Wondering how you go about optimizing local SEO? Last week, we looked at the definition of local SEO, and why it matters to your business. However, as the old saying goes — knowing is only half the battle. Once you understand what local SEO is and what it can do, you have to know how to optimize it for your business.
According to this research on local search ranking factors, properly optimizing your website could count for as high as 18 percent of what Google takes into account when determining which local results to show users — aka, your potential clients.
So, how can you fully optimize local SEO and never miss out on a potential customer again? There are several ways to increase your chances of ranking higher in search results, some of them on your website and others offsite.
Let’s start with what you can do onsite in optimizing local SEO. This might seem obvious, but one of the best approaches is to create local content. If you want to appeal to local customers and potential clients, create native content that is immediately pertinent to their area. One great example of this is to include a section about the history of your business in the area on your website, or to start a customer appreciation page, highlighting someone from the area that has used your services. You can also insert optimized keywords in your website’s title tag. Initially, you’re going to want to determine which is the most relevant keyword for your business. When building your website, you can include this keyword or keyword phrase (i.e., “realtor, Dallas”) into the title tags of your site. Finally, make sure that all of your mailing and contact information is accurate throughout your site— doing so reinforces your geographic location to Google as well.
Offsite, reviews matter when it comes to optimizing local SEO. Local search takes into account all information that business owners put in their profile, as well as information it finds on other sites like Yelp. By positively responding to your good reviews and being proactive about addressing your bad ones, you ensure that when someone local searches for your business, what they see is positive, engaging, and proves that your business is one they’ll want to work with.