Local SEO Services
Improve Online Visibility Locally
These local SEO strategies include NAP citations, authority link building, on-page optimizations, Google My Business improvements, and more!
SEO Services
Local SEO Company
Small businesses are constantly looking for new ways to attract and reach new customers to increase sales. With everything going digital today, it is essential for businesses to follow suit. If a business does not have a digital presence, it is as good as non-existent. Your business has to show up when a relevant search is performed online.
To get this exposure in search results, you need the help of a local SEO agency to improve your website and strengthen its backlink profile. Search Engine Optimization (also referred to as SEO), is the process of making a website rank higher and be more visible in search results. The application of that work for the benefit of ranking within a specific city, or geographic region, is known as a local SEO service.
Our Local SEO Services
Local search engine optimization means optimizing your website and backlink profile to bring in local customers, boost your online visibility, increase your website's local search rankings, and perform better in local search results. With a targeted SEO strategy, you can get better leads from specific geographic locations that can result in an expansion of your local business.
Data shows that 46% of all Google searches are local, and 89% of online users search for local businesses. These are huge numbers, and if you don't optimize for local SEO, you may miss out on some great local SEO opportunities. Being able to leverage local SEO in the right way can do wonders for your local business.
Let's take a deeper look into the importance of a local SEO services.
1.) Improve Local Search Traffic
Local SEO solutions will help drive relevant traffic to your website when used effectively.
For example, let's say you own an Italian restaurant. If you hired an SEO company that was able to rank you on the first page of search results for " Italian restaurants" you might be happy at first. However, that means you are getting traffic to your website from cities across the country where you aren't located and where you can't service. While the SEO reports that local search company provides might look great in terms of overall traffic, you are unlikely to see a boost in revenue since they weren't sending you local traffic.
To provide relevant local search results, Google often favors local businesses when people search for a product or service that is likely to be location-specific. When a local person searches for a restaurant, the search engine tends to show more nearby restaurants in its local search results. The same applies to plumbers, electricians, physicians, therapists, furniture stores, and many other local business industries.
You need expert local SEO services to help convince Google your website deserves top placements in local search results.
2.) Improve Conversion Rate
More people go through with their purchases when they are close by. The rate of converting a potential customer to an active buyer will increase.
Going with this example – if your restaurant shows up due to someone searching around that area, the rate of conversion will be high. If it is a person from a different city, they are just going to read about your restaurant and reserve information for later use. They will not become active customers yet.
3.) Lower Paid Advertising Costs
Optimizing your local SEO strategy allows you to show up higher on more search engine result pages (SERPs) for more local searches that are relevant to your local business. This will have a direct correlation to an increase in your website's online visibility, granting you more organic traffic which will inevitably increase your overall number of conversions.
4.) Steady Business Growth
As more local people become active local customers and not just potential customers, your local business will grow.
As more people click on your restaurant link, the search engine will improve your local ranking, which will increase your local search visibility. You can achieve steady growth instead of a hike and a slump (which is what can happen if you target people outside your local market. They may visit once and never again).
5.) Long-Lasting Results
You can get long-lasting local rankings through local search optimization. If your restaurant consistently shows up and people click on the link every time it comes on a local search results page, your website can maintain its local ranking.
6.) Outrank Local Competitors
If your competitors resort to traditional marketing practices like discounts, pamphlets, and billboards, they will take time to see results. When your local SEO company targets mobile search users by showing up on their phones more frequently than competitors, you can overcome the competition and create a name for yourself.
7.) Expand Local Business Opportunities
Local competitors don't have to be your mortal enemy. You can use each other as allies and boost each other's businesses at the same time.
For example, if you have a produce seller, you can buy your produce from them and save on transportation costs, but you can also promote their business and ask them to do the same for you. You can do the same with local restaurants too. You can enter new customer bases and get free advertising when you cross-promote.
8.) Increase Google Reviews
Many users or customers rely on reviews when deciding to make a purchase decision. The more local reviews you have, the more it will appeal to your target audience and increase your conversion rate. According to data, 87% of online users go by reviews which is an essential part of many local SEO campaigns.
If local people rate your restaurant higher, more people will try it. Honest reviews by real-time customers always have more value than any other advertising strategy.
