8 Ways to Improve Local SEO & Attract New Business

How to Improve Your Local SEO and Attract New Business at the Same Time

It’s no secret that good local SEO is essential for any business that wants its customers to find them online. But how can you improve your local SEO and exactly what is it?

In this blog post, we’ll answer those questions and more, so you can start attracting new customers and driving more business. Keep reading to learn all about how to improve your local SEO!

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is the process of optimizing your website content so that you can attract more traffic from local searches. This process includes optimizing your website, social media profiles, and other online listings for your business. It’s an integral part of any small business marketing strategy.

To get started with local SEO, you can claim your Google My Business listing and start creating optimized content for your website. Include your business’s name, address, phone number (NAP), and business hours on every page of your site. And make sure your site is responsive so it looks good on all devices. Directory listings and local citation building are crucial for improving your local SEO.

Optimizing your website for local searches will improve your local SEO and your visibility in the search engine results pages (SERPs), increase web traffic, and attract more customers.

Local SEO can be a bit tricky, but it’s worth it if you want to attract more customers from local searches. If you need help getting started, call the team at Cider House Media. We specialize in local SEO services.

Why Local Search Is Important

Local searches are becoming more important each day. It’s no wonder- as the internet becomes more globalized, people are looking for ways to find businesses closer to home.

Think about it – when you search on Google, the first thing that comes up is a list of businesses near you. And, if you’re searching on your mobile phone, it will even give you directions to the business!

This fact shows just how important local searches have become. If you want your business to be seen by people searching for things in your area, then you need to do local SEO.

Suppose you’re a business that relies on customers from a specific geographic area. In that case, you need to be visible in local search results. A staggering 97% of consumers looked online for local businesses in 2017, with 12% looking every day. Of those who searched, 61% called the business they found, and 59% visited the business they found.

Local searches lead 50% of mobile visitors to visit stores within one day. 78% of local mobile searches result in offline purchases. And 18% of local searches led to a sale within one day. (source: searchengineland)

What does this mean for your business? To attract new customers and grow your business, you need to invest in Local SEO.

1. Claim and Optimize GMB Profile

If you haven’t already, claiming and optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) profile should be one of your top priorities. Google My Business is a free platform that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google Search and Maps.

By claiming and verifying your business on GMB, you’re telling Google that you’re a legitimate business and allowing your business to appear in local search results. A business profile on Google can help you attract new customers and grow your business. Claiming your business profile on Google is a sure fire way to improve your local SEO

To start, go to google.com/business and sign in with your Google account. Once you’ve claimed or created your listing, take some time to optimize your profile by providing accurate and up-to-date information about your business, including:

• • Your business name, address, and phone number (NAP)
  • A description of your products or services
  • Hours of operation
  • A link to your website
  • High-quality photos

 

2. Optimize Online Directories and Citations

Make sure you have completed and claimed all of your online directory listings. These listing sites include popular sites like Yelp, Yellowpages, Superpages, Foursquare, and Amazon Alexa, as well as lesser-known but still important sites like local.com, Citysearch, and LocalPages.

One of the most important aspects of local SEO is having accurate and consistent NAP (or Name, Address, and Phone number) information across all directory listings. Consistency is critical, so ensure that your NAP information is identical on each listing.

As mentioned above, your GMB (Google My Business) listing is vital in local SEO. Ensure that your information across your online listings matches your Google Business Profile.

3. Perform a Local SEO Audit

As a small business, it’s vital that you take the time to perform a local SEO audit on your website and Google My Business listing at least once a year. Doing so will ensure that your listing is accurate and complete and that your website is optimized for local search.

To get started:

Google My Business Audit – How does your Google My Business appear in the SERPs?

1. Begin by auditing your Google My Business listing.
2. Is the information accurate? Check that your business name, address, and phone number are correct and up-to-date.
3. Add new photos and update your business description.
4. Claim any unclaimed listings for your business and request reviews from customers.

Google Search Console Audit – Is your site crawlable? Does it have any errors that would hinder indexing?

On-Page SEO Audit – Are you checking all the on-page SEO boxes that help to rank?

Citation Audit – Are all your citations up-to-date in the top business directories?

Competitor Analysis – Check out what your local competitors are doing to optimize their websites for local search. How does your site compare to theirs? What are they doing that you’re not?

