Local SEO Guide for Small Business

Local SEO Guide for Small Business

What do we mean by local search engine optimization (SEO)?

A local SEO is a method in which business promotes their services online such as restaurants, hotels, shops, chemist, fashion design etc. Every business person or anyone with a website aims at attracting huge visitors so that he can be able to sell more and also let the world know of their services. With search engine optimization, this work is made easier for the website owner since it makes the website appear the first when a user looking for same services keys in keywords like you used. The local search engine is one of the best ways you can advertise your small business and get a massive number of potential buyers across the world. More than 80% of the world’s population is online; thus, it’s easy to look for customers online.

What are the critical steps to setting up your SEO?

To get things done, you need to follow the following steps of keyword optimization

Step 1; Local keyword research

In most search engines, Google uses the most searched word to know what the user is looking for on the website. It may be at some point a disappointing moment to find that you cannot see your website once you search for it as that is a clear indication that even people looking for your services will not see it. This is usually the most crucial part as it will allow you to set up several keywords that people search for when looking for services you offer or similar ones. After setting up a search engine, know what exactly people will look for and ensure that you have used that keyword in most of your website to give you high ranking in all search engines like google.

Local SEO enables you to set your keywords basing on the location you are currently in since that is where most of your potential users are. Make sure that your keywords will appear significant to the search engine terms. It is recommendable that when setting your keywords, you the most appealing word that captures the mind of many and that many uses on the internet when searching for services. For example, if you operate a hotel in a certain city, you need to set up keyword such as; best hotel, location of the hotel, why is the hotel the best etc. Ensure that all these keywords appear in almost all your paragraph on the website.

How to find the best keywords

To get the best keyword for your business, use the following methods.

• Know the industry you are in

Getting to know what kind of business you allow you to understand what people may search for online. People use the same keyword to search for services on every type of a business, so with your services, you can make use of this opportunity and put as many keywords as possible regarding what you offer.

• Make use of keyword modifiers

Keyword modifiers help you to know where specifically a certain word was used and services offered there. Keyword modifiers will also help you describe more of the services that you offer.

• Use Google autocomplete

To find the best keyword that people look for in your area, just enter your primary keyword on the Google platform and observe what google completes for you. Google usually give you one of the most searched keywords for your business. Always consider this method as it will provide you with keywords that you would never think of.

• Know your competitors and what they are ranked for

Every business has competitors, and you will always find there are some better than you. Google ranks your competitors according to how frequent their sites are visited. Looking at your competitor’s keyword will give you a clue of what people in your area search for.

• Look for keyword ideas on craigslist

Craigslist is a platform that allows you to look for most used keywords in your area. You just need to enter your location and primary keyword in the search section, and it will give you a variety of keywords.

Step 2: Website Optimization

Website optimization is the part in which you are allowed to make a change to your already established website so that it will appear as the first when people search for related services. Optimizing your business website helps to improve your sites ability to get more people visiting it online.

Steps to follow to optimize your website

To optimize your sites easily, follow these steps;

1. Keyword research

You need keywords that you already identified. Use the google keyword planner to give you a range of search terms that users are always looking for. It will provide you with how frequently they are searched and the completion over the words. Research for the words that have high search numbers and low competition. Always use these keywords in your website optimization.

2. Create content using the keywords

Content creation is one of the fundamental marketing approaches that help your website to show up in most search engines. Ensure that you have the keywords in mind and use them frequently.

3. Speed it up

Google punishes websites that are running slow. There is a need to keep your page running fast. Use google speed insight to help you know when your site is running slow, and it will also give you suggestions on how to speed it up.

4. Use landing pages

Ensure that every single page of your website has your keyword and is in line with the topic that you are discussing. If you are promoting an item, test landing pages with various keywords. You will notice that some landing page are slow; thus, you should keep on checking to remove the slow landing pages.

5. Update your page title

Ensure that your page title is well optimized and captures the name of your city. Try the best keyword that will fit in your time and make it appear at the top when people search for it.

Goals of website optimization

The main objective of website optimization is to improve the efficiency of your website by converting those who visit your site to become your email subscribers.  These lead to increased marketing of the local business services and earn more through sales. Also, website optimization increases your business sales.

Step 3: Develop citation and links

In search engine optimization, a citation is termed as local business person references available online. They include; the local address of business, name, phone number, email address and the location. It is found on the business website, the application and in business directories. It provides additional ways to which potential buyers of your services will get you online. The more people reach you through the search engine platform, and the more Google will rank you higher. Always ensure that your links are available and can be found easily by any potential customer.

Types of citations

There exist two types of citation, the Structure and unstructured.

• Structured

Here, you as the local business person you have an opportunity to update your information anytime you need to as you have control over the citation. A structured citation is the best kind of citation as it can be found on the high-quality internet directory. It usually has the business name and address of your business.