9.) Optimize Mobile Searches
Most mobile phone searches happen with the filter “near me.” So when a user searches for a restaurant or any business, the first local search results that show up are local businesses. If your local SEO agency uses local SEO solutions, it will help your website appear on these local search results pages.
Only if these results are not satisfactory will the user go on to the next page of results, which will contain details about businesses a little further away.
10.) Community Support
You can increase your visibility within your local community. When you become more famous among the locals, you become a favorite soon.
If the locals like your food and visit more often, your restaurant can soon become a local hang-out or weekend dinner spot. This kind of recognition can do wonders for your business.
A Few of Our Local SEO Experts
Pricing for Local SEO Services
The cost of our local SEO services is based on the amount of time you can afford to allocate toward search engine optimization in your marketing budget. We are happy to work with budgets as low as $800/month, but frequently work with budgets considerably higher.
Please use the pricing calculator below to get an estimate for the cost of your local SEO campaign
Local SEO Cost Calculator
Answer a few simple questions about your needs and our Local SEO cost calculator will show you how affordable our Local SEO packages can be for you. To receive a personalized quote, just call 800-796-8263 or send us an email.
How Local SEO Works
When anyone performs a local search online, the search engine comes up with the best results from its database to satisfy the person's search intent. Local SEO helps to build a strong local presence to get more business from local searches. Though the searches may take place on different search engines, the local SEO mostly focuses on local search engine optimization for Google searches.
Search engines use algorithms to show the most relevant local search results to their users. Our local SEO agency makes it a priority to make sure our clients online visibility, online reputation, and online listings are all healthy while also getting better local rankings than before joining our local SEO company. It would be best to ensure that your online presence is among the top searches. Search engines look for a set of factors when performing local seo ranking for local search. Your local SEO company usually includes this on their local SEO checklist in their local seo campaign & local SEO strategy in order to improve your local SEO ranking.
These include:
- The location where the search is being performed
- Google My Business (3) (GMB) listing
- NAP citations
- The keywords in the GMB profile
- Online reviews' sentiment
- Social media shares
- Google maps rating
- Check-in rate at the location
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The Google "Map Pack" in Local SEO
The Map Pack is a Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page) feature that shows the top local business listings on a map. You can mostly find it at the very top of Google local search results.
Also known as the local pack, this map is the result you get for a search query. The map will have 3 local businesses matching your local search, shown along with their locations on the map. The algorithm is such that the local search results are always from nearby, even if you do not specify a location for your local search.
To tap into this opportunity, you must focus your efforts on having the best local SEO campaign. If you optimize your efforts for business along with location search results, your business will show up for both searches – the ones with the location mentioned and the ones without.
Track Your Map Pack Local Rankings
So, how can you know where your local business stands in terms of Map Pack, and how can you decide how much more work needs to go into it? The answer is to track your local search rankings. You need to know where you stand to decide how much more effort needs to be put in.
There are multiple local rankings map trackers you can use for this purpose. However, you need to remember that your ranking can vary from location to location, just like a local customer's local search results. So, check your local SEO ranking from the same location every time to understand the exact position of your local SEO for your local business.
Your local ranking will also vary from keyword to keyword. So, if you are particular about two or three local keywords, then during your keyword research, check for the same local keywords from the same location you want to tap into. You can choose the distance for which you want to check the local search rankings.
Choose a tracker that can show your ranking for various surrounding locations instead of just one. This way, you will get a good idea about where your business ranks in various locations around the area you are particular about.
With the same tracker, you can analyze who is outranking you in which areas. You will get a better idea about your competitors this way.
Remember, the closer your business is to where the search is done, the better the ranking. So if your competitor's business is closer than yours to location A, they will rank better there. If you are closer to location B, you will rank better there. It is difficult to rank no 1 in every location unless you don't have competitors nearby.
Organic Search in Local SEO
1.) Local SEO Audit
The regular search result is commonly known as the ‘10 blue links'. They usually appear under the local search results in the map section. Here the location does not influence the local SEO ranking; your keyword does. So, it is important to take your keyword research seriously and keep an eye on your local keywords.
