The number 1 position in the SERPs is 10x more likely to receive a click compared to a page in the 10th position. But did you know that Google Maps shows 93% of the time in the first position in the SERPs when people search locally? Imagine how much more traffic you will receive when your company ranks well in Google Maps! That is exactly what Local SEO can do for your business: optimization for local searches.
After helping many small businesses with their online presence in Google search results and Google Maps, our team knows a thing or two about Local SEO. In this article, we share our top 10 tips for Local SEO. Let’s dig in.
Local SEO is a strategy that helps you rank higher in search results for your business’s local area. Local SEO is about getting your business listed on Google Maps and other relevant online directories, such as Yelp, so your small business can appear in search results for local keywords.
For instance, If you’re a dentist in Edina, Minnesota, but you’ve never optimized your site for “Dentist in Edina, MN,” or “dentist near me,” then chances are that you’re going to rank pretty low on Google when someone searches for that keyword. As a result, fewer people will visit your website, which implies fewer clients for you.
However, if you optimize your company’s website for “dental clinic near me”, someone looking for a dentist in Edina, Minnesota, may reach your clinic instead of your rival. Patients are more likely to contact or visit your clinic if it’s closer to them.
Let’s take another example, you are looking to buy CBD oil in Boulder, CO because you recently moved there. You will probably grab your phone and Google “cbd oil boulder co” or “cbd shop near me,” right? The first thing you see (after the ads) on the search engine results page (SERP) is Google Maps with the top 3 locations (called Places). How big is the chance that you use that snippet of Google Maps to find the CBD seller that is nearest to you? Considering the earlier mentioned numbers, I bet it’s a pretty big chance. And that’s why small businesses need to optimize for Local SEO.
By the way, if you are looking for CBD keywords for your SEO strategy, we have already done the work for you. Get them here.
Your small business needs a strong local SEO strategy to help you gain that first position, and eventually increase your customer base, and boost sales.
Small businesses have a hard time getting the attention they need to be successful in today’s business world. Big corporations have larger budgets for their marketing and small businesses have a hard time competing with that. Local SEO comes into play here. If you manage a physical store that only serves a particular area, local SEO is very helpful.
According to Nectafy’s statistics, 88% of people looking for local businesses on a mobile device call or go there within 24 hours. With the help of local search engine optimization, even your small business may achieve map exposure and benefit from this opportunity.
Are you having trouble starting your local SEO marketing strategy? Here are 10 tips for local search engine optimization (SEO), which you can use to boost your small business in your area.
Google Business Profile is very helpful, especially to local businesses. You can create a free profile to help advertise your business in search engine results and on Google Maps. It will input data about your business directly into Google Maps and Google Search.
As a bonus, using Google Business Profile lets you maintain track of client feedback, easily change your business hours as needed, and connect with them using tools like Google Posts. Here is a comprehensive guide to setting up Google Business Profile.
Most people search using their mobile phones and therefore Google created mobile-first indexing. It means that Google uses the mobile user experience on your website as a major ranking factor nowadays.
So, optimizing your website for a nice mobile view will help you rank higher in Google. Local searchers will leave quickly if your site is not responsive on mobile devices and look at a competitor instead.
Choosing the right keywords might be tricky for small businesses. It’s essential to do local SEO keyword research, because, without it, you don’t know what your customers are looking for. It’s how people will find you. Targeting high-volume keywords will get you lost in the crowd, while lower-volume keywords typically produce minimal results.
The phrase “[service/product] near me” or “[service/product] near me [now/today]” is the most often used keyword. However, the increased competition for this keyword may be challenging to rank for it. Your local SEO keyword must be specific if you want it to be more effective. What I mean by this is you should focus on keywords like “[service/product] in [city/state/zip code]” or “[service/product] for sale in [city/zip code].”
Let’s go back to the example of the dentist with a dental clinic in Edina, Minnesota. Of course they want to rank for “dentist”, but that is too general for any kind of search. Most people know by now that if you are in the US and you search “dentist”, you will get all kinds of dentists from all over the US. And so, the best keywords for our dentist in Edina to optimize for are:
If you need help with your keyword research, we’re happy to support you. For a small fee, we will send you a list of all keywords that match your business, business location, and all related services. A list of keywords customized to your business is the base of any legit SEO Strategy, without it, you’re practically lost.
Check these 5 online marketing channels for CBD businesses, or reach out to us today.
