When you’re looking for a local product or service, where do you turn for help? If you’re like most digital-age consumers, you find your answers on the internet. In fact, research has shown that more than 95% of consumers turn to the internet to find information about local businesses — and more than 20% do so every day. Further, nearly half of all Google searches are made in an effort to find local information.
Many Local Search Routes, 1 Likely Result
Local searches, of course, can be performed in a number of ways. Maybe you pull out your smartphone to search for nearby restaurants. Or perhaps you hop on your laptop to seek out a local hardware store selling that need-it-now tool or part required to complete the job. Or maybe you perform a voice search via your smart speaker to find local movie listings.
But whichever of these routes you choose, chances are that the local business you end up opting for found its way to the top of your search results via a singular tactic that works for all of these search styles — local search engine optimization (aka local SEO). And here’s one more stat to show how powerful the tactic can be for businesses: Nearly 80% of location-based mobile searches result in an offline purchase.
6 (More) Tips for Boosting Your Business With Local SEO
We’ve already devoted one recent blog post to local SEO — and this article, titled “8 Tips for Boosting Your Business With Local SEO,” is a great place to get started gaining the knowledge needed to elevate your business’s local SEO game.
But local SEO is such a powerful tactic, we just didn’t feel that one blog article was enough. So without further ado, here are six more tips that can help elevate your business’s or brand’s search ranking when area consumers go online to seek out the products and/or services you’re offering:
1. Ensure NAP consistency
Ensuring that your business’s Name, Address and Phone number (NAP) information is consistent online is essential for local SEO, as it directly influences your business’s ranking in local search results. Search engines like Google use NAP data to assess the authenticity and relevance of a business. When this information is consistent across various online platforms and directories, it signals to search engines that the business is legitimate and reliable, which can boost its visibility in local searches. Further, accurate NAP details are critical for facilitating local citations, which are a key factor in local SEO rankings. Inconsistent or inaccurate NAP information can lead to reduced search rankings, customer confusion and diminished credibility in the digital marketplace. Maintaining NAP consistency helps ensure that your business is easily and accurately found by potential customers, enhancing both its online presence and customer trust.
2. Level up your internal linking structure
Internal links connect various pages within your website, guiding users and search engines through your site’s content. An effective internal linking structure helps distribute page authority across your website, enhancing the SEO value of individual pages. This is particularly important for local businesses, as it allows for the strategic directing of users and search engine crawlers to locality-specific pages, such as location-based service pages or contact information.
Additionally, well-structured internal links enhance the user experience by providing intuitive navigation and relevant content connections, which can lead to longer site visits and increased engagement. This user behavior signals to search engines that your site is valuable and relevant to search queries, potentially boosting your search rankings.
3. Leverage local keywords
One highly effective way to directly target consumers in your specific geographic area: Use local keywords. These are search terms that include location-specific phrases, such as “coffee shop in Myrtle Beach” or “Charlotte tax attorney.” Integrating such local keywords into your website’s content, meta tags and URLs helps search engines understand the geographical focus of your business, making it more likely to appear in search results for those local areas. Further, local keywords often face less competition than more generic terms, increasing your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.
4. Increase quality inbound links
You can also boost your website’s authority and search engine rankings through increasing quality inbound links, also known as backlinks. Backlinks are links from other websites that direct users to your site. High-quality inbound links, especially from reputable, locally relevant sources, signal to search engines like Google that your website is credible and valuable. This is particularly important for local businesses, as backlinks from local organizations, newspapers or community websites can greatly enhance local search visibility.
Search engines use these links as a key ranking factor, considering them endorsements of your website’s content. The more authoritative and relevant these links are, the more they boost your website’s authority, leading to higher rankings in search results.
5. Complete a local SEO audit
Completing a local SEO audit is also helpful for businesses aiming to improve their online visibility and attract more local customers. Focusing on key factors influencing a business’s performance in local search results, this comprehensive evaluation typically examines critical local SEO elements such as Google Business Profile completeness, local citations and NAP consistency, website optimization for local keywords, the quality and quantity of local backlinks, and online reviews and ratings.
A local SEO audit can help identify strengths and weaknesses in your current local SEO strategy. It pinpoints areas where improvements can boost local search rankings, such as optimizing your website for local search terms or ensuring your NAP information is consistent across all online platforms. This audit also assesses your business’s visibility in local search results compared to competitors, providing insights into competitive strategies. Further, it can reveal issues that might be hindering your online presence, such as inaccurate or missing listings in local directories or insufficient local content on your website.
6. Elevate your involvement in the local community
Getting more involved in your local community can boost your digital PR in your area, leading to organic, local brand exposure, and helping foster added trust and recognition among local customers. Activities like sponsoring local events, participating in community-service projects or partnering with local businesses can create opportunities for natural mentions and backlinks from local websites, including news outlets, community blogs and event pages. As discussed above, these local backlinks are highly valuable to your local SEO efforts, as they reinforce your business’s relevance and authority in the local area.
Further, community engagement often results in positive reviews and word-of-mouth, both of which are influential in local search rankings. Engaging with your community can also provide opportunities to create rich, local content for your website and social media platforms, further optimizing your local SEO efforts. By establishing a strong local presence, businesses can not only improve their search engine visibility, but also build lasting relationships within their community — a clear way to boost long-term success and customer loyalty.
Brandon: Your Local SEO Specialists
Is your local business looking to land at the top of the search results when consumers in your area are seeking your offerings online? At Brandon, our team of certified brand strategists and data-driven marketing professionals specializes in marketing for local businesses and has a wealth of experience in boosting clients’ search engine rankings with local SEO — and driving more potential customers to their websites and through their doors.
Further, our fully integrated marketing firm can cover the entire spectrum of your brand’s marketing needs, including search engine marketing for local businesses, social media, email marketing, e-commerce, digital marketing, media, creative, analytics, public relations, brand strategy, web design and more — all in one place. To get started with help ranging from a simple website analysis to a comprehensive strategy tailored to boost the performance of all your marketing campaigns, contact us today.