If you own a small business and want to rank it higher in the Google search, then this article will surely help you. Do not worry if you are a beginner. This is a complete local SEO guide for all beginners who wish to see their websites on the top of the SERPs.
Before we start this local SEO guide, it is very important to understand what is local SEO!
What is local SEO?
Local SEO refers to optimizing a website or a social profile of a brand, business, or personality to improve its visibility online whenever a local search related to the same niche is made.
For example, if you are new in Delhi, you may search “hotels in Delhi”. The owners of restaurant owners in Delhi would want their businesses to be visible on the top of the SERPs. This is where local SEO works.
How can you improve your local SEO
Make A Google My Business Account
If you want to grow your business’s online visibility, it is very important that you have a Google My Business account. Though Google is not the only search engine, 80 per cent of the total searches on the internet occur on Google. So, you can’t just ignore it.
Following are some of the things you need to do when you make your Google My Business account.
- All the necessary company details must be publicly visible. It includes the address, contact number, pictures of the business, email etc.
- You must add the primary and the secondary business categories while you set up your Google My Business account.
- Other than that, you must set a geographical radius in which your business serves.
- Do not forget to write a good business description.
- If you own a store, then upload the pictures of it. If you deal in some products, do not forget to share the pictures of those as well.
- Verification is very important. Verify that you are the owner of the business.
Remember! The more, the merrier. Do not leave any section empty. Give as much detail about your business as you can.
It is a perfect tool to promote your business online without spending any money. You can add so much of detail in your Google My Business profile. Also, do not forget to ask your customers to give valuable reviews about the business. Reviews can really do wonders.
FAQs are really important
There are a lot of interrogative searches on several search engines. People do not go for keywords, but they ask questions.
For example- “How to make an electric motor?”, “What is the right time to change a job?” etc.
It can be related to your business’ niche as well. Therefore, it is very important that you add relevant questions and add relevant answers to your website. The focus should be to solve a purpose first and ranking higher on SERPs should be the second priority.
If you have good DFAQs on your website, your website will surely do good on search engines.
Add Map To Your Website
It is necessary that you add a map to your website. The whole point of local SEO is to make it easier for the public around your business’ geographic area, to visit your business. Surely, adding a map to the website will prove to be a boon for you.
Do a thorough website audit
A thorough website audit is what you need to have time and again. For this purpose, Yellow Digit’s expert team can help you.
A good website audit includes finding error pages, finding broken links, and checking plagiarism. Other than that, it is important to check the accessibility of the website, write the missing metadata, write the alt text in images etc.
Other than all of this, you must have,
- A separate contact page
- Page giving details of address details of your business
- A mobile responsive website
- Catchy call-to-action buttons
- Contact numbers clickable on mobile phones
Good keyword research
Your business website must be optimized for local SEO. For that, good keyword research is necessary.
The keywords should relate to your brand and its niche. Other than that, do not forget to focus on location keywords. For example- Pet shops in LA, Hair Salons in Vegas etc.
These keywords are known as “Service in Location” (SiL) keywords. Write all the content of your website keeping in mind the keywords.
Testimonials can do wonders
No matter what kind of business you own, good testimonials will surely help you grow it better on SERPs. One of the major reasons is that testimonials improve the credibility of a website and a business. What could be better than your customers endorsing your brand?
A new visitor to your website will not just see the pictures that you have placed on your website. He will also look for reviews and testimonials on your website. So, you can not just underrate them.
Other than testimonials, reviews are also very important. Be it Google My Business or other platforms, having good reviews about your business is necessary.
Social media is the game-changer
Nowadays, it is very hard to find a person who does not use social media. There are millions across the world who use social media. However, you just need to be better in your locality. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat are great tools to engage with your local customers.
Also, you can easily find your potential customers on social media. It can really help you expand your business.
Link-Building
For overall improvement in SEO, link building is very important. There are several ways of increasing quality backlinks to your website. Though it is time-consuming, it can surely help you do good in the long run.
- Writing guest posts for authority domains
- Internal link building
- Writing testimonials
- Getting help from local influencers
- Finding broken links of authority domains and providing them a link to your website
Local Business Directories
Here is a list of several business directories that can help you.
- Hubspot
- Mapquest
- Thumbtack
- Super Pages
- Google My Business
- Apple Maps
- Bing Maps
- LinkedIn Company Directory
- Local
- Foursquare