5 Ways to Boost Local Search Engine Rankings
21 Feb 2019 Digital Marketing
Properly utilizing local on-page and off-page SEO strategies can help your business stay ahead of the competition and make it easy for potential customers to find your local business online. As a local web design and digital marketing company, they understand how important local SEO is to small and medium-businesses. That is why their team of search marketing professionals have put together a list of 5 ways to boost local search engine rankings to help your business flourish in its local marketplace.
1. Claim Your Google My Business Listing
Google My Business (GMB) is a free local directory that can provide your business with incredible local exposure if optimized properly. Once you have claimed and verified your GMB listing, you will need to optimize the listing by populating each and every section relevant to your business, so that the listing is considered complete. This includes adding a solid description of your business; filling out service or product categories, adding business hours, types of accepted payments; and uploading your company logo and photos of your products and services. As a rule of thumb with your Google My Business listing, give Google as much information about your business and make use of as many features available as possible.
We would recommend experimenting with Google Posts as these can be highly beneficial to local businesses if implemented properly. Google My Business continuously updates its features throughout the year, so staying up-to-date with the latest features is key.
Similar to claiming your Google My Business listing, you can also claim your local business listing on Bing Places for Business. Claiming your business listing on Bing follows a similar process to GMB and will allow you to reach Bing users as well as Google users.
2. Create Local Landing Pages
Creating individual landing pages for each of the different areas/regions/cities your business serves can help your website rank higher in search results for those particular areas. When creating local landing pages, make sure to incorporate keywords that are not only related to your business but also related to that region. These keywords should be sprinkled throughout the content on the actual landing page, as well as in the page’s meta title and description, in order to provide the best results. To succeed with geographical landing pages, the pages should include relevant and unique content that pertains to how your business serves each area. Items like local reviews and case studies specific to a geographical area are important.
3. Ensure NAP Consistency
It is important to make sure that your business’ NAP (name, address, and phone number) are consistent on every website or business directory your business is listed on. Any inconsistencies—discrepancies like misspellings, wrong phone number, lack of suite number, and different abbreviations—can make it difficult for Google and other search engines to determine which information about your business is correct. This could cause Google to display inaccurate information or to not show your business in the search results at all.
4. Use Local Structured Data Markup
Structured data markup, also known as schema markup, is a type of code that can be added to your website in order to provide search engines with more information about your local business, including your business’ products, reviews, and services. Placing schema markup in your website’s code, where appropriate, can make it easier for search engines to determine what your site content is about. Once schema markup has been added to your website, it is always a good idea to test it. Thankfully, Google offers a free Structured Data Testing Tool that is easy to use.
5. Encourage Customer Reviews
Since many people turn to social media or rely on search engines to provide the information they need about a business, encouraging local customers to leave reviews on your business’ Google My Business listing or Facebook page can help turn potential customers looking at your business online into solid leads. It is important to make sure that you respond to every review about your business posted online, whether it is positive or negative, as doing so will show potential customers that you are listening and value their opinions.
Working towards boosting your business’ local search engine rankings can help your business standout from your competitors online. If you would like to learn more about these 5 ways to boost local search engine rankings, get in touch with our expert team today.
