These days, every small business needs an SEO strategy – especially a local SEO strategy. If you’re a small business, the majority of your business isn’t going to come from people on the other side of the country – it’s going to come from people in your community. And local SEO helps you target those people, right as they’re reaching the bottom of the purchase funnel.
Making local SEO work for your business isn’t hard – you can do some of the work yourself if you need to save money. You need to optimize your website, make sure your information is available to potential customers online, and that it’s accurate whenever it appears on a social media or business directory site. Generate backlinks from relevant sites and local businesses, anticipate customer questions with a frequently answered questions (FAQ) page, and make the most of the SEO tools you have available to you.
Optimize Your Website
Your website needs to be optimized for local search, which is a little different than optimizing it for nationwide or global search. For one thing, you’ll want to use location names in the content in order to capture search traffic that specifies those place names.
For example, if you want to sell electrical fixtures to people in Memphis, your SEO keywords should include references to Memphis, Memphis neighborhoods, or southwest Tennessee. You might also want to use local slang in content – use “dude” a lot if you’re in southern California and “pop” instead of “soda” if you’re in the southeast. If you’re in a country that uses UK spellings, use them in your website content.
Of course, language and keywords aren’t the only ways to optimize your website. There are also technical aspects of optimizing a website for local SEO. You need to use your keywords in your title and subheadings, and in your site’s title tags and metadata. Each piece of content you create should be optimized for local search.
Make Your Information Available
If you haven’t yet, claim your business on Google Maps and make sure your business information appears there and that it is correct. Google Maps & Search has replaced Google Business Profile (which replaced Google My Business), with business listings now appearing directly on the map. Fill out your listing in as much detail as possible, and add photos. Add your business listing to Apple Maps too.
You should also add your business listing to online directories like Angie’s List and Yelp, making sure that your information is correct and consistent across platforms. Make social media profiles so that people searching on those platforms for local services can find you. Make sure that your business contact information appears on your website.
Generate Local Backlinks
Backlinks show Google that your website is considered authoritative by others in your industry. You can generate local backlinks by generating local press, for example by sponsoring a scholarship or working with a local charity to serve the needy. You can also build relationships with local influencers and bloggers who might be willing not only to link to your website but share reviews of your products.
Write a FAQ Section
A FAQ section will provide answers to common questions customers have, so they don’t have to call with questions and people who do make contact with your business will be more likely to make a purchase. You can clarify things like your return policy, service areas, directions to your location, types of payments accepted, and so on.
Leverage the Tools Available to You
You have many tools available to you to optimize your site for local search, including a local SEO company in Phoenix that can help you with any of the more complicated aspects of improving your SEO. But if you’re willing to get under your website’s hood yourself, there are plenty of free and paid tools you can use.
Google Analytics is just one of them, and it’s good for generating data like the number of visitors, where they are located themselves, and how many of them made purchases. Keyword Planner can help you generate SEO keywords to optimize your content. Search Console can help you measure your site’s performance in search.
If you want to bring in more customers to your small business, focus on local SEO. When you optimize your website for local search, it’s easier to reach the top of search returns and that can mean more customers. Make local SEO your top marketing priority, and your business could see increased foot traffic and phone calls for years.