Local SEO is a vital component of any SEO strategy for a business with a physical address. Ranking well in localized results or on Google Maps can hugely influence whether people visit your store or your store’s website, not to mention whether those people purchase your product or service.
You probably want to reach your local clientele more effectively, but it can be difficult to know where to begin. Lucky for you, we’ve created a handy Action Plan with three easy solutions that you can use to develop and implement a successful local SEO strategy.
Before you start adjusting your website, it’s probably helpful to know what exactly you’re optimizing towards, right? Google lays out exactly what it’s looking for when determining local ranking: distance, prominence, and relevance.
In general, our local SEO action guide will be focusing on prominence (how well-known your business is) and relevance (how, well, “relevant” your business is to someone’s search query). Distance isn’t something you can control, though you can make sure that search engines understand where your business is located (more on that later).
In the end, though, all three go hand in hand. By increasing relevant traffic to your website or store, you’ll also be increasing your prominence as a business, which creates a positive feedback loop regarding your ranking in the search results. Providing your business location to search engines allows them to account for distance as well.
So, now that we know what we’re striving towards, let’s take a look at some actionable items that your business can get started on today.
Claiming and updating a Google Business Profile is perhaps the easiest way to boost your local search rankings. It’s free, effective, and simple. All you have to do is claim your business, and then you can use the Google Business Profile dashboard to manage your business’s information. From location to hours to contact information, you can post these essential pieces of information right to your profile, and they’ll prominently display whenever your business is in the search results.
Verifying your business locations is another easy way to ensure that you’re showing up in local search results, like Google Maps. You can do this by editing your location information on your Business Profile. This one will most directly impact that distance ranking we mentioned earlier.
What is one of the first things people do when they come across a new business that peaks their interest? They look at the reviews. Customer reviews are a quick way for people to gauge the quality of your business. You should remind customers to leave reviews when they can, and respond to them all – good and bad.
If you receive a negative review, try to fix the situation as best you can, and mend the relationship with the customer if you’re able. Respectfully responding to both praise and criticism can improve customers’ trust in your business, and indirectly increase your visibility.
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