Want the quickest way to bring in new customers to your business?
Local businesses miss out on thousands of customers each month. They don’t show up when people search online for the services or products they offer. 46% of all Google searches are local, and if you are not local search optimized, then you might as well be invisible.
The good news is, it’s not rocket science to build a local SEO strategy. If you play your cards right, you can crush the local competition and leave your competition in the dust.
Here’s what you can expect in this guide:
- Why Small Businesses Need Local SEO Right Now
- The Core Elements of Local Search Optimization
- How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile
- Building Local Citations That Actually Work
- Getting Reviews Without Being Annoying
Why Small Businesses Need Local SEO Right Now
When was the last time you cracked open a phone book and looked up a business?
…crickets chirping…
You see, no one uses phone books anymore. People whip out their phone and search for “best pizza near me” or “plumber in [city name]” and expect to find what they need in a second.
If you run a local business and you have not invested in local SEO services, you are missing out. Working with a local SEO agency can help you capture those high intent searches when customers are looking for your product or service.
The best part?
80% of US consumers search online for local businesses at least once per week. That’s a HUGE chunk of your target audience actively searching for local businesses like yours right this second.
Local businesses struggle with local SEO. I can’t tell you how many small businesses ignore it completely, or worse yet, do local SEO wrong. Local is way too competitive for that. The average business that shows up for local search has a half dozen or more local SEO specialists working on their campaign.
The good news is, most of these businesses are NOT doing local SEO right. Which means, there is a massive opportunity for you to swoop in and take the top spots.
The Core Elements of Local Search Optimization
There is one key difference between local SEO and normal SEO…
You’re targeting buyers who are ready to purchase NOW.
These are not accidental browsers, these are real people actively looking for a business like yours in their area.
So if you want to capture the SERPs for these active buyers, you need to have strong optimization around these core elements:
Your Google Business Profile serves as the virtual storefront for your business. When people search for your type of business, your profile shows up in the Google Map Pack.
Local citations are mentions of your business name, address and phone number across the web. Google reads these citations to verify that you are a real, physical business.
Reviews are social proof that your business provides quality service. Businesses with large quantities of recent reviews receive a big boost from Google.
Simple right? Ok, now for the hard part…
Most businesses will set up their business profile and citations once and then never look at them again. Local SEO is not a set-it-and-forget-it type of deal. To stay on top, you have to play an active role.
How to Optimize Your Google Business Profile
Your Google Business Profile is the most important element of local SEO.
Why? Because it determines whether or not your business shows up in the Google Map Pack and businesses in that Map Pack show up way more often than businesses that do not.
Ok, so here’s what you need to do:
- Claim and verify your profile, if you have not already. Google will need to verify that you own the business before you can make any changes.
- Fill out every section completely. Add your business hours, photos, services, and a detailed business description. Google loves businesses with complete profiles and ranks them higher.
- Choose the correct categories. Your primary category describes to Google what your business does. Select the most specific category that describes your main service or product.
- Keep your profile updated. Change hours? Change them immediately. Have new photos? Upload them. Google loves active businesses with fresh, up-to-date content.
One more thing…
You have a limited number of characters for your business description. Use it wisely. This is your opportunity to naturally sprinkle in keywords and mention what you do and where you’re located. But do not keyword stuff.
Building Local Citations That Actually Work
Citations can be a total snooze fest. But they are so so powerful for local rankings.
Think of citations as recommendations or endorsements from other websites. The more consistent your citations are, the more likely Google will trust your business info.
Start with these big players first:
- Google Business Profile
- Bing Places
- Apple Maps
- Yelp
But don’t stop there. There are a ton of industry specific directories out there that can give your local rankings a boost. Plumbers should be on Angie’s List. Restaurants should be on TripAdvisor. Figure out the directories that are important for your industry and get listed.
The critical part:
Your business name, address and phone number MUST be EXACTLY the same across every single listing. The littlest difference can trip Google up and hurt your rankings.
Getting Reviews Without Being Annoying
Reviews are huge for local SEO.
Google considers reviews a major ranking factor. In most cases, the more reviews you have, the higher you will rank. But more is not all. Fresh reviews have more weight than old ones.
Ok, so how do you get more reviews?
- Make it stupid simple to leave you a review. Send your customers a direct link to your Google review page. Do not make them search for you.
- Ask at the right time. As in, right after you’ve provided stellar customer service.
- Do not be afraid to follow up politely. If someone does not leave a review right away, send them a gentle reminder a few days later.
And something most businesses do not do…
Respond to every single review, even negative ones. Good or bad, take the time to respond. Let potential customers know that you care about customer service.
Creating Location-Specific Content
If you want to rank for multiple locations where you service, then you need to create location specific content.
Dedicate an entire page for each location you service. Do not just add the city name to your homepage. Create actual pages for each location with content unique to that location.
Mention local landmarks, neighborhoods where you service, and things specific to that area that you provide service for. This helps Google know exactly where you do business.
For instance, say you’re a plumber and you service three different cities. Create three separate pages, and make each page unique to that specific city’s plumbing services.
The one thing:
Do not duplicate content across these pages. Google hates that. Make the content on each page GENUINELY unique.
Tracking Your Local SEO Results
So how do you know if your strategy is working?
Track these metrics each month:
Google Business Profile insights tell you how many people viewed your listing, called you, or requested directions.
Ranking positions for target keywords tell you if you are moving up, or down. Use a rank tracking tool to see how you are performing.
Conversion data is the ultimate metric. Are you getting more calls? More business? That’s the true sign your efforts are working.
Local SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. Do not get discouraged if you do not see immediate results. Most businesses start to see movement at around 3-6 months.
Let’s Wrap This Up
Local SEO is one of the single most effective ways to grow a small business in the digital age.
By building a rock solid Google Business Profile, gathering consistent local citations, soliciting reviews, and crafting location-specific content you can dominate local search results.
Big businesses with big budgets lose out to small businesses that understand how Google works and are willing to put in the elbow grease to stay on top.
So go ahead and give it a shot. Start building out these strategies today and before you know it your local visibility will be through the roof. Your competition won’t even know what hit them.