Factors To Consider When Doing Local SEO
A lot of folks in the online world are crying that SEO is dead. This is so not true. SEO is not dead, but just took a whole new face since the various updates that google has been rolling out.
For online marketers, especially those that are interested in doing local SEO, they should be aware that there are some differences between the average SEO campaigns and local SEO. Â Yes, you still have to consider on-page SEO factors as well as link building; but the types of links you will be building will be a whole lot different.
In this article, we will have a look at the factors to consider to carry out effective local SEO and the best techniques to ensure effective search results for your local SEO campaigns.
Letâs get started already!
Phase 1 - Doing Local SEO The Right Way
Some folks often make the mistake of just chasing after links in doing local SEO. While link building is not bad in itself, there are however some things you need to do upfront to get the best results if you intend ranking within the local pack listings.
Google My Business
If you are doing local seo, you will need to claim your Google My Business page. You can do this by visiting https://www.google.com/business/ . I wonât go into details here on how to do it as itâs quite straightforward. You need know though that you will have to include the following:
Addition of a long and unique description thatâs well formatted and includes some links.
Choosing the right category for your business.
Make sure you upload as many photos as you possibly can.
Attach a local phone number to your listing.
Add a consistent business address matching that on your website and local directories.
Ensure you upload a high-resolution profile image and cover photo.
Include your opening times / days if necessary.
Make sure you get real reviews from clients. We will dwell more on this later.
NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)
Make sure that your NAP across your entire website as well as other citations elsewhere are consistent. They should be exact same details / format anywhere they are cited. You might want to consider Schema.org markup on your NAP to avail the search engines with all thatâs needed to properly display your company information correctly.
Local Reviews
Itâs a fact that local reviews have a direct impact on local search rankings, so itâs important that you spend some time acquiring such links.
When I say reviews, am not just talking about Google reviews. Focus should also be in getting reviews on your Yelp Page as well. These Yelp reviews are used by Apple Maps alongside other local directories. However, your priority should be Google reviews.
Also, you should consider getting reviews from your customer base. You could use incentives like a free eBook or discount on some of your products to get such reviews.
Phase 2 - Local On-Page SEO Factors
Now that you are done with the main pre-requisites as discussed above, you will have to now consider on-page SEO. You have to know that on-page SEO for local businesses does conform to some old school SEO tactics. Itâs important that you do it right and the following points should go a long way to helping out:
Add your City / Region as well as a relevant keyword within your landing page title tag.
Add your City / Region as well as a relevant keyword within your landing H1Â tag.
Add your City / Region as well as a relevant keyword within your landing URL.
Add your City / Region as well as a relevant keyword within your landing content.
Add your City / Region as well as a relevant keyword within your landing image ALT attributes.
Embed a Google map with your business marker into your landing page.
In addition, ensure that your site is mobile-friendly and responsive as this is now important with Googleâs mobile search update.
Phase 3 - Local Link Building Strategies
Quality links are important, and if all of the two phases above have been carried out, itâs then time to get some solid quality links.
Now, when compared to the normal SEO campaigns, local SEO relies more on links from other local websites that are actually relevant to your business. For local SEO, its more about getting links from local businesses and less about getting links from high authority websites, though links from authority websites wonât harm you in any way.
What this means is that links from local directories are really useful resources for link building when it comes to local SEO.
For local link building, here are some techniques you might want to consider.
Check out Meetup.com for a list of local events relevant to your industry. Find those that have websites and contact them about sponsorship. Should they accept, you will get a link from their website that is local to you and their Meetup.com page (which is a highly authoritative local link).
Itâs advisable to run your own local meetup or event and bring through links from the local event page.
Offer a discount to local organizations for your products / services in exchange for a linked mention on their website.
Spend some time dedicated to local PR outreach to get online and offline coverage in local news.
Make scholarships offers (to get some links from local universities) or offer IT placements or jobs to students (you can get links from their careers pages).
I believe if the above phases are well carried out for your Local SEO, you will have no problem whatsoever with ranking and getting more business opportunities.
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