Website Audit – How well is your website performing?

By performing a yearly local SEO audit, you’ll ensure that your small business is visible in local search results. Good local SEO will help you attract new customers and grow your bottom line.

4. Improve your internal linking structure

Internal linking is the process of connecting one page on your website to another. Internal linking can be done by using anchor text (the clickable text that makes up a hyperlink) or using an image. Internal linking is important for two main reasons:

1. It helps improve your website’s information architecture.
2. Makes your site more user-friendly
3. It can help improve your local SEO.

Improving your website’s information architecture means making it easier for users to navigate your site and find the information they’re looking for. Improving the internal linking structure of your website will make your site more user-friendly. A well-structured website will have a hierarchy of pages. The home page is at the top, followed by category pages, sub-category pages, and finally, individual service, product, or blog pages. For the best results, each page should have five inbound links from at least five other pages on the site. A solid internal linking strategy will help Google understand what each page is about and how it fits into the overall scheme of things.

When you improve your local SEO, people will likely find your site when they search for keywords related to your business. One way to do this is to ensure that each page on your site has a good PageRank (PR). PageRank measures a page’s importance as determined by how many other websites link to it. The more links a page has pointing to it, the higher its PR will be. In turn, pages with a high PR will tend to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). Thus, by improving the internal linking structure of your website, you can help improve its overall SEO and make it more visible to potential customers searching for businesses like yours online.

5. On-page SEO

Good on-page SEO will help you rank higher in search engine results and attract more website visitors. On-page SEO Optimize your website URL, title tags, headers, meta descriptions, and content to attract more visitors from organic search. If you want to improve your local SEO, pay attention to your website’s on-page SEO.

Your website’s success in search engine results pages (SERPs) depends on how well you optimize your site for ranking factors. The better you optimize your on-page SEO; the higher your site will rank in SERPs.

On-page SEO is the process of optimizing individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page factors include page titles, headings, content, and overall structure.

One of the most essential on-page SEO factors is the page title. The title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a web page. The title tag is displayed in the browser tab and used by search engines to display a page’s title in SERPs.

The header tag is another important on-page SEO factor and a great way to improve your local SEO. The h1 header is used to specify the primary heading of a web page. The h1 header should be used for the main heading of a page, and you should only use the H1 tag once per page. Subheadings should be used for secondary headings (h2, h3, etc).

The meta description is a short description of a web page displayed in SERPs. A good meta description should accurately describe the content of a page and include relevant keywords. Search engines do not use the meta description to rank pages, but it can influence click-through rate (CTR).

Content is king when it comes to on-page SEO. To improve your local SEO and your chances of ranking high in SERPs, you must create high-quality, keyword-rich content relevant to what people are searching for. Search engines use algorithms to determine which pages are relevant for certain queries. When creating content, use your focus keyword throughout the page (title, headings, meta description, etc.). In addition to using your focus keyword throughout the page, you should also include synonyms and related keywords. This process will help to further improve your local SEO and chances of ranking high in SERPs.

If you’re using WordPress for your website, here are our 2 favorite on-page SEO plugins that you can us to improve your local SEO>

1. Yoast SEO:

   Yoast SEO is a must-have for WordPress users looking to improve their local SEO. This user-friendly plugin acts as a personal guide, leading you through each step of optimizing your pages and posts for search engines and local search. With its easy-to-use interface and powerful features, you’ll be able to effortlessly enhance your local SEO. From keyword optimization to readability analysis and social media integration, Yoast SEO has all the tools you need to make your content stand out in local search results. The real-time feedback feature will provide you with valuable insights on how to improve your content’s local SEO, while templates for your page titles and meta descriptions will streamline your optimization efforts. Whether you’re a seasoned SEO professional or just starting out, Yoast SEO is the perfect tool to help you improve your local SEO and reach a wider audience.

2. Rank Math:

   Rank Math is a versatile and user-friendly WordPress plugin designed to help you improve your local SEO. With its advanced features and intuitive interface, Rank Math makes it easier than ever to optimize your website for search engines and local search. From keyword optimization and XML sitemaps to real-time content analysis and schema markup, Rank Math provides all the tools you need to boost your local SEO. The plugin also offers advanced features such as local business schema, local keyword analysis, and integration with Google My Business, making it easier to manage your online presence and reach local customers. Whether you’re a seasoned SEO professional or just starting out, Rank Math is the perfect tool to help you take your local SEO to the next level. With its comprehensive features and user-friendly interface, Rank Math is a powerful resource for anyone looking to improve their local SEO and reach a wider audience.