The aim of you, or your professional local SEO service, should be to rank on both of these, and you need a good local SEO strategy to do so. Identify the right set of keywords, and use them in your title tag, URL, and every other search engine optimization area.
To track your local rankings across both parts, you can use the set of keywords and different locations to understand where you stand in each of those combinations.
2.) Local SEO Keyword Search
Keywords play an important role in ranking local search results. However, it is important for you, or your local SEO agency to perform keyword research to ensure that you have a high rate of success. This brings us to our next question – how to identify those keywords that can impact your local search rankings and visibility?
The local SEO keyword research is not a one-time process, but tools like Google keyword planner, Surfer SEO, and Ahref can help. They are some of the best tools for researching keywords. It will help you find the most suitable local keywords for your business to rank high.
You can incorporate it into your content seamlessly so that your website shows up in local search results. It would be best if you use long-tail keywords in addition to SEO keywords. Make sure either you or your local SEO company check your keywords with one of these tools to see what other words it generates. See what fits best for local SEO and your local business.
A note of caution from our local SEO firm is to only add your keywords to your content when it makes sense, as using too many keywords may ultimately hurt your local SEO ranking. What may seem like standard search engine optimization procedure may signal to a search engine that you might be performing a black hat SEO technique called keyword stuffing. Performing black hat local search engine optimization techniques will have lasting negative effects and is something you and your local SEO agency generally want to avoid
3.) Search Volumes
Check the search volumes for various keywords and businesses around your locality. You can find the search volume for the entire nation and narrow it down to the locality of your choice. Now, you will have a fair idea of the keywords people around you are searching for. Incorporate the appropriate ones in your content.
4.) Local Voice Searches
This is still a new feature in the online market but a game-changer for sure. It is believed that up to 58% of people use a voice search when they are looking for a local business. It has still not caught on big time because most users rely on natural language while using the voice-based search option, unlike the usual keyword-based searches.
Proper keyword research will allow you to find long-tail keywords that will help you rank higher for voice-based searches. For example: on a Google search, a user may type ‘Best Thai restaurant New York', but when it comes to voice search, the user may say ‘Best Thai Restaurant in New York that is open now'.
With online voice assistance catching up with everything (Google's Google Voice, Amazon's Alexa, and Apple's Siri), it won't be long before users predominantly use voice search. This is also a safer option while driving than typing out a query. So, start tapping into this market opening right away.
New tools are starting to pop up for voice search optimization, but make sure that you or your local SEO company develop long-tail keywords as well as other possible voice search words from your keyword research.
5.) NAP Citations
In local SEO, NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. It is incredibly important for your local SEO that either you or your local SEO company keeps these bits of information identical to one another. Local citations, which is another vital aspect of local SEO, is the mention of key this important business information. Local citations can appear in local directory listings, social networks, or review sites, both in apps and websites. Local customers will find their way to your local business or give you a call through the NAP info.
Do local citations help you rank higher in Google search results? Our local SEO company, along with many of the other local SEO companies, have accepted local citations as a key local ranking factor. Local citations are evaluated based on:
- Consistency
- Quality of information
- Quantity
- Completeness of information
Search engine optimization of the following will help you rank higher in the local search results:
- Having your NAP information on several external sites
- Keeping your citations accurate
- Optimize each point by adding as much supporting information as the fields on the site allow
Getting consistent NAP local citations across multiple websites can add value to your page and help it rank better. Ensure you apply the points mentioned earlier to when you build local citations as they are an important factor in getting a better local SEO rankings
6.) Google Business Profile
This local SEO marketing tool, previously known as Google My Business, contains local business listings where you can place your business information. It is completely free and allows your local business to appear in the map pack and on Google maps. More than 35% of the best local SEO agencies, including our local SEO company, believe that your Google Business Profile is one of the top-ranking factors for getting local search visibility on the map pack. About 10% of local business SEO services believe that it is essential for better local rankings and increased organic results.
Another piece of information that our local SEO marketing company found was that local customers are 70% more likely to visit a business with a complete Google Business Profile and 50% more likely to purchase. To ensure that your business profile is optimized, be specific about:
Your business category – You or your small business SEO specialists must mention all categories you cover.
