When a local business depends heavily on their website for business, it’s no secret that local SEO is the best approach to their marketing plan. Since Google has done some vast algorithm updates to local search results, local businesses need to use all local resources online in order to get the best exposure in the organic search results. It’s time to get more creative with the local push. Below are some ideas to get found better on a local level:
Fix Your Local Listings with NAP Consistency
Name, Address, Phone Number (NAP) Audit
The first thing any business with history online should perform is a local NAP audit. This will pull in all of the current business listings that are indexed in Google and exactly what the name, address, and phone numbers are included in each listing. In order for your Google+ page to rank high, your NAP needs to be consistent across all platforms.
Fix Listing Inconsistencies
Once the audit is complete, you can manually go to each listing that you have access to and correct the information that is inconsistent. If there are a lot of inconsistencies, these adjustments will help move up your Google+ listing in the search results.
Claim and Create Missing Directory Listings
If your business isn’t listed on all of the major directory and citation sites, this would be the time to create those listings. There are tools you can use that will help you determine what those websites are, such as Moz Local.
Push for Reviews
Now that your listings are consistent and showing up in the search results, you need to make sure that there are good reviews to support them. Reviews build trust to both users as well as the search engines. Push for more reviews on your top directory listing referral source such as Yelp, Google+, or both.
Don’t Only Focus on NAPs
Write Quality Website Content
NAP work should be a core strategy for receiving local visibility, but not the only strategy you implement in order to obtain a strong local presence on Google. High quality website content is another primary ranking factor with local search results. According to Moz, the on-page SEO signals account for about 21% of local rankings. Your content should be optimized with key phrases that are going to produce a return on investment. Don’t waste time writing thin content that is meaningless for users; focus on high quality content that users will see value in.
Earn Quality Backlinks
Link earning is another ideal way to gain organic rankings in Google. Since the local pack results are constantly changing, you want to make sure your business does well organically as well. Earning high quality backlinks from partnerships, sponsorships, etc. is a great way to boost up organic visibility.
Social Signals
Social is going to continue playing a key role in local search signals. Social signals currently account for about 5.8% of ranking factors. In order to increase social signals, your website should be producing high quality content with a blog or another form of content that is socially shared on a regular basis. The more social signals your content receives, the more authoritative your domain will become. The result will be increased organic visibility.
Be Creative with Your Keyword Strategy
Each local business is going to have city based keywords as part of their strategy. In order to compete with all of the other local businesses trying to rank for the same exact terms, think about what makes your business unique from the others. Incorporate that into your keyword research and content development. If your major city is overly competitive, start by targeting specific neighborhoods or smaller suburbs.
Closing Thoughts
Local search is constantly changing. In order for your website to maintain its presence in local search, your website must have a strategy that incorporates all of the above methods. Each industry is different which means the local search algorithm may be specific to your unique industry trends. Make sure you have the right local SEO strategy that is most effective for your industry.
Are you having trouble gaining or maintaining local visibility in Google? We have an entire staff dedicated to local SEO who can help develop a strategy that’s effective for your business. Call today: 800.871.4130
Great Article! Keep up the good job Lacy!
Thanks Xavier!