How to Improve Your Local Search Engine Optimization
If you’re not sure how to improve your local SEO, you’re not alone. Nearly 80% of mobile searches end up at the location where the customer searched. With local SEO, you can increase traffic to your physical location, as well as gain loyal customers. Not only will satisfied customers return to your business, but they will also spread the word about it. That’s the power of local SEO. But how do you increase traffic to your physical location? Here are some tips to boost your local SEO.
Use meta tags. Meta tags inform search engines that your site is local, and they are helpful to inform consumers about your business. Your site needs to be mobile-friendly and load quickly. Local SEO is critical for small businesses, since local search traffic is more likely to be generated by local searches than it is for national ones. Without these, your local business will lose out to larger corporations. Make sure you optimize your website for local searches so you can stay competitive in your niche.
Focus on onsite SEO. Local SEO is more important than ever, and the success of your website depends on the quality of your site. Google started using location information to rank search results about a decade ago. Today, consumers are increasingly using location-based search to find businesses nearby. In fact, it is estimated that 80% of mobile searches result in a purchase. And if they do, you’ll benefit. In the end, local SEO can help your business gain more customers and make your online business more successful.
Embrace Google’s GMB tool. It gives businesses the power to manage their listing and respond to reviews. Your company’s profile information is used by Google to rank your business for local searches. Managing and optimizing your GMB profile will improve your chances of showing up in local searches. So, take advantage of the GMB tool today and see what your competitors are missing out on. That’s the foundation of local SEO. With proper planning, you can dominate your local market.
Keep up with the latest search algorithms. Google now takes information available on the internet into account. It takes these reviews to determine your local search ranking. To combat this problem, encourage your customers to write reviews and respond to them. Make it a point to reply to reviews, as this shows Google that you take reviews seriously and are a responsible business. And, as a friendly reminder, remember that your customers might not write reviews about you unless you compensate them properly.
Local SEO is undergoing a paradigm shift. To be effective, it requires increased understanding and context. New devices and the growing popularity of voice-activated assistants like Amazon Echo and Google Home suggest a trend in the direction of conversational devices. These devices may even improve your local SEO. There’s a good chance that the next evolution of local SEO will be a major revolution. That’s because we’re living in a world that’s increasingly dependent on technology.
If you’re not sure how to get the most out of local SEO, you can subscribe to Moz Top 10 newsletter, a semi-monthly email newsletter from the search engine optimization firm Moz. It contains a list of 10 highly relevant articles for your local SEO strategy. For example, one of the articles is aimed at reverse-engineering Google’s Local Search Algorithm. It contains findings from the largest statistical study on local search ranking factors.
Local SEO is all about capturing local customers. By utilizing local SEO strategies, your website will rise in the search engine rankings for your local target demographic. By capturing qualified leads through local search queries, your local SEO efforts will help you gain new customers and keep your business at the forefront of their mind. This will boost sales and traffic to your physical location. And since people who search locally tend to use Google more often, local SEO can help you get more local customers.
The more local-specific you are, the more localized your SEO efforts will be. In addition to general SEO strategies, you should build a comprehensive local link profile. Building out local directories will help you get more unique links and increase your link authority. Nevertheless, you should be careful about excessive link exchange, which Google does not like. But it’s possible to get a few of these by enlisting local business partners.