Business hours and holidays –You don't want your hours to be displayed incorrectly which might turn away potential customers from coming in.
Your address – If your client has to dig around to find the physical location of your business, they might be inclined to move on to the next business that might be easier to find.
Your service area for delivery or visits to customers – Your service area and area of business operation can be in two different places. An easy way to improve your local SEO performance can be to provide this information to Google. It will also help prevent your customers from wasting time by further hunting down the information.
The products and services you offer – Our local SEO company has found that if a customer's search intent is for something specific, they may pass on stores that sell similar items, but not that exact one they are looking for.
For example, if you are searching for a specific brand of shoe, you won't go into a “multi-brand” outlet store unless your specific brand stores are sold out. So, mentioning which products you sell can contribute towards local SEO.
Add photos – Local SEO companies from around the globe all suggest that you, or your local SEO company, add photos of your business space, happy clients, and products.
Ask customers to submit reviews – Local SEO agencies find that customers trust reviews from other local customers more than what you have to say about your own business.
7.) Online Reviews
Your local SEO ranking can depend on your online reviews. The more positive reviews you get, the more likely you are to climb to the top of the local search rankings. However, don't ever opt for paid bulk reviews because they are not consistent, and if Google finds out, you may even be banned.
Negative reviews can hurt you in two ways. First, negative reviews can hurt your business's online reputation, and second, they will make it hard for your business to climb to the top of the local SEO rankings. Most businesses do get negative reviews, but it also depends on how you handle them. Our local SEO company suggests that you be proactive and answer the negative reviews by explaining your position to pacify the users and rectify the situation.
It can be very tempting to defend your business or your team's actions. Even if it is the customer's fault, you need to be aware of the bias the reader will have toward their own (customer). A harsh or rather directly hitting kind of a reply can ruin your reputation.
A diplomatic answer that is both polite and explanatory can improve your credibility among your audience. If you manage to pull this off, you might even have a chance for the upset customer to change their negative review into a positive one. In addition to local SEO services, our digital marketing team here at WebCitz also specializes in reputation management, if your company requires it.
Tips for Local SEO
Now that you understand what local SEO is and some of the various important factors that go into local SEO, we have a few tips that can help you while you construct your perfect SEO strategy.
Use social media: There is no denying the impact of social media when trying to broaden the reach of your local business to the local audience. Make sure to share your Google Business Profile on your social media handles which will lead people toward your local business.
NAP audit: Check and ensure that your NAP local citations are the same everywhere, be it your website, Google Business Profile, local directory listings, niche directories, or local listings. Aim for 100% consistency across all platforms to maximize trustworthiness and the effectiveness of your local campaigns.
Local SEO audit: Once you have the basics of local business SEO fundamentals, you can perform a local SEO audit. A good audit will include GMB, NAP citation, website audits, and competitor analysis.
Adding location pages to your website: If your business has more than one location, it is best practice to create a separate page with a unique description for each location. If you are only targeting one location, create an About page with location-based keywords in the description. Embed a Google map with the precise location of your business.
Create local content: Google likes it if its users read the content, so you need to create content not just for the search engines but also for the users. Feature local news and other interesting content to attract the local users' attention. This will also help you gain the confidence of the local customers.
Mobile-friendly websites: According to Google, the ‘near me' searches on mobile phones have increased by 250% since 2017. So you must optimize your website for mobile devices. Ask your local SEO marketing company to make sure the mobile phone experience is as smooth and flawless as the desktop experience.
Link building for local SEO: Link building is an essential task that your local SEO service provider can perform. Link building is a local SEO strategy to move organic traffic from one area of your site to an area that is more optimized for conversions. Link building is comprised of internal and external links which tell Google that your website has strong connections and therefore strong domain authority, which is great for local SEO. Collaborate with other local businesses for mutual benefits and look for specific web pages that can be used for creating backlinks to your site when conducting link-building strategies.
The best way to start link building is to list and link all your local suppliers, allies, and other businesses nearby. If you tell your local customers what other great businesses they can find next to you, they may change their purchase or visit decision and come to your area to get more work done by only going to a single location.
