Boost your local seo

When it comes to marketing your small business online, search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the primary keys to success. SEO tells search engines such as Google what your page is about and helps your website appear at the top of the results when someone searches for your products or services. And if you're a small business primarily targeting local consumers, you will want to ensure your local SEO is on point. 

While SEO, in general, is focused on activities that improve the quality and quantity of traffic to your website, local SEO is what helps your business be more visible in the search results related to your particular geographic area. For small businesses with a physical presence or whose services primarily focus on serving consumers in a specific area, local SEO is critical to gaining visibility, brand awareness, and traffic.

In other words, it must be part of your marketing strategy if you want to stay competitive among other small businesses offering similar products or services in your area. Here are eight simple tips for boosting your local SEO and small business visibility that you can implement right away:

1. Create a Google Business listing⁠

A Google Business profile is one of the most important parts of gaining visibility in local search engine results. A profile will also ensure that your business appears on Google Maps, providing even more visibility for your small business.

If you haven't already claimed or created a Google Business profile, you'll certainly want to add it to your list of priorities. And this isn't the place to skimp on information about your business to save time. You'll want to make sure your profile is complete with your business name, address, website, contact information, photos, and customer reviews. The more complete and optimized your Google business listing is, the better off it will fare when boosting your local SEO. 

2. Consistently create quality content for your local audience.⁠

While creating quality content is a must for gaining the interest and engagement of your target audience, simply creating content around your offerings isn't enough. You also want to include valuable content specifically relevant to your local community.

For example, a business based in Denver may want to include content about the various winter sports and activities to enjoy and ways to deal with altitude sickness. A business based in Washington, DC may want to talk about the historic landmarks and sites to see during various times of the year or provide a roundup of the best restaurants or bars outside the busy tourist areas.

Doing so doesn't just assist in boosting your local SEO but also helps to establish your business credibility and gain the trust of your local audience.

3. Ask for reviews and acknowledge negative reviews⁠.

With nearly 88% of consumers admitting to consulting online reviews to learn more about a local business (Oberlo.com), it's a no-brainer that asking for and collecting reviews needs to be a priority for all small businesses. But not only are reviews essential for building credibility and gaining the trust of consumers, but it also shows Google that your business deserves a place in its rankings.

The more reviews your business has on its website, social media profiles, and review sites like Yelp, the more opportunity it has to improve its local organic SEO. And once those reviews start pouring in, take some time to acknowledge them, especially the negative reviews. 

Ignoring negative reviews can be a nightmare for your local SEO and business, as it can be seen as "admitting to" any wrongdoing. However, by publicly acknowledging the not-so-great reviews and trying to resolve them, you're showing your current and potential customers that their business matters to you.

4. Use local keywords⁠.

We already know the importance of choosing the right keywords, but even more critical if you're a small business is making sure those keywords are localized. That way, you will attract local consumers looking for your products and services versus those who don't have physical access to your business.

In addition to using keywords important to your business, products, or services, you will also want to include geo-specific keywords (a/k/a the city, town, or state you are in) either at the beginning or end of the general keywords. For example, to localize the keywords "small business accountant," one may choose to use:

• Breckenridge small business accountant

• small business accountant in summit county

• Denver, Colorado, small business accountant

• small business accountant in Denver

We've talked a lot about optimizing your keywords and written content, but did you know your website images are also essential to boost your local SEO?

5. Include your contact information on your website.⁠

Including your contact information on your website and social media pages is necessary if your audience wants to find or contact you. However, your contact information is also critical in boosting your local SEO as it tells Google where and how to rank you in local searches.

Without contact information, search engines will have no way of knowing which areas you're serving and which search engine results to include you. The result is a website that appears in national rankings, which does more harm than good for small businesses only serving their local community.

6. Don’t neglect your social media pages⁠

Nowadays, it is almost unheard of for a business to have some kind of social media presence. But even if you have a small social media presence, it needs to stay updated with relevant content and accurate information about your business if boosting your local SEO is a goal.

The more current, complete, and engaging the information is on your social media profile, the more likely it is that search engines like Google will pick it up and add it to its rankings. It also helps your target audience see that your business is legit and actively serving its customers.

7. Optimize your website images⁠

We've talked a lot about optimizing your keywords and written content, but did you know your website images are also essential to boost your local SEO?

Optimizing your website images includes decreasing their size (if necessary) to improve the loading speed of your website, naming each photo using relevant keywords, including keyword-rich descriptions, and including ALT text. When you include the above information, search engines will know what the image is about, thus improving its chances of appearing in image search results.

8. Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

Did you know that more than 60% of all online searches are conducted through mobile devices? (Statista.com, 2013) That means having a mobile-friendly website is no longer an option but should be a priority. It is also critical to boosting your local SEO and small business visibility.

With Google's mobile-friendly test, you can enter your website URL and see how your page scores. Then, you can take the necessary steps to improve it, whether it be changing fonts or button sizes, improving its speed, getting rid of pop-ups, or a site redesign altogether.

While following the above tips will get you on the right track for dominating the search engine results in your local area, like general SEO, boosting your local SEO and small business visibility requires time, attention, and consistency. If you still have questions about where to get started, let's chat. Contact us today to learn how LMR Consulting can help you implement your small business's local SEO strategy!