Local SEO is more than just business advertising and targeting keywords. On Page SEO, like page structure, is an often forgotten feature.
When you optimize the page structure of your website, search engines can crawl your site better and the content linked to it to see if a searcher’s query is related to your site. You’ll use keywords relevant to your local area in the URL, title tags, page titles, meta descriptions, and content. You can, for example, dedicate a page to your location. Think about a blog article like “Best CBD resellers in Boulder, CO.” or “In which states is CBD Oil allowed to sell?” When used properly, these can strengthen your content and boost your Search Engine Results Page (SERP) ranks.
A business directory is an online list of all the businesses in a certain niche, area, or category. Think of the online Yellow Pages. Online searchers can find local businesses by looking for them in business directories. But also, these directories contain links to your website, see our 7th tip in this list 😉
Google Business Profile and Yelp are two of the most popular directories. Getting your business listed in relevant local directories can help you build a better brand image, get more customer reviews, improve your search engine rankings, and increase sales. However, you must be careful in choosing online directories. Google needs trusted websites to link to yours and not all directories are trustworthy according to Google.
Social media is a great way to build awareness about your business. It can also help you establish an online presence that will help drive customers to your physical location. Social media isn’t only for big brands and people with many followers. You can sell your products and services using Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok, and Instagram.
Can social media increase traffic to your website? Yes. Social media is a great way to reach out to people and provide information about your products and services. It’s also a great way to get more traffic to your website.
Can social media increase your local visibility on search engines? Yes, that too! When you use your local SEO keywords (“dentistry in Edina, MN”) in your tweets, captions, posts, and comments, search engines can crawl those and link it to your website. Don’t do this toooo often of course, that is just annoying to your followers.
Having social media is great, but it’s not enough. To efficiently rank your local website on search engine results pages (SERPs), you need to have backlinks to get more traffic and drive more people to your website.
But these backlinks shouldn’t just come from any website, especially not backlinks unrelated to your industry. Acquiring links from local sources signals to search engines that you operate a reputable business in your area. A backlink from another trustworthy business can be seen as a recommendation or referral to search engines.
But how can you get backlinks for a small business website? Here are some ways that you can earn backlinks:
Keywords allow search engines to analyze who you are as a business and what you offer. And how do you use those keywords? Simply by using them in your local content.
A blog entry, a news release, or a static web page can all be examples of local content. While blogging about broad topics will draw a sizable audience, there are times when it’s more important to narrow your focus and write about local or industry news to attract a local audience.
For example, if you run a dental clinic in Edina, Minnesota, you could write a blog post about “How Much Does Tooth Extraction Cost in Edina, Minnesota?” You could also talk about your dental clinic’s services and prices and explain each.
This article will help you to write good content for SEO.
Before booking a table at a restaurant, you will undoubtedly read reviews. You’re probably part of the 77% of consumers who read online reviews when browsing for local businesses.
Customer reviews keep your business alive. More local customers will buy from you if you have many AND good reviews. But how do you make your customers write a review on Google?
Easy: share your review link on Google My Business with your customers, and be creative about it. For a dentist: send an email to every patient that has been in your practice in the last days. Thank them for their visit and kindly ask them to do you a favor by leaving a review. For a CBD Oil reseller: add a QR code to your products labels and ask for a review. For a car dealer: print the QR code on a scented car freshener that hangs from your rear view mirror as a gift. Every sold car or car that has been in your garage will leave with the freshener and QR code.
As you can see, there are so many ways of getting people’s attention to your Google My Business review page. When done creatively and of course, when the service is top notch, people will write awesome reviews for you.
But getting reviews isn’t the only thing you need to pay attention to. It’s also essential to respond to as many reviews as possible, good or bad. It will give you a chance to interact with your customers and show people who haven’t bought from you yet believe in your brand.
Create location pages if you have many physical locations. Location pages help introduce you to potential customers. If your location page appears on Google, people who are looking for the service you provide in your city will be able to find you.
Location pages and the Google Business Profile work together to help a business appear better in the local pack and on Google Maps. When a Google Business Profile (GBP) links to a location page on a business’s website, it helps Google confirm that the business is real, that it’s located where it says it is, and that it sells the products and services listed on the GBP.
If you’re looking to grow your small business, you’ve got to take advantage of the power of local SEO. These tips are just some ways to boost your business and get you on the right track.
Still not sure about how to do local SEO on your business website? Contact me right now, and let’s talk about it! With my expertise in SEO strategies, I can surely help you.
