An Introduction to Local SEO and How it Can Add Profitability to Your Business

If you are a local service provider or initiating your startup, you will need local SEO to enhance your location-based customer outreach. Do you remember when was the last when you went directly to the shop to check the availability of the product?

Maybe that was a few months ago. But, for me, that was almost a year ago.

The vendors or the service providers that keep their inventory and the information updated are always the choices of the millions of end consumers. This enables people from miles away to place an order just over a phone call or via your website.

Suppose your business serves the people around your region, like a bakery, cake shop, food vendors, etc. In that case, your customers must be aware of your business/brand. To aid with that, follow these effective local SEO practices that can aid in the profitability of your business.

Get your business a pack of local listings:

You must get your business in the local pack listings before starting with the link-building strategies. Unlike regular listings, your business details should be displayed when people search on Google. It won’t be displayed with the meta description, rather in the format of Name, Address, and the Region of your business. This information and ranking depend on:

Local Citations:

The citations are an online reference for your business, they involve NAP (Name, Address, Place). You can either get that updated on the citation sites or in the local business directories. Also, you can manually update them on those local directories. You can also update Schema on your website, as it helps Search Engines to display your business information in the right format.

Google My Business:

It’s time to claim your Google My Business page, after setting up your a/c.

• You simply need to add your business details with a long and unique description, including the keywords relevant to your business.
• Update your address and the contact details, along with the opening and closing time.
• Uploading photos of your business is a must, as it enhances the credibility score. Updating the new products you are adding to your inventory, is always like the cherry on the cake.

  
  

Local Reviews:

Get the reviews listed on your Google My Business page from real customers. Reviews mean a lot for your new customers and make them believe in the quality of the services or the product you provide. Also, the star rating or reviews they provide on your Yelp listings can also help. You can offer a gift hamper or offer to your customers for leaving their valuable reviews for you. You can’t make everyone happy at one time, so, don’t mess with the negative reviews, if any. Ask them to contact your support team for further assistance and offer them a solution at the earliest.

On-page SEO:

Having a web presence is great for your business, however, it is more important than the search engines find you and display in Google results. Unlike standard SEO, in local SEO content, you must try adding your city/region with the appropriate keyword in your:

• The title tag of the landing page
• H1 heading tag
• The content of the landing page
• ALT tag attributes of the images
• URL of the landing page

Don’t forget to internally link the pages of your website for easier navigation. And, embedding the Google maps in your contact us section help people to easily find your physical place.

Local Link Building:

Don’t go to the websites and directories from the Internet, this may take some more time. Hunt for the tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, Majestic, etc. to check what your competitors are doing to rank in the local market. Follow those tactics for your own website.

• Host local events or workshops and don’t forget to boost those ads on social media or other channels. This will surely increase the participation of youths as the majority of us are always available on social media. This can be a good step for your brand awareness.
• Sponsoring the events can also be a great idea for your brand value.

There are several experimental techniques like reputation management through Social Media, enhancing your SERP CTR that can increase your Google credibility score and improve your website ranking. Local SEO practices are ever-changing and evolve with time to stay connected for updates about the same.