LOCAL SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Local SEO is the process of ensuring your business is listed and visible to your local audience. This is accomplished using various strategies such as Google My Business and other Local Listings.

Why Is Local SEO Important?

In the planning of a search engine optimization strategy for your business, one of the most important elements is a local SEO strategy, which most businesses miss out on. This gives you a competitive advantage over other businesses in specific local markets. Even though international exposure for your brand and business is important, local SEO services should also be taken into account as they can make all the difference in success in a targeted demographic in a specific local area.

1.The increasing need for high search engine rankings

The increasing number of smartphone users in the country attest to the fact that people are using the Internet to search for products or services they want, even locally. They can find your business phone number and physical location through your website. But for this to work, your website has to be visible on the first page of the search engine listing.

2. How our Local SEO Services can make a difference in our business

No one has the time or patience to look through pages and pages of search engine listings. Also, there are very few people who will go to the Yellow Pages as the first place of reference anymore. Most people look to search engines for all the information they need. This is where our local SEO services can bring in more customers from your local area through our concerted and comprehensive SEO strategies.

3. Our Local SEO Services are comprehensive and effective

Our local SEO strategy includes on-page optimization which means that search engines understand which target area you are focusing on. This is achieved through targeted keyword optimization that is localized as well as the use of NAP data as well as schema markups.

We also ensure your Google Maps optimization so that people can find your business location easily. This is achieved through standardization of NAP data, claiming all missing listings, encouraging more reviews for your business, and completion of all your online profiles.
We also optimize your content to target the specific demographic in your specific area. With highly specialized content optimization strategies, we ensure that your local audience is interested and engaged in your content all the time.

Tactics to rank better in Local Searches:

1. Title and Meta description tags

These HTML fundamentals are basic essentials of overall SEO. You can customize these attributes to enhance your website’s ranking on Search Engines. Bear in mind that the content of the Meta title and description are displayed when your website appears in organic search engine results. It is like a mini advertisement that helps you get clicks from your target audience so that they can enter your website. For instance,

These tags play a significant role in the ranking of websites and we must utilize every character wisely. Let us look at a few tips on how to do so:

Provide useful information, instead of merely page names.
In order to target the local audience, it is essential to include the name of your targeted city, state or location in the tags.
Use one keyword per page tags and try to include it initially in both tags.
Use it to convince the users to click on the website or webpage link.

2. Directories and Citations

As per several studies, four out of five users conduct research using search engines, particularly Google, to learn about the products before making a purchase. Despite this, there are innumerable companies not using this information to their benefit. They have not listed themselves in the local listings on the internet.
Bear in mind, not getting your business listed is a huge opportunity missed. So, you must stop now and get your business listed in local listings or directories. Some of these include Merchant Circle, Citysearch, Yelp and many more. You may also wish to list your business in local newspapers’ websites along with the chamber of commerce listing online. For further listings, go to www.google.com and type “[city] directory”. This will provide you with myriad websites where you can benefit from listing your company.
It is vital to get your business’ NAP (Name, Address, and Phone) listed on major citation websites such as Neustar / Localeze, Infogroup, Factual and Acxiom.

3. Google My Business: Claim and optimize

If you wish your business to appear as a local listing on Google, then you must register yourself on “Google My Business.” Bear in mind, although it is a part of Local Listing, it is much superior. The listing here is free and exposure limitless.
Visit google.com/business and register your company. You will have to undergo a verification process in which Google sends a postcard with a PIN to your business’ physical address. You must enter that in your business in order to get verified.
The objective of this verification process is to confirm the legitimacy of the company. It also wishes to ensure that the owner is aware of this effort. It is imperative to understand that Google’s terms and policies clearly states that only the business owner(s) can confirm the business on Google My Business.
Once the verification step is complete, you may choose to start adding details of your business such as description, business hours, type of accepted payments, service category, company logo and many more. You must complete as many fields as possible to help your clients learn about your business.
If you desire to show up on Bing, similar steps have to be taken. Bing offers ‘Bing Places for Business.

4. Online reviews matter

With the changing time, businesses are starting to appreciate the benefits of online listings. Today, approximately 84% of individuals go through online reviews before confirming their decision to purchase a product or service. Additionally, 7 out of 10 individuals actually take the time out to leave feedback and review after purchase or user experience.
Due to the high demand, there are many companies that help you manage and track your online reputation. Some of these include: Get Five Stars, Reputation Loop, Vendasta and Trust Pilot.
Other platforms such as Tiny Torch and HootSuite can help you analyze your company’s online presence. They send you a notification whenever your business is talked about online. It is recommended to respond to the users whenever a feedback or review is provided, both positive and negative. Top Social Media Platforms and Local Listings are the best places to manage your reputation, especially Facebook, and Google My Business.

5. Local structured data markup

Also known as ‘Schema Markup’ can be embedded on your website’s coding. This helps search engines gain information about your website, thus increasing its overall ranking. Despite this humongous benefit, merely 31.3 % of websites use this marketing. This is a great strategy to make your business stand out, especially as a local listing.
This code further helps the spiders of Google analyze the content of your website. Using Google’s Structured Data Testing, you can ensure this markup has been implemented properly on your website.