How to Improve Your Local SEO Ranking
Local SEO is one of the most effective ways to promote your small business to local customers. With the rise of smartphone users, customers now search for the best local businesses using their voice search feature. Local SEO focuses on providing search results that are within the same area of a searcher. This article will tell you all about some of the most important factors that can affect your local ranking.
1. Quality Local Content
Just like organic SEO, having quality content will significantly boost your local ranking. It allows you to earn authoritative backlinks. Your content also serves as a means to build trust with your customers while also encouraging them to buy your products or services. Last but not least, it offers you a chance to target the right local customers. Here are some tips that can help you create better content:
Answer Customers’ Needs
In order to create successful local content, you have to know what kind of problems your customers need to solve. Doing so will give you insight into the purpose behind their searches. Hiring a digital marketing agency to help create your content is a good idea as they often have a better understanding of what your local market needs the most.
Try Different Types of Content
Instead of writing nothing but traditional articles, try to branch out and do other types of content, such as video tutorials or visual diagrams. The most important thing to keep in mind is that the content needs to answer your customers’ problems. For example, how-to articles are very useful for your customers, which means that they are able to generate more traffic to your website.
Local Keywords
Another thing that you can do to increase your local ranking is to include the local keywords for your titles. If your location is in Chicago, try adding “Chicago” to your title. Articles that involve lists can give you an opportunity to do that. For example, you can write an article on “Best Fashion Brands in Chicago” to attract more local audiences. This is also helpful to boost your rank for voice search questions as well.
2. Google My Business Listing
Google My Business (GMB) is another effective tool that you can use as part of your SEO strategy. If you have a strong GMB profile, there are higher chances for your business to appear in Google’s Google Maps, Local Pack, and Local Finder, as well as in the local search results pages. Below are some tips to optimise your GMB account:
- Make sure your NAP details are up-to-date.
- Select the most relevant category for your business.
- Write a detailed description of your business, including all relevant links.
- Make sure your website link is correct.
- Include high-quality pictures of your business.
- Add other helpful information about your business, such as a map.
3. Local Business Directories
GMB is simply one of the platforms that can help with your exposure. However, it is simply not enough. Business review sites, such as Yelp, are where you should get your company listed as customers will visit these sites as the first places they go to when they need more information to decide whether or not they want to work with you. Other business directories that you can benefit from are Bing Places, MerchantCircle, TripAdvisor, Foursquare, and many others. You can do more research if you want to find out how you can use these sites to your advantage.
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