Local SEO is a lot different than a standard SEO campaign, and local search results are increasing and changing faster than any other searches. Local SEO provides the searcher results based on their location. So, if I were to search for “Restaurants open for brunch”, “Restaurants near me”, or “Restaurants near Philadelphia, Pa.”, most like the results I would get would be very similar because search engines are becoming more intelligent and understand which queries are localized and which are not.
The rise of local SEO is a result of mobile technology. Recent polls show that more than 40% searches perform on a mobile device are location based. If your potential customers are searching for your products or service while near your business, then you want them to be able to find you immediately. Local searchers aren’t just browsing your site, they want to find your location and visit your business. With so many searches happening based on location, a local SEO campaign is important for lead conversions.
So how can you make sure that your business appears when people do local searches?
- First, if you haven’t done so already, you’ll want to claim your Google My Business page, as well as local business pages with Bing and Yahoo. You want to make sure that your Google My Business page is fully optimized with all the correct information. There’s plenty of articles that explain this process including a recent video from our CEO Sue McCrossin about correcting issues on your Google My Business page.
- Second, make sure that your business’ correct full name, address and phone number or NAP are found on every page of your site. As well as use schema.org markup on your name, address and phone number in order to provide search engines what they need to display your business’ information correctly.
- Lastly Linkbuilding- Local link building is extremely important for your Local SEO campaign, even more so than for your standard SEO campaign. Start by researching local online directories or using tools like Ahrefs and Open Site Explorer to see where your competitors are getting local links from. It’s extremely important that your business name, address and phone number are accurate because any incorrect or conflicting data will confuse search engines, which can have a negative effect on your rankings.
If you want more information on how a local SEO campaign can help your business, contact us today!
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