Do you want to outrank local market competition?
Do you want to make your business easily visible on local searches online?
You are in the right spot.
In today’s fiercely competitive market, it is mandatory to highlight your business among the target audience. People have become tech-savvy with digitalization, where they search online for most things, even for local companies.
In general terms, Local SEO is a practice of optimizing a website to increase traffic, generate leads, and build brand awareness from local search. The primary purpose of local SEO is to develop and maintain the online presence of a business on local searches. Once a website is fully optimized for local search appearance, it can drive more organic traffic and improve conversion rates.
But, how to optimize the website for local SEO?
Follow this post along, and you will get to know the answer. This article focuses on the exclusive tips to optimize a website for local SEO in 2020. Let’s explore the tips:
Table of Contents
Increase local backlinks
Take advantage of local listing sites (i.e., directories) to list your business. When you register your business along with backlinks to the website, verify that all the details (like business name, address, phone number, etc. ) are accurate. This activity benefits to increase visibility and search engine rankings. Following are some ways to generate high-quality backlinks;
- Produce high-quality content on your site so that others want to link to your content
- Try for guest blogging on reputable websites that have a high domain authority
- Do not miss an opportunity to engage with local influencers on social networks or by email to get them to link back to your site
Create Google My Business page
Claim your business on Google My Business. It establishes a business presence on the search engine along with showing up on google maps. To optimize GMB(Google My Business) ensure the following details;
- Verify your listing
- Present accurate and up-to-date information
- Incorporate your logo, business hours, acceptable payment methods, products or services, and images
- Produce content within your GMB account with Google Posts
- Encourage your clients to post a review of your business online
- Respond truthfully to customer reviews
Display reviews of customers
When you ask your happy customers to write reviews of your business, it does not only help to improve online presence but also helps other customers to get a better overview of the offerings you serve.
Here are some ways to encourage customers to give reviews:
- Ask for a review in person after closing a sale
- Send a post-purchase email requesting customers to write a review
- Respond to existing reviews professionally, appreciating reviewers
Also Read: Recent Trends in Marketing
Create content based on local events
Content is the essence of a website. Nothing can replace high quality content that directs local issues to grab customers’ attention. For instance, try to include blog posts around local events or activities.
Setting up location-specific pages on a website will be a plus. It will help to get ranked online for the specific location. Besides, use interactive content that attracts readers to visit your site. And, include relevant keywords for improved visibility.
Make sure the website is responsive
You never know from which device customers will operate your website. So, it is advisable to have a responsive design for a website that offers a seamless experience across all devices irrespective of screen size and resolutions. Carefully focus on the below points;
- Assure your website loads quickly (within three seconds)
- Use easy to read fonts
- Ensure intuitive UI (User Interface)for more exceptional UX (User Experience)
Take advantage of social media
While optimizing a website for local SEO, do not overlook the power of social media. Ensure your business is live on the relevant social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.).
Producing social media signals that point towards your location is another reward when it proceeds to rank for local SEO. Just define social media strategies, create content, and post it with a relevant link to your website. In addition, apply structured data markup to every page of your website to boost local SEO rankings. Google also provides structured data testing tools; hence, verify that the website is well-optimized for it.
Implement the above mentioned tips and optimize your website for local SEO. As people are using the digital medium to search and reach out to a vendor, optimizing a website for local searches will ultimately result in more sales.