You can dramatically improve your local SEO by following the above tactics.

6. Adding Location Pages to Your Website is a Great way to Improve Your Local SEO

If you want to improve your local SEO and attract new business, one of the best things you can do is add location pages to your website. Location pages are specifically designed for a geographic location. They contain information like a business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). Location pages also often have information about the products or services a business offers, images, and videos.

Creating location pages on your website helps you to signal to search engines that you are a local business. When your business is identified as a local business, this can help you to rank higher in local search results. It can also help you attract new customers searching for businesses like yours in their area.

To get started:

1. Create a page on your website for each location that you have.
2. Use keyword-rich titles and descriptions to make your pages easy for search engines to find.
3. Include the NAP for each location and images and videos if you have them. You can also include information about each location’s products or services.

Once your location pages are created, list them on Google My Business (GMB) so that customers can find them when they search for businesses like yours on Google Maps. To list your location pages on GMB, create a profile for each one and include the URL of the page in the “Website” section. You can also add your location pages to directories like Yelp and Foursquare so potential customers can find them when searching for businesses in their area.

7. Improve Your Local SEO by Optimizing Your Site For Mobile

To improve your local SEO and attract new business, you must ensure your website is optimized for mobile devices. With more and more people using their mobile devices to search for businesses, making sure your site is responsive and can be easily accessed on a mobile phone or tablet is essential.

One way to do this is to use a responsive design, which means your website will automatically adjust to the size of your potential customer’s device. Responsive design, rather than a separate mobile site, is the preferred method for most businesses. A mobile-responsive website ensures that all users will have a positive experience regardless of how they access your site.

Another way to optimize your site for mobile is to create a separate mobile-friendly website specifically designed for mobile devices and can be accessed by going to a URL different from your main website. While this requires more work upfront, it can be beneficial if you want to specifically target mobile users with content other than what is on your main site.

Regardless of your chosen method, ensuring your site is optimized for mobile devices is essential if you want to improve your local SEO and attract new business.

8. Become a Member of Your Local Business Community

As a business, it’s important to give back and support the community that supports you. There are many ways to get involved.

Small and local businesses often struggle to find their place in the wider world. Many owners live within easy reach of customers. Still, they see little value in staying local or supporting their community. The answer is simple:

1. Get your business involved in the local community.
2. Get connected with your community.
3. Find ways to be an active member of your community. Give back and support other local businesses and organizations that work towards making your town a better place.
4. Join a non-profit board or city committee

A broad range of businesses can do this, from those that operate only seasonally to year-round establishments. Local businesses have a lot to offer, especially if you take the time to involve others in working alongside you instead of isolating yourself from them.

Getting involved is the best way to become part of the local business community. You could volunteer for a local non-profit, join a local chamber of commerce, or participate in events that your local chamber hosts. Joining these groups will help you meet new people and connect with your city’s businesses. These connections are meaningful because they can lead to financial opportunities and other resources that can help you discover what’s going on in your area and learn how to contribute to your community.

You can also get involved with local schools and offer scholarships or internships to students. This is a great way to support the future generation of your workforce and get your name out there as a business that cares about its community.

Conclusion

In conclusion, improving your local SEO is key to attracting more customers and growing your small business. With so many people using their phones and voice assistants to search for local businesses, it’s more important than ever to make sure your website shows up when people are looking for what you offer. By following the 8 tips we shared in this article, you’ll be able to supercharge your local SEO and get your business in front of the people who matter most. From taking control of your Google My Business listing to making sure your website is easy to use on a phone, there are plenty of simple steps you can take to improve your local SEO and make a big impact. And when you become a part of your local business community, you’ll make even more connections and opportunities for growth.

So why wait? Start putting these tips into action today and watch your local SEO soar. If you need a hand along the way, remember that Cider House Media is here to help. We specialize in helping small businesses like yours improve their digital marketing and web design, including local SEO, so don’t hesitate to reach out and let us help you improve your local SEO today!