Local SEO is often unfamiliar to business owners who haven’t worried about optimizing their business in the past, and this can keep them from utilizing SEO to increase their presence online- but it shouldn’t. Any business, big or small, can benefit from using local SEO if they sell to a local market. Outlined here are a few tips for using local SEO.
Try not to be a passive business owner online. Claim your profile on review sites or Google Maps and fill out all of the information that you can. The more information you have filled out, the more there is available for search bots to pick up. Other than ensuring that your business shows up in relevant searches, this also gives customers a better idea of what your business can offer them. Include pictures if given the option. These can be optimized to further increase your presence online. They also may help potential customers to get a feel for your business or find it if you include storefront pictures.
On your website, make sure that there is a local phone number and a physical address listed. Doing this further establishes your location for search engines. It is ok to have different locations, but they should be listed on separate pages within your website so that only the relevant location shows up as a result in user searches.
Picking out keywords can seem difficult, but it is important to keep in mind who is searching for your business. How do your customers think and what language would they use if they were searching for your business or your services? Use simple, every day language more than industry specific jargon. Pretend that you are your own customer to get inspiration for keywords.
Build up your reputation online. The best way to do this is by asking your satisfied customers to leave reviews. It is important in this age of social media to remember to treat your customers well. One customer’s negative experience is likely shared with hundreds of people today, unlike years ago when they might have just told a few friends. Treat your customers better than ever. Try to keep in mind that bad reviews aren’t the end of the world. They actually make the good reviews look more legitimate. When you receive a bad review, respond to it in a non-argumentative way. Explain the situation, apologize, and try to remedy it.
Finally, get out into your community and get involved. This is a great way to improve your reputation and your online presence if you can get people talking about your event. Attendees may post about it on social networks or a local newspaper may write an article about it. Make yourself and your business something that people want to talk about.
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