Powerful SEO Tips for Local Businesses
Studies show that the majority of internet users turn to search engines to find information about products and services in their local area. A particularly effective way for local businesses to leverage this search engine traffic, build a local audience and attract local clients is invest in local search engine optimization or local SEO.
Local SEO involves optimizing a company website for local searches on search engines – which means to ensure the website can be found by search engine users. Appearing at or near the top of search results for targeted keywords like “Phoenix Attorney” can help businesses get in front of a hungry audience looking for their specific services, just when they want and need them most.
Here are some powerful tips for local business owners looking to leverage local SEO to grow their business.
Choose the Right Keyword for the Audience
Optimizing a site for search means optimizing it around a relevant keyword that potential customers would use to search for a business, product or service. Keywords tell Google what a site is about. For this reason business owners should be sure to optimize around the right keywords for their audience — including keywords about their product or service, and keywords about where they are geographically located. An attorney in Phoenix will want to target terms like “Phoenix Attorney”, “Lawyer in Phoenix”, “Phoenix Law Firms” and the like.
Create a Blog
Google’s algorithm gives more weight to companies that have high-quality, well-written content on their site. To achieve this, business owners should start a blog that offers useful, engaging information related to their industry and their service. Not only can a blog boost a company’s visibility and rankings, they can also have the added important benefit of helping brand it as a knowledgeable thought leader to potential customers.
Build Links
One instrumental way to bump a website’s SEO visibility is by ensuring that other reputable websites link back to it. Such backlinks are like votes in the website’s favor – an indicator to Google that a site is trustworthy and credible, and it therefore recommends the site to internet users. Business owners should reach out to other local and reputable businesses or other influencers to earn valuable back links.
Use Dedicated Landing Pages
Landing pages are a great way to keep people focused on one topic, or completing one action. Local business owners can optimize landing pages that are about specific products or services in their geographical area. These landing pages can help convert leads by attracting them with the right keywords, providing specific, relevant information and focusing their users’ attention on specific actions (like signing up for a free offer or asking for a consultation). Such dedicated landing pages also minimize the chance that uses will get distracted by other site content and click away.
SEO is a powerful tool for any business — but particularly local businesses who can optimize for both targeted industry- and geography-related keywords. Having an optimized site with high-quality content, and votes or backlinks in their favor, can help expose their business to a bigger audience of potential clients and customers, and help their business grow.
Implementing these tactics whether yourself or having a professional SEO company do so can help you grow your online presence and attract an audience of customers who will love doing business with you.