Local
SEO can be challenging to rank for, especially as more and more people begin to
rely on voice search. With Google Home smart speakers as well as Alexa, the
tone of the content is becoming more conversational. With this in mind, you can
begin to target local keywords in a way that benefits you and your business
when it comes to an increase in ranking position as well as footfall to your
store. Here at Absolute Digital Media,
we will be giving you insight into everything you need to know about ranking
well for local SEO.
Optimize Google My Business
When looking to rank for local SEO it is crucial that you create a Google My Business Profile and optimize it. This allows for a fully optimized SEO strategy allowing for people in the local area to reach your offline store through Google Maps. With a number of images as well as a phone number, customer reviews and opening times, you can direct traffic to your website as well as social media profiles.
Create A Mobile-Friendly Website
In
addition to a Google My Business Profile, it is important to create a mobile-friendly
website for users to make the most of. By creating an interface that is
accessible as well as easy to use on a mobile or tablet, this will help you to
rank for local SEO as you will appear higher in the “near me “search
terms. This is crucial to the success of
local SEO as this search is mostly conducted on mobile devices as it overtook
desktop search in 2016. A mobile site should be as reliable as the desktop site
with the same information to provide users with the perfect experience.
Optimize For Local Key Words
Local keywords, otherwise known as “near me” keywords are important when looking to rank for local SEO. It is important to target keywords such as this as it will help you to appear on Google Maps when looking for a specific shop or restaurant. This will help to direct traffic online as well as increase the footfall to your business. Having these keywords featured in titles, as well as in content will help to fully optimize your website and boost the ranking of your website in Google SERP results to be above competitors.
Collect Online Reviews
Collecting reviews on a Google My Business or Yelp review page will help to boost your Google SERP ranking as engagement is a key factor. This will help to rank you above your competitors as you begin to work towards a five-star rating. The more optimized the content is and the better the reviews the higher your business will rank. It is important to be responsive to online queries as well as be on top of any negative reviews as this can affect your ranking in the long term. By resolving these and being responsive as a business owner, you can prevent your business from suffering.
With
this in mind, there are a number of ways that your business can rank for local
SEO terms with just a few simple changes. This is crucial to the success of
your business as this can not only increase footfall to your physical store,
but it can lead to your business ranking above its competitors helping to drive
brand awareness over the course of the campaign.