Going with the restaurant example – If you buy fresh produce from your local market, then you or your local SEO company should link that market up on your website. You or your local SEO company should also ask the market to link your website to their website. This has the potential to increase your business for when a customer of the market you shop at learns that you get the same fresh produce that they buy from their beloved market, they may be more inclined to try out your restaurant. The same good fortune can happen for the market when one of your customers clicks through the details on your website and buy from your supplier. Both of you will benefit by incorporating link building as part of your local SEO strategy.
Search engines will find this very resourceful and improve your local SEO ranking. As many people foolishly skip this step, implementing link building in your local SEO strategy, your page will stand out to search engines & local audiences alike. It will also encourage the linked businesses to mention your business on their pages, increasing your online presence.
Fill Every Detail: Google shows how “Complete” your profile is. The higher that percentage, the better it is for your page's local search engine optimization. When Google recognizes your page is complete and has all the details required, the local ranking goes up. A website with incomplete details will not rank well on a SERP. If that is the case, make sure you reach out to local SEO agencies for assistance.
Schema Mark-up: Do some research and identify the schemas that work well for your local business listings. Use them on your website to increase your local search optimization. Though search engines may not give too much importance to ranking, you can benefit from it if you use the right schema.
Title tag: You, or your local SEO agency, should include a relevant title tag on the very top of your website. You will want to use the focus keyword that you want your customer to associate you with.
If you are a Dine-in and takeaway restaurant for a particular cuisine, mention that. So, when a customer searches for a restaurant of a particular cuisine, your page will tell them they can dine in or just take away the food. When they enter a search query, the title tag gives them all the answers without having to click and check the details inside.
Title Tag Cliffhangers: Using a strong statement before your title tag will add more value to it for your local SEO. For example – if your webpage is about car cleaning services, instead of using the title tag “car cleaner,” use something like “The best car cleaners for interiors and upholstery.”
If the tag runs beyond Google's limit, the entire text will not be shown; instead, it will trail off. Clicking on it will reveal the full detail, which will prompt more clicks. Customers will want to know what it is exactly and click on the link, resulting in organic CTR and better local SEO.
Provide A Map: Either you or your local SEO marketing company should embed a Google map with your location on your website to improve your local SEO. This makes it very easy for the local customers to find you. It also shows Google you are authentic and can be found in a specific spot.
Mistakes to Avoid When Optimizing for Local Search Results
While you work on your local SEO strategy and use various techniques to stay on top of the local business listings and local search rankings of popular search engines, make sure your mindset is that of the best local SEO company so that you don't make the following local SEO mistakes.
1.) Skipping Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is an important part of local SEO and increases your online visibility by putting your business on the search engine's local directory listings. Missing this crucial step can cost you dearly. When people search for businesses near them, search engines provide the Google Business Profile listing results.
So, if you do not find your business on the local business listings, your page will not be part of the SERP. Not featuring as one of the results for a relevant search is as good as not existing online. Unless someone specifically searches for your page, they may not come across your page. If you want to make sure that your business has a strong Google Business Profile, make sure to get in contact with a the local SEO marketing team that has both reputable & affordable local SEO services.
2.) Duplicate Listing
You cannot try to increase your presence by creating duplicates of your page on your Google Business Profile. Google hates duplicates, and having duplicates of your listing is against Google's terms of service.
Not sure if you have a duplicate listing of your business profile? There are tools to help you out, like Moz's free list checking tool. If you discover duplicate listings, contact the search engine and ask them to remove them. Otherwise, you can have the professionals at your local SEO agency fix it for you.
3.) Important Information Absent
One of the most crucial pieces of information about your business profile page is the category your business belongs to. You may fit into more than one category, this can help your local SEO marketing efforts. As your local SEO guide, we think that it is important to mention them all. A question you should be asking yourself is when a person browses through that category of listings, can they find you and get to your local landing pages?
When you neglect to mention the categories, your page will not appear in a single relevant local search. This is but one example of why local search optimization is an important aspect of a strong local SEO campaign. For example – if you do not mention that your business belongs to the food and restaurant category, it will not show up on a single local search on any of the search engines for a “restaurant” near them or the cuisine you serve. Make sure you have a local SEO marketing company that specializes in pleasing search engines through general search engine optimization as well as local business SEO.
