10 Tips To Maximize Your Local SEO

Nearly 90 percent of consumers use search engines to find information about local businesses, making local search engine optimization an important part of any SEO strategy. From submitting press releases to local newspapers to sponsoring special events, there are a number of things a business owner can do to attract local customers and achieve top placement in major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo!

Get Involved

Sponsoring a local baseball team or pitching in to throw a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization has two major benefits for business owners. One is the opportunity to spread the word about their businesses, which lowers advertising and public relations costs. Another is the SEO benefits you gain from getting involved in your community. Event organizers usually link to sponsors’ websites, giving you valuable inbound links and making more online users aware of your business.

Create Local Profiles

Search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo! have local business listings that highlight businesses in your area. Once you claim your business listing, make your profile as complete as possible. It should include your business name, products and services offered, hours of operation, physical address, and local telephone number. Enhance your listing with photos of your products or snapshots of your business location. Make it easy for people to contact you, or you risk having them contact your competitors.

Request Reviews

Make it a habit to ask customers to leave reviews on sites like Yelp and Google+ Local if they are satisfied with your products or services. These reviews make potential customers feel more confident about contacting your business. They also have SEO value for your website, as people can link to your pages when creating reviews.

Add Directory Listings

Local business directories are another good way to get your business in front of potential customers. Submit listings to general directories such as Manta and Merchant Circle; then submit your listing to directories related to your niche. If you are a natural health practitioner, for example, submit your listing to directories that feature businesses in the health and wellness industry.

Optimize Your Pages

Include your physical address and local telephone number on every page of your website. When local customers see a familiar area code or street name, they will feel more comfortable contacting you and doing business with your company. Make sure your website content also mentions your location so that local customers know where to find you.

Generate Publicity

Generate publicity and improve your SEO results by submitting press releases to local newspapers and magazines. Capture the interest of journalists by tying your press release into a local or national event. If a journalist decides to do a story on your business, ask the writer to link to your website from the online version of the finished article. The story will generate positive attention for your company, while the inbound links will enhance your SEO results.

Pick Quality Keywords

Focus on long tail keywords when optimizing your website for local search engine users. Long tail keywords are phrases of approximately three to five words related to your business. They get fewer searches per month than shorter keywords, but they may also be easier to rank for in the search engines. If you own a store that sells outdoor gear, some of the long tail words you might use on your website include “single-hoop camping tent” and “large hoop tents.” These would be easier to rank for than general terms like “tents” or “camping gear.”

Use Social Media

Social media makes it easier for business owners to promote their products and services to local customers. Create profiles on sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Make sure your profiles contain your physical address and local telephone number. Use these tools to announce new products and services, changes in your hours of operation, and other information of interest to customers. To attract local customers to your business, try offering a coupon for customers who live within 10 miles of your physical location. Share the coupon with your followers and ask them to let their friends and family members know about the promotion.

Build Links

Inbound links are one of the factors search engines consider when deciding where to rank a particular page, so it is important to have incoming links from reputable sources related to your industry and your location. A link from your local chamber of commerce website can establish your company as a trusted business, improving your SEO results and making you look more trustworthy to search engine users. Links from local government agencies can also give you an SEO boost, especially if they use the .gov domain extension.

Categorize Your Business

Some business owners do not take full advantage of local business listings because they only use one or two categories to classify their companies. If you create a business listing, use as many categories as possible to make it easier for potential customers to find your business.