Have a local business? Here’s how Local SEO can help you.
Having a visibility in the area that you operate in is important. Just like the old adage: “Charity begins at home”, the process of marketing and branding also starts with having a solid local presence. Most of the start-ups get their initial leads, sales and revenues from local regions, that serve as building blocks for their future growth.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is all about making one’s online business assets visible in the top ten results of the search engine. Now the question arises: why in the top ten? It is because, people looking for anything in Google find it in the results of the first page itself 98% of the times. They do not go to the second page. This means, that if a business website ranks on the second page of Google, it has very little chances of visibility to the target audience.
Local SEO is the technique that helps businesses rank well for local keywords. This implies, when people perform a Google Search in close proximity of your business, it has a better chance to stand out than it normally would. This results in higher chances of its discovery to the potential audience, bringing in more chances of brand awareness, traffic and lead generation.
Tips to optimize your Local SEO & visibility in searches
Fill out the Google My Business profile details completely. It offers impeccable details about your business to your customers: just the right information anyone will need if they are looking for any product or service.
Focus on getting good reviews for your product or service offerings from your customers in Google My Business. These are an excellent ranking factor in Google Maps which ultimately leads to ranking your website in Google searches for local keywords and boosting your Local SEO. Also, good reviews convince your customers that you as a business are trustworthy and your products are good.
Post frequently in Google My Business. It helps your listing to stay relevant and fresh, which makes your listing pop up more frequently in searches. You can use this option to inform your customers about new offers, discounts, deals, referrals or alternatively, use the space to publish a screenshot of customer testimonial, thanking him/her for his/her valuable remark.
If you have more than one business location, make sure to update all of them in Google My Business. This will help Google Maps to show your correct address in case of local searches made by the target audience, giving your listing a chance to be seen more number of times.
In case your business does not have a website, Google My Business offers a free website with a free business domain address (you can always upgrade your address by buying a new domain name from providers like GoDaddy, Hostinger, BigRock, Siteground and more). Use it to claim ranking in Google Search. No need to post content on it, it will automatically be updated with every review your customers make and every post that you publish on the Google My Business platform.