As more businesses try their hand at local SEO, it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate your marketing campaign. Competition for location-specific keywords is at an all-time high. Search engine algorithms are also pushing local businesses up in SERPs to make local search more relevant. As a business owner competing in this local arena, you doubtless have anxious moments wondering how to beat your competitor and dominate local search results.
While most small business owners resort to standard SEO tactics to try and dominate local search, that is the wrong approach. Local SEO, while not entirely different from standard SEO, has some crucial differences that can help give you an edge over the competition. Here are three local SEO essentials that can act as key differentiators for your digital marketing strategy.
- Google My Business
While many local businesses focus on their websites and on-page ranking factors, Google My Business is an area frequently neglected. If your business is not on GMB, you need to set it up ASAP. To get your listing ranked properly, make sure to add all details including a well-composed unique description, business categories, photos of your business, contact details, address, profile image, and business hours.
Having a well-established GMB presence will help you appear high in search results even if your website is lagging. This visibility can help you win more business because customers typically go straight to the local business listing in a Google search to find businesses closest to where they are.
- NAP
Short for Name, Address, Phone, this is one area where local businesses drop local SEO points. Often, you will find a business has an old phone number or an outdated address listed. This inaccurate information creates false results for customers, resulting in a frustrating search experience and possible penalties from Google.
When this happens, not only will Google demote your listing, potential customers will immediately engage your business rival after failing to reach you. To avoid this, you need to make sure all your NAP details are updated and accurate. They also need to be consistent across directories, review sites, citation sites, etc. Such consistency enables search engines to accurately index your business and serve it up for relevant searches.
- Local Reviews
If you did not know this, search engines do use reviews as a ranking factor for local results. If you have seen Amazon listings on a Google search, you may have seen the 5-star ratings right below the result. These ratings are an important identifier both from an SEO perspective and a user perspective.
If you do not have any reviews, create an action plan of how you will acquire some from your customers. You can include a widget on your website or a CTA (call to action) in your marketing materials or receipts that prompt customers to leave a review. As you rack up reviews, your local search rankings will improve. You will also gain social proof that can also help boost click-through rates.
Local SEO is fluid and evolving so local businesses also need to be versatile in how they approach the marketing channel. Working with an SEO Firm Smart Street Media that specializes in local SEO can help reduce time-to-market for these and other effective local SEO strategies.
