What is Local SEO? The Complete Guide for Every Small Business

Analyze your website to test for common SEO issues that could be hurting your rankings. Receive alerts on industry news, new podcast episodes, spam-free tips and our latest SEO guides. You might also consider eKomi, a solution that ties in nicely to your Google Seller Rating Extension within the Google AdWords platform. The most important information to include in your service area pages is what your business does.
But optimizing your online presence for your local target audience goes beyond working on your own website. In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into local SEO for retail, why it’s important, and how to create a local SEO strategy for your business. More in-store visits leads to higher sales revenue, and in today’s retail landscape, it’s important to make sure people can easily locate your business. Shoppers are regularly looking for products and services near them.
Here you should include your full address, telephone number, and your keywords within the content of the page. Secondly, make sure that your website navigation is clear, functional and easy to use. The navigation should use a good hierarchy that makes sense to the user. The structure of the navigation needs to be designed in a way that helps your users find the products or information they need.
You want your business name, address, and phone number listed the EXACT same across every directory—including Google Business, Yelp, CitySearch, and more. Your Google Business Profile can help you get found in local searches happening directly on Google Search and in Google Maps. Google Business Profiles contain a ton of information that can help customers take action (like calling your business or getting directions!) right from your profile. Plus, they’re typically the first batch of results that show below ads for any local search.
Then, once you’re in Places For Business, go to the Add Your Business Tab, select Basic Business Detailer and fill out the relevant fields. Also, keep in mind there are 105 million iPhone users in the U.S., and as of 2018, 23 million of them use Apple Maps. Maximizing your exposure means being everywhere your customers might be. Local SEO also makes use of a particular type of keyword – the long-tail keyword, which stands in direct contrast to the standard head keywords. Copy and paste one of their web URLs into the Google Keyword Planner and viola, you see the words that connect to the competition. You can use these as jumping-off points to further your keyword research.
We hope this guide helps you in your quest to dominate Local SEO . Did we miss something? What you’ll find in most competitive markets is that many attorney top-ranked attorney sites have approximately 3% – 5% EMA/PMA. Make sure you follow up with clients at least twice when requesting reviews, but be careful not to overdo it.
There are also tools like Yext that help get your business listed on multiple platforms at once. Today, you may not see those books anymore but there are now tons of online directories that you can utilize to get your business information out there. But the most important part about using keywords is doing research to know which ones make the most sense for your business. Like any other part of your business, you have to do your research.
The tool can help you generate and monitor reviews on local sites, understand your local search performance, and analyze nearby competitors. A local citation is any online mention of a local business’s name, address, and phone number. Now that we’ve covered how to optimize your business for local SEO, let’s explore some practical tools you can leverage to improve your ranking in the areas where it matters most. Positively talk to or about other people in your industry, and act as a resource provider for the community. If you’re an active participant in community conversations, the buzz around you grows in the form of inbound links, social media growth, and media coverage. Some of the most common ways people will use your site in a mobile environment are to look up reviews, find directions to your location, and search for contact information.