June 2021 I part four
Local SEO Roadmap: Tips to Improve your Ranking
Local SEO is different from SEO in that it focuses on ranking pages for local searches. This means your keywords should be more specific to the region you’re in, rather than generic.
For example, if you are an insurance broker located in Boston, Massachusetts then your keywords may be “Boston Health Insurance” or “Insurance Broker Boston”. These phrases are much more likely to get found by potential customers and lead to more conversions.
Local SEO often leads to a higher ranking on searches for your city’s name or regional terms, which are easier to rank for than general keywords with more competition.
If you’re running a local business then you should include location-specific keywords on all pages of your website.
How to optimize your website to include local information
To optimize your website for local SEO, you need to add in a few important items:
- A contact page with the address of your business and phone number available
- Opening hours if possible (this may not be applicable to everyone)
- Local map listings
- Regional terms that locals use to describe the area along with names of towns or cities you provide services to
How to optimize your content
Optimizing your website pages and posts for local SEO is relatively simple. Start by brainstorming a list of words that relate to your business and combine them with location words such as your city, state or area. Use these keywords in your headings, meta description and content.
Depending on your business, you may want to use the words in a way that will make sense for people outside of your area too, so you don’t limit exposure by being too focused on local terms only.
Which pages should be optimized
If you’re running a local business then you should include location-specific keywords on all pages of your website. You can add relevant information in your footer and in page headings and content. Pay particular attention to your homepage, about page and any blog posts or articles that you would like to rank highly for local search results.
If you have a business that covers several areas, you may consider building extra website pages you can optimize for specific location keywords. Make sure the content on those pages is highly relevant for that area and that is it unique – replicating pages and changing the titles is unlikely to get you very far!
If you’re running a local business, it’s important that your Google My Business listing is accurate and up-to-date.
Simple link building techniques for local SEO
Link building for local SEO should include citations. These are online listings of your business that include your business name, address and phone number (NAP). Most modern listings allow you to add a link to your website and this is where the link building part comes in.
The most important citation you should create is a Google My Business listing. If you’re running a local business, it’s important that your Google My Business listing is accurate and up-to-date. Make sure the information on your Google listing matches the details on your website and any other directory listings you add.
Here are the top places to list your local business in the US:
google.com I maps.apple.com I facebook.com I bing.com I yelp.com I foursquare.com I bbb.org I local.yahoo.com I mapquest.com I yellowpages.com
You’ll also want to make sure your business is listed in local directories. You can find these by making a simple Google search for your area. Your local business may also benefit from links from niche or local websites in the form of guest or featured blog articles. Combined with a well-optimised website and some relevant directory listings, traditional link building can have a huge impact on your SEO.