When you have a local business, sometimes the most challenging task can be to promote your business to those who are most likely to become customers. The good news is that you don’t have to promote globally because there is local SEO.
In this guide, we’re going to first look at what local SEO is. Then we’re going to discuss some of the ways you can practice local SEO to help promote your business. Even if you opt to work with a local SEO company (which can get you results faster than going it alone), knowing some of these practices is a good idea.
After all 50% of mobile users who conduct local searches visit stores the same day. There are two things you can do to get your business in front of those users–follow this guide and work with a local SEO company.
Let’s dive right in so that you can begin to build your understanding of local SEO.
What is Local SEO?
SEO stands for search engine optimization. Local SEO, therefore, means optimizing your website for local searches.
Search engines use location and IP information to deliver local results to users. But if you’re not optimizing properly, then you’re missing out on the opportunity to reach your local demographic.
Basically, utilizing local SEO leads potential customers in your area to your website–and hopefully to your brick-and-mortar location if you have one.
How can a local SEO company improve search rankings?
There are a number of ways that an SEO company can improve your local search rankings. In this section of our guide, we’ll cover three of them:
Reviews and reputation management
Researching keywords
Requisition your listings
Let’s call them the 3 R’s. Keep reading to learn about them in more detail.
Reviews & Reputation
How important are reviews? They’re important–trust us. Or you can take a look at this data:
88% of users determine the quality of a business based on reviews.
Great reviews must be gathered, and negative reviews–if they occur–must be answered. Staying on top of your reputation may take more time than you can give, which is why it’s great to partner with an SEO company.
Research Works
What your ideal customer searches for is powerful knowledge. Once you have that information, known as keywords or long-tail keywords, you can use those phrases to connect people to your business through search engines like Google.
Keep in mind that knowing when and how to use certain keywords can make a difference, and stuffing content with too many keywords can backfire.
Requisition–or Claim–Listings
Listings are what tell users what your business is and where it is. They also contain valuable information like how to reach your business.
Part of a good SEO strategy includes claiming your listings–for example, on Google +.
The key to getting the most out of this tactic is to know how much information to share and where.