4.) No Contact Information
When a potential customer performs a local search for something and your webpage shows up due to your strong local presence, they will need your contact details. When there is no valid or working contact number, they will just move on to the next local search result.
For example, if a customer wants to book a table for lunch and the search engine shows your business as one of the top results, but you do not have a contact number, how will they reach you?
When someone is searching on their mobile phone, they will not take the time to search multiple sources or check your website thoroughly to find a contact number. They will just move to the next restaurant on the list and book the table.
One good way to avoid this is to contact the local SEO marketing company with the best local SEO services in your area and see if their local SEO packages can work for you! Lots of local SEO experts claim to have a strong SEO strategy, but many of their SEO services lacking the local business SEO department. The best local business SEO companies will have a large local SEO marketing team who can conduct all of the local SEO services that you might need.
5.) Inconsistent NAP Details
You cannot give a different name, address, or phone number for various listings. Ensure that these details are consistent everywhere. Google will compare these details from every source you provide. It will cross-check the details you give on your website with what there is on your Google Business Profile and other business websites.
When you have inconsistent information because you forgot to update the latest details in a few sources, Google can not only lower your rankings when a person conducts a local search, but Google can also delist your business. Even if Google does not interfere, your potential customers might contact the wrong number which will ultimately lose you the business due to poor local SEO. Make sure to find out which local SEO marketing business has the best local SEO strategy with the best local SEO pricing.
6.) Missing Details
Search engines require important local citations and details to be present on your profile. Even if the details are consistent, they may not rank highly in a local search if crucial information is missing. Do not miss the details you need to provide and have your local SEO service provider look over your local SEO checklist to ensure all your listings are the same.
7.) Lack Of Quality Content
Some pages just fill up the space to show a page full of content. A lack of relevant or quality content will not encourage the search engine to list and rank your page. It is common knowledge that your website content plays an important role in SEO. Links and backlinks come in later.
Even if you only target the local market, you still need quality content. Not reviewing or updating your content can cause you to lose your ranking on the search engine. As competitors emerge and start using the latest techniques and tactics, it is important to stay on top of the game.
8.) Lack Of Links
One of the key factors in successful SEO is link building. One of the biggest mistakes many websites make, both old and new, is to forget links. This is an on-page SEO strategy that is imperative to any local SEO campaign. Both links and backlinks are important on-page SEO tools to increase the visibility of your website when a person conducts a local search using search engines.
In local SEO, you can create links to local businesses that you are friendly with to increase your on-page SEO and vice versa. When people find details about your local business when they visit other websites, it will drive traffic to your website. This on-page SEO is great for your local business SEO. More traffic is due to relevant links and useful information, thereby increasing your local rankings on any given local search on various search engines.
9.) Forgetting Social Media
One has to agree with the many local SEO experts who say that social media is an integral part of any business today which must be considered when thinking about the whole local SEO package. Even the best local SEO company in the world uses every channel they can to promote their business. You can reach a large part of your target audience through social media. You don't only have to promote your business among your target audience, but you can ally yourself with other businesses who can help promote you too.
Forgetting this precious local SEO marketing tool by being inactive on social media can hurt your ranking and rating among the audience. When you are active on social media, Google will notice your business and activity. If you have a good rate of interaction on your social media page, it will have a positive effect on your local SEO campaign and can help boost your ranking and increase your visibility when a person performs a local search for your business.
10.) Not Asking For Reviews
Customer reviews can make or break businesses today. Having no customer reviews will hurt your credibility and local SEO. If you don't put in the effort to get online reviews from your customers, you will be compromising on an important marketing tool and may not achieve the best local SEO you can achieve.
It can be challenging to get a customer to post a review, but our local SEO experts suggest you ask your customers for a positive review every time they buy from you. Reviews will help boost your search engine optimization, and if your business is good, you're bound to get loads of positive reviews that will add lots of good value to your website. Most businesses end up getting a couple of bad reviews, but you can always look through a local SEO marketing company's local SEO packages to see if their local SEO services include reputation management. If you have lots of bad reviews, find local SEO services in your area with affordable local SEO pricing might be the best local SEO decision you can make for your company's local SEO campaign.
