How Can I Improve My Business Local SEO?

What is Local SEO?

The internet is a powerful tool for small businesses. The power of online search engine optimisation can be harnessed to bring customers and revenue into your business. This article will teach you a few basic methods that will help your website with SEO so that it ranks better in Google searches. We’ll even provide some tips on what keywords are most important for getting found by potential customers!

Google is very careful as to which websites to showcase in the local search results box. Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website so that it appears in the first positions of Google, Bing, and Yahoo for searches that are related to your area/city/country. The user wants to find a business in the particular area defined by the query. Google wants to keep users happy by giving them details for companies that satisfy the user intent. Google also wants to show up local businesses that get a top listing. Local businesses are the most targeted searches you can find online.

How Can I Improve My Business Local SEO?

SEO is not a one time task and despite lots of information being available to read and digest that makes it seem like it’s a simple task-it isn’t. SEO needs to be done right – even the smallest of errors can cause issues for your website that have ramifications beyond just not ranking number one in your chosen niche, some errors can end up with Google penalties that mean your website will be removed altogether from Google.

However, there are some things that even you as the business owner can do to help boost your websites local SEO and rank higher in Google. Before you embark on reading this checklist of things you can do to help make sure you have taken a few basic steps to help you monitor things such as setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console and have the two linked together and the right codes installed on your website. This will allow you to monitor your progress with ease and see problem areas that need improvement.

Register your business with Google My Business

Google My Business profiles are one of the easiest ways to get visibility in local searches. When you register your business your location is verified by Google. Google then sends a card to your business address containing a PIN for verification. Within a couple of days you can see your business included on the map Google displays when users in your area enter a search for your type of service. If you have offices in several locations, you can bulk upload them to the profile. If your office location has multiple locations it should be included in the map.

Fix Your Technical SEO Issues

Your small business website may look fine on the outside – with great graphics, colours, and fonts. But if there are technical problems ‘under the hood,’ it will likely impact your rankings and traffic. You need a solid website structure to ensure search engines can properly crawl and index your web pages.

Manage Local Business Listings & Citations

Data aggregators share information about local businesses, including the name, address, and phone number. Make sure your business’s NAP (Name, Address & Phone number) information is consistent and accurate. Morgan Branding has a service that distributes business NAP data to your local directories and/or citations.

Ensure you’re using the right keywords for your products and services

It’s important to make sure your descriptions on your website reflect what people are actually looking for in your area. You should use a keyword research tool like Semrush or Ahrefs to find out what the most popular search phrases for businesses like yours are. The sweet spot is a phrase that describes your services but also stands a reasonably good chance of performing well for you in search results.

Focus on Getting Reviews

Reviews were one of the leading local search ranking factors in 2017. Platforms can help you organize and manage a review campaign. Google My Business is the top platform for this followed by social media. It’s important to put effort into putting effort into getting reviews. It can also get customers to share feedback on your sites.

Need further advice? Get in touch with us here at Morgan Branding we have a fully dedicated team ready to help you and your business get ahead online. You can get in touch via our contact page or get social with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn! 

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