Local SEO Strategy Is Important
Does your small business take advantage of all the free information available to them? If not, they may be missing out on a great opportunity. The internet is vast and there are so many tools at their disposal that can help improve their local search engine optimization. In this article, we will discuss how you can take control of your own SEO.
Today, Google has over 77% of the internet market share in the United States. By using local SEO strategies on your website to optimize for locally related searches, you are putting yourself into a position to reach your target audience through relevant search results.
Google can be used as a very powerful tool for any business looking to reach new clients within their specific area. By using local SEO, you are optimizing for Google's local rankings which can give you a higher chance of getting your website up on the first page of search results. This is especially effective if you are trying to get new clients in your area who use mobile devices, such as an iPhone or Android, to find nearby businesses via search engines.
Google's local search results are displayed differently on mobile devices vs. desktop computers, so it is important to optimize accordingly if you want your website to show up for mobile searches. For example, the local rankings include many different factors when displaying results on a mobile device such as “prominence” or how well known your business is in the area, SSL certificates for mobile websites, and positive reviews.
When optimizing for Google's local rankings, it is important to understand the different factors that are taken into consideration when displaying results on a mobile device vs. a desktop computer. This will help you optimize your website accordingly to get your business higher up on the search engines ranks locally within certain areas.
The following are just a few of the free tools that can help you optimize your website for local rankings by providing relevant info to Google's algorithms.
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Get Your Business Listed On Google My Business
If you do not have a listing for your business on Google, start here. If you already have a listing, make sure it is complete and up to date.
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Optimize Your Website With Keywords
One way to optimize a blog post for local rankings is to include relevant city and state names in the article or within the title of the article. This can influence where that particular blog will rank when people search for specific cities or regions. Optimizing your website in this way can be a good practice, but it is important to not go overboard with keyword stuffing. Google's algorithms are becoming smarter and detecting when websites are being forced into the rankings by over-optimization.
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Get Reviews For Your Business On Third-Party Websites
Once you have listed your business on Google and optimized your website with keywords, it is time to start getting reviews for your company. This will provide positive feedback to the algorithms used in Google's local rankings.
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Optimize Your Website For Mobile Devices
It is becoming increasingly important these days to have a website that displays properly on all different types of phones and tablets.
Start Focusing On Local SEO
If you are not familiar with what local SEO is, here are the basics. It is all about trying to get your company higher up in local search results within certain areas. When it comes to SEO, some people think that all you need is a website and your business will be on the first page of Google. This is true for national search results, but not so much when it comes to local listings. If you want to rank higher in searches like “restaurants near me” or “plumbers nearby” then you have to focus on local SEO strategies. A lot of businesses still don’t know about this strategy because they're more focused on rankings than actually getting new customers. Let Sharp Tack Media help educate your team with our free consultation service today!