11.) Forgetting Meta Description For Local SEO
Missing out on your meta description or stuffing it with keywords can hurt your local SEO. When you stuff it with keywords or leave it completely blank, you are not telling the potential customers what you can do or how you can be useful to them. By leaving out this local SEO strategy in your local SEO campaign, it discourages people from checking out what your website or business is all about as they won't get a snippet of your business information on their local search. If you're having a tough time finding where to edit your meta descriptions, and perform a local search to check out our local business SEO services and see if our local SEO pricing can benefit your local SEO campaign.
How to Fix Local SEO Issues
Now that you know what are the mistakes to avoid with local SEO strategies, what can you do if you have found that some of those errors exist on your website? It would be best to start fixing them as soon as possible as it can harm your ranking and local SEO.
Here are some ideas that might help rectify the negative impact and reverse the damages:
1.) Add Content
Updating your content from time to time is important to stay on top of the local rankings on search engines. Search engines send out crawlers to keep checking on the content as the search engines only want to provide their users with new and relevant content. The newer content you have, the better your chances of showing up on a local search page consistently. Our local SEO services team makes sure to touch our content periodically to ensure that search engines keep delivering it to users who perform a local search for it.
2.) Add Links
You, or your local SEO digital marketing team, should focus on link building. Creating a web of internal links, backlinks, and links to other related local businesses is a great way to improve your local SEO. The higher number of credible links you have, the better your local SEO ranking will be.
If you have to update or add any new links, check the old links first. Ensure they are working before beginning to add new links to your website. If a link is broken or does not serve its original purpose, remove it to avoid wasting the customer's time. Our local SEO services team will use tools, such as Ahrefs, to locate and remove broken links to improve our client's local SEO ranking.
3.) Get More Positive Reviews
Ask your customers to post positive, five-star reviews. There is no guarantee your customers will oblige, but it doesn't hurt to ask! Send them emails and messages with links to make it easy for them to use. Positive five-star reviews are great for search engine optimization and they look great when your local customers make a local search.
The reason why you want to make it easy for your customers is that if they have to maneuver through multiple links until they reach the reviews section, they will not waste their time or worse, it might put them in a bad mood which could affect their review. They will be more willing to review you positively if you provide them with a quick link.
4.) Update Details
If your NAP details are not up to date, make sure you, or your local SEO services team takes the time to correct them. Ensure that your latest contact number and location details are available both on your website and your Google Business Profile. If your local citations on a third-party website are wrong, get in touch with them and request that they change it so that it won't affect your local search engine optimization.
5.) Check Consistency
If details are different on various websites, update them and make sure that they all carry the exact same details as to not affect your local SEO.
6.) Remove Duplicates
One of the best local SEO bits of advice we can give is to get rid of any duplicate pages you have and to keep only the top-ranking page. Suppose a duplicate listing has more traffic than even the original. Keep the one that is performing the best and delete the rest. This former duplicate page will become the single original content moving forward.
7.) Embrace Social Media
Get on social media and become an active member in your community. There are many social media gurus that you can find online who all provide excellent tips. Our local SEO services team suggests that you try to incorporate those tips into your local SEO strategy to improve your search engine optimization. It will gain you a lot of recognition and will also offer tremendous results for your business's local rankings. Our local SEO services team specializes in social media management, so if you need a boost in your local SEO, let us know so we can provide the local SEO services you need.
Local SEO FAQs
What is local SEO?
Local SEO focuses on optimizing a business's online presence to attract more traffic from relevant local searches on search engines. It's particularly important for retail and service businesses that serve specific towns, cities, or regions.
Why is local SEO crucial for my small business?
If your business depends on local customers, then local SEO ensures you're visible when they're searching for the services or products you offer. It drives organic, local traffic to your website and can increase foot traffic if you have a physical location.
How does local SEO differ from general SEO?
While general SEO focuses on improving your site's visibility on a national or global scale, local SEO targets local search specifically. It emphasizes strategies like optimizing Google My Business, acquiring local reviews, and building citations.
What is Google My Business, and why is it essential?
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool from Google that lets you manage how your business appears in Google Search and Maps. A well-optimized GMB profile can help your business feature prominently in local search results and attract more customers.
