61% of people want to purchase from a shop that has a presence both offline and online. But if your website is buried in search results, how are they going to find you?
You will miss out on potential customers right in your backyard.
Stop wasting time and implement local SEO on your website today (if you want more traffic). It will help you stand out in your community and attract more visitors to your store.
When implementing, consider these eight steps that are essential to improve local SEO rankings.
A. Encourage User Generated Content
Do you know what’s better than talking about your business?
Your customers are doing it for you. That’s called User Generated Content (UGC).
UGC is gold for your local SEO ranking if you encourage your customers to share photos and videos of their experiences with your product or service.
Create a unique hashtag for your business and promote it everywhere. When people use your hashtag, it creates a ripple effect of local, relevant content that search engines love.
B. Optimize For Voice Search
If you ask Siri, “Hey Siri, where’s the best pizza place near me?” What do you expect in the answer? Top three places near you or a list of 20 random restaurants.
Similarly, when someone is searching for a product or service relevant to your business, yours should be the goal to come in the top three suggestions of Siri, Alexa, and Google assistance.
How do you do that? By optimizing your website for voice search. Believe us, this is the future and every local business will be doing voice SEO for their website in coming years. Act now. If you don’t know how to do it, take help from a reliable white label local SEO service provider near you.
C. Try Geofence Marketing
Geofencing sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. It is a powerful marketing strategy, especially for local businesses. In this, you set up a virtual boundary around your store or a specific area. Now, you can trigger notifications or ads when people enter that zone.
Whoa!
While geofencing itself isn’t an SEO technique, when your store has more footfalls, you have the opportunity to ask them for review, rating, UGC, etc., which eventually boosts your local search rankings.
D. Create Hyper Local Content
Create content that’s local. Like related to your city. Or even neighborhood-level content.
Create pages or blog posts that focus on specific areas or streets in your city. Collaborate with local influencers or bloggers to create content that resonates with the community. This hyper-local approach can help you dominate those “near me” searches.
E. Master The “near me” Searches
Speaking of “near me” searches, they’re more popular than ever. To optimize for these queries, make sure your website’s structured data is on point. Use schema markup to clearly communicate your location, business hours, and services to search engines.
F. Host Virtual Local Events
Who says local events have to be in-person?
Hosting virtual events like webinars or online workshops can be a great way to engage with your local community and boost your SEO. These events create opportunities for backlinks, social media buzz, and increased website traffic. All these factors contribute to better local search rankings.
G. Tap Into Local Social Media
Facebook and Twitter are great but don’t overlook platforms that might be popular in your specific area. In some communities, NextDoor or local Facebook groups might be where all the action is. You can also become a Google’s local guide.
Engage actively in these local digital spaces. Share valuable content, answer questions, and become a trusted local voice.
H. Launch Location Based Podcast
Podcasts are huge right now, so why not start one focused on your local area?
Interview local figures, discuss local news and events, or share insider tips about your community.
While podcasts don’t directly impact SEO, they can increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your website. Plus, each episode gives you content for show notes, which is another opportunity for local keywords.
Summary
Local SEO is a technique to win higher ranks in local search results pages. Due to regular updates in search engine algorithms, local SEO best practices always change.
But the unique tactics we’ve shared with you will give you an edge over your competitors. Remember, the key is to experiment and track your results. What works in one local market might not work in another, so be prepared to adapt your strategy.
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