Over the past few years SEO has become increasingly specialized. That includes Local SEO, which has become one of the most in-demand yet poorly understood branches of SEO. Mostly, it\u2019s where your entire online presence is optimized for local customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Local SEO is one of Google\u2019s main targets for SEO and rankings, so businesses that can adjust to maximize their local presence will do well. If you own a local business, mainly if you only service a small area in a single city, listen up: this is how to maximize your online presence, generate more local customers, and lead the pack on Google\u2019s search results page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re considering SEO and Local SEO, you should already have a website that features your top-selling points and tells potential customers how to reach you. That might seem like enough, leaving all the SEO and internet hijinks to the huge corporations. But even if you\u2019re not a colossal interstate or international business, there\u2019s still a lot of online optimization you can do to benefit your business. For starters, you can create one or more local pages that feature your business locations and where you operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have a local store, your local page will focus on the neighborhood where that store is located. The page should talk about things like where most of your customers come from, what services you provide and how they benefit the neighborhood<\/a>, things like that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your local webpage keywords<\/a> should focus on your main business keywords, coupled with the words \u2018local,\u2019 \u2018near me\u2019 or with your neighborhood\u2019s name. For example, if you own a caf\u00e9 in Richmond, your local page could target the main keywords \u201ccaf\u00e9 in Richmond,\u201d \u201ccaf\u00e9 near me\u201d or \u201clocal food in Richmond.\u201d It would also be helpful to include some links leading to high quality local pages on other websites too. This will signal to Google that you are focussed on local business and help people in your area find you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the biggest mistakes businesses make on local pages is to copy and paste or reword information from their local council website. Alternatively, to copy and paste from a central home page while keyword stuffing the neighborhood name is equally damaging for rankings. Google can tell that it\u2019s mostly copied content, and these days rankings favor information over particular keyword amounts. Unoriginal content also misses the point: a local business page should demonstrate how valuable a business is in the local context. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Aim for high quality content and local links, and Google is more likely to recognize your site as a reliable source of information, products, and local connection. That\u2019s where the high rankings come from!<\/p>\n\n\n\n To make sure Google gets a strong signal from your local page(s), it would be a good idea to create a strong internal linking network<\/a> with other relevant pages from your website. Of course, it\u2019s essential that the anchor text feels natural and actually related to the content on your target page. The process is a pretty common sense affair, as long as you\u2019re not wildly mismatching anchor text to destination content, it should be useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An excellent place to start is making it clear where your business operates and your service area on your home page. So, for example, you might write something like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMetroMovers are the most reliable removalists in Melbourne<\/a>!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this case, you could link the words \u201creliable removalists in Melbourne!\u201d to your local Melbourne page. Or on your commercial removals page<\/a>, you might want to include a link on a location relevant phrase such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMoving office in Melbourne \u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Setting up a Google My Business listing is free, valuable, and definitely worth the time. Google will boost your website based on quality listings and reviews through GMB. It\u2019s a great way for your customers to find your locations on Google\u2019s maps, which is currently one of the most popular ways to discover local businesses. It\u2019s also great for when users search for \u201cnearby\u201d services that match your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part of the process of setting up a GMB<\/a> is verifying your business address with Google. This gives them a higher incentive to rank your business in local searches based on your physical address. If your business services other local areas, you also have the option to choose a relevant service radius around your physical address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s say you\u2019re a local removalist service<\/a> and your depot might be in Caulfield, but typically your service area would extend to all metro areas. GMB can help you advertise in all your service areas within a chosen radius. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Social networks are another excellent opportunity to advertise your local business. Apart from the promotional advantage, Google has recently changed its backlink definition so that social media references and backlinks are no longer strictly \u2018no-follow\u2019<\/a> \u2013 they now have some (small, but noticeable) power and can pass a filtered version of \u201clink power\u201d to their websites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Advertising on every social platform isn\u2019t the best strategy. If you\u2019re a small local business with limited staff, time, or funds, it might be challenging to manage multiple social accounts. Maintaining a strong, regular presence on social media is usually significantly more important than having a baseline presence spread thin across all networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, each social network has a set of advantages and niche audiences that you can work with. Choosing the right network for your business means finding audiences that will respond well to your particular brand of ads, services, and local offerings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, if you own a cafe or fashion boutique, Instagram\u2019s focus on images and popular culture would be a great outlet for showcasing your business. On the other hand, things like Twitter and LinkedIn would be more beneficial for B2B companies that focus on a professional or news based style of information sharing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If it suits your business, YouTube and Facebook have a few additional benefits. YouTube is owned by Google, so ads and good content there might add a bit more of a boost to your website compared to other social platforms. Facebook reviews can also be linked to your GMB listing, which has the potential to boost your review numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Adjusting Other Keywords and Internal Links on Your Website<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Google My Business<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Social Presence<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. Local Presence, Reviews and Backlinks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n