How do online reviews impact local SEO?
Reviews play a significant role in local search. Positive reviews can not only enhance your business's reputation but also improve its local search rankings. We'll help you devise strategies to garner genuine, positive reviews from your customers.
What are citations, and why are they important?
Citations are online mentions of your business, including its name, address, and phone number. They're crucial for local SEO because consistent citations across various platforms reinforce your business's legitimacy to search engines.
How does local link building differ from general link building?
Local link building focuses on obtaining backlinks from locally relevant sites, like local directories, news outlets, or community blogs. These local links further emphasize your business's association with a particular region.
How long does it take to see results with local SEO?
Local SEO is an ongoing process. Some businesses might notice improvements in a few months, while others may need longer, especially in competitive markets. Regular updates, monitoring, and strategy adjustments are key to sustained success.
How do you measure the success of a local SEO campaign?
We use a mix of metrics including, but not limited to, local search rankings, Google My Business insights, website traffic from local searches, and conversion rates. Regular reports will provide insights into these metrics and our ongoing strategy.
Final Thoughts on Local Search Engine Optimization
Local SEO is an amazing way to increase awareness about a business or brand and increase sales. That is why it should be an integral part of your overall marketing strategy. You can say that local SEO is like a subdivision of SEO. Where SEO focuses on getting higher search rankings worldwide, local SEO aims for higher rankings in specific areas, such as your city or town.
All forms of SEO are seen through the business lense as a long-term game. It often takes months to see any improvement in your search rankings through efforts in SEO. However, if you plan to be in business for more than a few months, SEO is by far one of the best investments you can make for your online business. If you need assistance with your local SEO long-term game, our digital marketing team at WebCitz is here to help. We've helped many businesses improve their standings on both world, national, and local search results pages. Contact us today to inquire about how we may be able to help your business succeed in the local landscape.
Hear what our customers are saying
Cassie Richards
Working with WebCitz has been nothing but a great experience. David, Jake, Drew, and the rest of the team are easy to work with, accommodating, and very knowledgeable. WebCitz is a company that you can trust will be there when you need them most. If I’m having an issue or problem with a website, I can always count on a quick response and a timely solution.
Kendrick Jacobs
Corey G at WebCitz was so professional and patient while helping us solve our issues. We appreciate his help so much. This company definitely needs more people like him. Amazing customer service! Thank you Corey G! (:
Carissa Giebel
They are great to work with. Always quick to respond to my questions and assist when needed! They have been working with me at Legacy Law Group, LLC for many years.
George Ormond
Corey was extremely helpful and spent a considerable amount of time going over my difficulties with a newly created website put together by someone else. I was under a very stressful deadline and he was extremely considerate and helpful. He managed to fix the problems that I was experiencing with my website. I had reached out to a number of website developers for help but only heard back from WebCitz and Corey got back to me within minutes!
Tara Candland
Incredibly responsive, fast, and professional. They quickly understood the issue we were having with our site, which was fairly complicated, and were able to resolve it. They kept us updated in lay terms along the way so that we could understand how the issue was progressing.
Southwest Radio Church
What can I say about this company? These people that work there? Unbelievable!! It doesn't matter when or why you call, they will help you. The other part of that statement is: I never have to call them! They made a web site for us that works 24/7. But if I do call they actually take care of it right then. ... great bunch of guys...Southwest Radio Church really appreciates you!!
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When looking for an SEO expert, it helps to find a freelancer or agency with a strong background in multiple skillsets such as technical, on-page, and off-page optimization. The ability to provide good communication and work effectively with a team is also important.
Check out how we've been able to help people across multiple business industries implement effective SEO campaigns.
When searching for professional SEO agencies in the United States, it is critical to assess their understanding of technical, on-site, and off-site search engine optimization strategies. This will help you understand if you are choosing an SEO company with experience in all aspects of search engine optimization. Beyond that, look for a history of satisfactory results and effective communication.
When looking for the best SEO experts serving Canada, it is important to assess their understanding of technical, on-page, and off-page SEO strategies. This will help you understand if you are choosing an SEO agency with experience in all aspects of search engine optimization. Beyond that, look for a history of past results and proof of effective communication.
