if you are to cater to multiple locations, you need to create unique content for each.
8. Get your business listed on online business directories with high authority.
There are several business directories that you can take advantage of to improve your local SEO. You need to make sure that you include your exact business name and description, phone number, and especially your website’s backlink.
Local SEO, if done right, can gain you additional website traffic. Ultimately, you’ll get potential leads and conversions. Big brands usually depend on brand recognition; thus, they tend to use broader keywords. In local SEO, you have to focus on value propositions first for more traffic. If you don’t know where to start, let MojoSEO guide you. Visit our website today or call 720-439-6715 so we can get down to business right away.
