Local SEO services can help you reach your audience and ensure everyone nearby can find your business. A professional experienced in these digital services can guide your online strategy and help you reach the most valuable traffic segments. When you optimise the right elements, you can reach more consumers and ensure you have a digital presence across your local space. Read on to learn more about the implementation and the value of these solutions.
Claim And Optimise Your GMB Listing
GMB or Google My Business is arguably the most essential part of your strategy, providing a base of important information right away. This tool allows you to create free business listings aligned with locations and industries to be presented to search users. It’s one of the top factors that Google will consider when ranking businesses in area-specific organic searches. You need to provide the following details for your GMB listing:
Your full and correct business name- Your physical store/office address
- Your exact location on a map
- Your business category
- Your phone number and website (if applicable)
Your full and correct business nameOnce your listing goes live, you’ll need to verify it through a phone call or postcard. Here’s how to optimise Google My Business after verification:
- Upload photos of your business. These could be photos inside your store/office or even the premises.
- Provide your business hours.
- Provide additional categories that may be relevant to your business.
- Provide additional phone numbers if available.
- Link to your business website
You can actively optimise your GMB profile by sharing business updates and new content as soon as they are available. This helps you connect with your customers deeper, boosting your visibility in area-specific or location-tied searches.
Keep Mobile In Mind
Many people will use their phones to search for local information and businesses. For this reason, you must cater to them by also optimising your website for mobile screens and layouts. This practice has become essential to online performance as sites not optimised for mobile devices will often have an increased bounce rate as mobile users immediately navigate away from the page. Create a mobile-friendly website so visitors have no trouble navigating it, finding information or utilising the various buttons and functions. For example, add click-to-call buttons on your site and GMB listing to attract immediate action. This addition could make a huge difference as more than half of mobile users will directly contact a business from search results.
Focus On Local Link Building
Link signals such as linking domain authority and quantity are among the top factors influencing your ranking in local searches. Like standard optimisation practices, local SEO also requires link building to boost your link profile. However, the linking domains should be more relevant to your target location to align your site with its reach. That means you should target authoritative websites in your region to increase your visibility in your area. This could be anything from licensing bureaus, trade associations, or even .edu sites. In addition, partnerships, scholarships, guest posting, and more offer elements that can refer back to your site in an organic and valuable way. This practice could be an excellent way to gain valuable backlinks from local sites.
Ensure Nap/Citation Consistency
Google considers citations in search results, such as citation volume and NAP consistency (that is, consistent name and contact details across all listings online). Your information should be available on major citation websites like GMB, Bing Maps, Yelp, and Facebook. Focus on directories with higher domain authority than smaller listing directories that do not hold value. Ensure your business NAP is consistent across platforms and websites as well. Look for misspellings, address and phone number discrepancies, and improve listings to ensure you add value to your local SEO efforts.
Local SEO services can change how you reach and interact with your audience, attracting new and old clients to your business. These elements implemented correctly can give your site value and ensure you appear to everyone around your area. Contact us today to find out more about these digital solutions.