• Unstructured

An unstructured citation, the information of your business such as business name or address shows up in sites that are not directories such as a blog, twitter, LinkedIn newspaper or even social media. In these platforms, you can only add a bio.

How to build your local citation easily

To make your local citation, download the white spark application and use it. This will help you find the citation for your local business. Other platforms help you develop your citation, such as data aggregators which eventually helps you to advertise your business information online to most online users. You can also check if your listings for the business are available in the local directory. If they are not available, submit new listings to the directory so that your website appearance will be boosted in most online platforms.  You can also create several; social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn to get more people to come into your website and also get a citation.

Step 4: Claim your local listings

Local listings refer to the profiles of the business that are available online for the contact purpose. They contain the names of your business, phone number, email address and address details, and It is the mandate of the local search engine to create the listings for your local business. If you are managing and building the listing manually, you need to go for the online claiming of your listings.

Going online to claim your listings is done to verify that the listing belongs to the business and that you are already authorized to maintain it in your business. It also gives you a surety that you can hold it in all your platform since it is all yours and you poses ownership.

The following are some of the advantages that come in line with claiming your local business listings.

1. Gain trust– When people visit your site, they want to be assured that your website is genuine and that they can trust you. When you list your business with directories that are trusted by the search engines such as google places, yelp and also yellow pages, users will always develop a positive attitude towards you and trust your services.  When they find your business in directories, they will have to check it; hence you gain customers easily.
2. Easy way to get traffic to your site– Millions of people are online in the current world, and research showed that they visit directories frequently. When the potential client searches for related service online, the directory will give him or her the most trusted business in the area, and you will stand out to be among the first. The first impression with the potential buyer is to click the link that comes first even though he was not looking for the same services. This is an advantage to your business as the usual visitors of your business increases.

• Your website is ranked higher– After claiming your local business listings, your website is usually ranked higher as they have already identified that you are the owner of the site and that it is not a Copywrite. Most directories typically share the information of their business listings; hence this may be an advantage to your local business as it will get a chance to appear in different directories and raise your ranking aspect.

1. Increased service sale through contacts– Once your website is locally listed, all your details such as business number, location, rating, address etc. are usually. Indeed, with this information potential buyer may find your link on the directories and be amazed at your services. This will make the prospective buyer to contacting you since they will trust your services through the rating. Also, the more number of visitors on your website, the higher the chances of being approached for a services sale.

Step 5: Request for local reviews

Getting reviews for your website is one of the most aspects of local search engine optimization. Most users usually check for the reviews made on your site before making any decision. They typically need an assurance that the services all quality of your work Is of high standards. Having a positive review acts as a centre of attraction and services that you are offering. The most online platform will rank your website according to how people rated you. Focus to ensuring that your business appears at the top through review when someone searches. The most platform for reviews are Facebook, yelp and google. They are the most used by online users and are trusted due to their consistency.

 What to do to easily get reviews

• Advice your clients to leave reviews– this is one of the crucial parts to ensuring that you get reviews. You need to inform them about the importance of leaving a review on your site and how it will help others who are willing to look for the same services.
• Have an email signature– Having a link in your email whereby the user will be required to sign or give feedback on the services that you offered them.
• Ask in person– as a business owner, and you may ask those customers who have visited and worked with you to leave a rating on your website. This comes if the client did not leave feedback and you need it to improve your local search engine optimizer.
• Request through email– You may consider sending emails to all clients who visited your website and did not leave a rating to do so. Ensure you notify them of where they should leave reviews.
• Buying reviews– This is the last thing you should do to get reviews. It involves asking persons who have never used your services to rate your services. It is a good idea but can harm your business if google comes to know.

Step 6: Analyze and monitor your results

After setting everything out, you need to follow up on the content, Structure and also the performance of how your website. This is to confirm that your business is well structured and represents what you wanted from the start. Know what is happening in your website to ensure that you attend to any concern that may arise. Several tools have been designed to do the analysis and monitoring your sites, such as search analytical tool and google webmaster. These tools simplify your work since it is hard to do the monitoring manually.

Analyzing is done to check the following in your website

• Image optimization
• The efficiency and how fast your website is loading
• The responsiveness of your website
• Security of your website
• Availability of the social links in your website pages
• The quality of content in the pages
• The updated keywords of every page

What you need to monitor in your website

• Real visits of users in your site
• Monthly visits on your website
• Quality and number of inbound link
• Frequently searched keywords
• Visits from organic searches

You also need to set up a campaign for the keyword research by examining the keywords and see if your website will appear among many sites. Doing the monitoring and analysis guarantees you that you maintain your local business for an excellent optimal performance.

To conclude, Local search engine optimization is one of the crucial methods in taking your business to the next level more so in this current technology trend. It is recommendable you use the given steps and you are assured that in the next few months your sales will increase. For every content, you create, ensure that you use the keywords frequently.