The importance of local SEO is very significant for small businesses. If you are operating your business in a certain specific location, you would definitely want your search rankings to be high on the listings. The success of your business is very much dependent on this factor.
Having a high local ranking, will help you gather more website traffic, leads and higher conversion rates as your local customers find your business more relevant. Without local SEO rankings, your page might lose quite a significant amount of traffic.
Here we have gathered a few ways in which you can boost your local rankings and have a successful business.
1. Optimize your Google Business Account
The very first step to boost your local rankings is through have a Google Business profile. This will help establish a presence on the search engine for free, which means your business will show up in Google Maps and not only this, if your business is deemed legitimate by Google, it could also appear in the sidebar space of Google searches. To optimize your Google My Business, make sure to verify your listing and provide all the accurate up to date information. Include your hours of operation, your logo and the products and services that you deal with and also add plenty of images. All these data helps Google to authenticate your business and improve your rankings.
2. Gather Positive Google Reviews
Getting some positive reviews from your customers will enhance your Google Business presence and also encourage more customers to engage with your business. Many online surveys have shown that people believe online reviews just as much as they believe personal recommendations. You can collect reviews by asking your customers in person after closing a sale or you can send post-purchase emails to customers asking to write a review. Respond to the reviews by thanking your customers and address the complaints in the not so favorable ones.
3. Make Use of Online Business Directories
Make good use of the best business directories online. Incitylife is one of the top business directory available online and there are many more. Registering in these directories can be a great help. It help increase your visibility and boost your local rankings. While registering on these directories make sure that you enter accurate business data along with a backlink to your website and a clear and thorough description of your business.
4. Use Local Keywords
The keywords you use on your article should be relevant to the local customers. You can use Google Keyword Planner to filter out location based keyword searches. You will get an idea of the popular search terms in a specific region or area. Once you get some of the most used keywords, you can use them on your site and URLs. Also mentioning location specific landmarks in your content is a good idea to boost your rankings.
5. Create your Website Content Based on Local News and Events
If your content relates directly to any local issue, it will definitely garb the attention of the consumers. You can use many strategies to incorporate these events in your content. Write blog posts revolving around these stories and events, create videos based on local events. Also, set up local specific webpages with high quality local contents on your website.
Final Words
Now that you got an understanding of the factors that affect your local rankings, you can take actions to boost the local SEO rankings for your business. A little time and effort from your side will boost your local rankings and you will start seeing desired results.
Image Credits: Boost Rankings from Michail Petrov /Shutterstock