Top 20 Local SEO Tips for Better Website Traffic

Local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps smaller businesses appear on SERPs that target specific areas such as regional ones where there may not be many different types of stores nearby within distance. By marketing these brands through social media posts, traditional advertising, and more. In this article, we will show you 20 local SEO tips for better website traffic. But, before we start, here are some things you need to know about local SEO and its relevance.

 

What is Local SEO?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local SEO is essential to small business owners who want their services and products to be available near them. National companies don’t need a strategy like this because they have customers all over the country. Still, local businesses do not always cater to enough people in one area to work out financially. 

 

How does it work?

Local search engine optimization works by putting your brand online when somebody searches “local” or “near me.” This way, you get more of an advantage when someone has already narrowed down what they are looking for so far.

 

Top 20 Local SEO Tips for Traffic to Try

Keep customers coming back to your door with a solid local SEO strategy. Here are some tips you can try to be better at local SEO.

Use your Google My Business listing and account regularly. 

First on the list of local SEO tips is Google My Business. If you have a Google My Business account already, you can use it for optimizing local SEO for traffic right away. If you don’t have one yet, here’s how to list your business on Google:

• Open Google Maps and search for your business.
• If your business appears, click “Claim Business” and “Manage Now.”
• Choose a verification option and follow the steps on the screen.

Some businesses will not appear on the search bar. If your business happens to experience this, you need to create a listing from scratch. First, you need to make a Google My Business Account and use the logins to list it on Google Maps.

Make sure your registered address is correct.

Search engines prioritize results from the area around a specific address, so if you have multiple possible addresses to send your postcards to, try sending them near where most of your customers are.

List your service areas. 

Adding your service area will help customers looking for businesses in their town, city, or state to find you! If you want more people checking out what you have on offer and make a purchase with just one click, then adding your physical location is important.

Respond to customer reviews. 

It is a crucial tip for anyone who has ever left reviews. When responding to them, make sure that you are professional and courteous. Even if the person may not have been in their judgment when interacting with your business or product, be nice. 

Add FAQs for readers.

The Questions and Answers feature on your Google Maps listing is a great way to interact with customers! Customers can ask questions about the company, like “Are you open on Sunday?” or “What services do they offer?”

Add photos of your business.

Don’t let someone else define your business with a photo. Add photos to your listings that show off what you do best and make it clear where people can find out more about who you are! You can add your company logo, photos of your team, and your business location. 

Be active and post regularly.

Your profile needs to be up-to-date and fresh, but that doesn’t mean it’s a one-person show. New posts automatically display on your page for seven days, so you need to post every week to keep yourself looking good!

Add local keywords to your website.

Tired of not having a physical shop or office and still want to increase your customer base? That’s where local targeting keywords come in. Targeting specific, localized words will help you grow and establish an online presence accessible to potential clients anywhere they are located!

Check out competitor websites.

Hitting a miss when researching keywords can happen. You might end up not getting the results you want and spend an excessive amount of time doing it, too! Look at your competitors’ keyword research, though. This will only save you both that undesirable situation and precious hours in general — giving those valuable ones back to yourself for better use.

We often find that people are looking for a good key phrase to optimize their web pages around but not necessarily knowing which one. So it’s always helpful to take an analytical approach and see the top 10 websites in Google Search results by typing your keyword into it. You might be surprised at how similar they all seem!

Strategize your primary local keyword.

You’ve heard it a thousand times: “Don’t forget your keywords!” But how do you know where to insert them? Of course, your location or service area page’s title tag is the most apparent section for that primary local keyword, but don’t stop there. Use variations of those words in your slug and headings, subheadings, body text – heck, even down on the footer if possible!

Add a Google Map to your website. 

By adding a map to your website, you’ll be able to send more powerful local signals and make it clear that you’re open for business in the area.

Make your website accessible for mobiles.

When you’re constantly on the go, wouldn’t it be fantastic to have local search results as well? A lot of people use their mobile phones for this reason. Thus, it is crucial to make your website mobile-friendly. 

Make social media accounts and update them regularly. 

Social media is a great way to find out about the company culture, get more customers involved in your business, and gain feedback on how you are doing. By making posts regularly or using hashtags like #mybusinessname, people will quickly see what’s happening with their favorite brands. You can also link back to your website by creating shares that include links within them!

Your citations should be accurate. 

Having consistent citations is essential to a business’s online presence, and Google will associate it with an accurate, reliable website. The street name should be the exact spelling in all directories you’re on so that your NAP consistency cannot be questioned.

Add your listing to more high-ranking directories.

Registering on directories will make your business more visible to potential customers. Even if you don’t see success with a local search, it’s worth writing for any guide relevant to what you sell or provide to maximize the opportunity to attract new leads and clients.

Find your competitors’ directories too.

It’s essential to research your competition and find the best web directories for you. You can start by finding out which ones they’re already on, whether through their phone number or postal code searches.

Build new citations. 

You want to make sure your business is ranked higher on Google, and you’re going the right way about that by adding yourself to more directories. The best thing for it is consistency – if you use the same information across all sites, people will know they can trust what they read from any location with your name!

Add ALT text for your images and landing pages.

One of the best local SEO tips you can do is this item right here. Alt-text is not simply a description of what an image depicts. It also helps the blind and visually impaired understand its content and Google better understand it to improve search engine results in some instances.

Make a location page for every branch or office location.

It’s essential to create a specific page for every location your business has. Doing so enables you to target local keywords on each page, reflected in the SERPs, and allow people looking locally to find more accurate results about where they are located.

Maximize the use of Google Keyword Planner

When you want to do keyword research without breaking the bank, one of the best ways is by using Google’s Keyword Planner. Technically created for businesses running Google Ads campaigns, there’s no reason why it can’t be used to perform research on your website. All you have to do is sign up and get going!

 

Takeaway

Now that you know some local SEO tips, it’s time for you to follow and apply it. Websites that are optimized for local searches have a better chance of being found on the web. From higher conversion rates to less competition, there’s no reason not to take advantage! If you’re looking for help with your website optimization and digital marketing services, we’ll do all the heavy lifting–just give us a shout!