According to Digital Googly US, an SEO company in New Jersey, local SEO is the process of boosting your brand’s presence in local search to attract more local customers or clients.
There are hundreds of local SEO guides, and it can be complex. Therefore, our SEO experts came together to compile a list of seven tips that everyone can use to boost their local rankings:
Tip No. 1: Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is free, and everyone can claim it. It is a local listing with information about your business. Once it is claimed, the information you add to your profile will appear in Google’s web search results and Google Maps.
You can claim your profile through Google My Business, Google’s free tool for managing your business profile.
Here’s how you can claim your business profile:
- Go to Google My Business
- Click Manage now
- Sign in to your Google Account
- Search for your business name
- Select the correct business
- Click Manage now
You’ll be able to manage your profile using Google My Business.
According to the SEO company in New Jersey, here are the five most essential optimizations you should make –
- Business type – Google divides businesses into three categories: storefront, service-area, and hybrid businesses. If you serve your customers only at your business address, set your address and leave the service area field empty. If you visit or deliver your products or service to customers, as is the case for a plumber or mobile hairdresser, set your service area(s) and clear the address. Add your address and set your service areas if you do both.
- Business category – There are a lot of options here. Take a minute to go through the options and choose the most appropriate one.
- Business hours – Mention the time during which you will serve your customers. It’s crucial to list accurate business hours as people will not visit or call if they think you are closed. You should also mention the holiday hours so that folks know if and when you’re open during holidays.
- Add photos – According to Google, photos will help you receive 42% more requests and 35% more website clicks.
- Add your website – Add your website as it is your business’s digital store. People trust companies who have a website linked to their profile.
Tip No. 2: Do local keyword research
The foundation of local SEO is knowing how local customers search for the products or services you offer and including these keywords in your content. Therefore, it is essential to conduct thorough local keyword research to target your messages to the right prospects.
Here is how you can do it:
- Make a list of your products or services
- Paste your list into a Keywords Explorer
- Navigate to the Matching terms report
- Look for relevant keywords with good search volume
Tip No. 3: Optimize your landing page
After your keyword research, if you find that people are searching for specific products or services you offer, you need to develop dedicated landing pages for them.
For instance, if you are a pizza joint, you should know that people do not only search for “pizzas” but also – “Italian pizza takeaway,” “pizza takeaway near me,” “the best pizza place in New Jersey,” and many more.
Therefore, it is essential to include relevant information about what your prospects are searching for, along with the keywords, in the landing pages, to rank higher in searches.
Tip No. 4: Reclaim lost links
Backlinks are links from a website to a page on another website. Search engines consider backlinks as a “vote of confidence” for a specific page. For instance, if your webpage earns a high number of backlinks from other relevant sites, it shows the search engines that your page consists of relevant information and hence will rank it higher on organic search engine rankings.
However, backlinks can be challenging to build. So, you should ensure that none of the links you have gets wasted due to broken URLs of your web pages.
For instance, if you have a broken web page, all the page’s backlinks will go to waste. You should fix the broken URL, or if the page no longer exists, redirect the URL to another appropriate page to make use of your well-earned backlinks.
Tip No. 5: Get reviews
According to Google, “high-quality, positive reviews from your customers can improve your business visibility.” Other studies show that reviews are the second most crucial map pack ranking factor. Therefore, ask your happy clients to leave a few stars and positive comments about your business.
You can do this by sharing a link that customers can use to leave a review. You can create the link for free in Google My Business by clicking the “Share review form” button in the management dashboard.
Tip No. 6: Get your business featured on local list posts
There is a best-of list for any product or service, and you can get your brand’s name on it. Getting your business featured on relevant sites will –
- Get more customers through the door – Listicles rank high for terms like “best __ in ___.” If prospects see you on 9 out of 10 lists, they will try out your product or service.
- It gets you backlinks – It is a great way to get backlinks and rank higher on Google.
Contact the sites that frequently publish listicles related to your area of expertise and pitch them the idea of including you in it, says the best SEO company in New Jersey.
Tip No. 7: Keep your site healthy
An unhealthy site can lead to various SEO obstacles. The fact is true for both local and national SEO. If Google fails to find and understand what your website content is about, you’ve got problems that need your immediate attention.
A few errors that can hamper your ranking are –
- Broken pages
- Missing or empty title tags
- External broken links
- Orphan pages (pages without internal links)
Apart from the ones mentioned above, we use several SEO strategies to up our clients’ local influence and ranking. Want to get your brand’s name in the local “top 10s”? Contact Digital Googly, an SEO company in New Jersey.
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