If your business depends on local customers, you must know about something called ‘local SEO’. This content explains what local SEO is and what it does. It also discusses how you can improve your local SEO ranking. You can hire local SEO services for better optimization of your website.

 

When you type ‘colleges near me’ in the Google search bar, you get results showing the nearby colleges in your area. These are the local search results. In these results, you will not find colleges from a different city. So, if you want your business to be more visible to your local audience, rather than throughout the world, you have to optimize your website with local SEO. As a new business, it can get pretty confusing. So, for help, you can also hire a local SEO company for this purpose.

 

What is Local SEO?

If your business has a geographical location, you may want to target more of your local audience. For this you need to use the keywords that your local customers use. Your local business can benefit a lot when you apply local SEO.

 

Local SEO is the procedure by which you can optimize your website to increase your visibility in the local searches. When the local audience searches for a similar business, they may find you. But for this to take place, you need to post relevant content. The online searchers close to your physical location will find you due to the technical part of local SEO.

 

Having a strong local SEO helps you to rank high in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). The reality is, about 46% of all searches on Google are based on local searches. To increase your local organic traffic, you also need to optimize your Google My Business Profile. A good number of positive reviews, content highlighting local events, local keywords, etc. are great ways to improve your local SEO.

 

The Way Local SEO Works

Local SEO takes into account quite a few details of your profile. It checks the keywords used in your Google My Business profile. The location of your audience also contributes to the way the local SEO might work. How many stars out of 5 you receive on your profile is also a factor. Generally, a rating of 4 stars out of 5 helps you to rank higher. Also, the keywords your customers use while writing a review affects your rank.

 

Understanding so much about local SEO requires technical expertise. So, if you are finding these confusing, you can hire a local SEO company.

 

How to Improve Your Local SEO?

If you hire local SEO services, they will use a few techniques that will increase your rank. This can improve your visibility in no time. Here’s a list of the factors that can be applied to make your website well optimized for SEO.

  1. Optimization of the Google My Business profile
  2. Increased social media activities for business
  3. Better internal links
  4. Add your location to your website
  5. Optimize your content according to local SEO
  6. Create a mobile friendly website

 

Optimization of the Google My Business Profile

A local SEO company will always suggest you to first create a Google My Business profile. When you verify your profile, Google understands that your business is genuine. As a result, it can share and support your content more. For having a good profile, ask your customers to share reviews on Google. Replying to these reviews with specific keywords will also increase your visibility. Share images of your products, contact information, map location, etc. for a better reach.

 

Increased Social Media Activities for Business

Once you have made your Google Business Profile and website, you need to update your social media accounts with relevant information. Share your content on social media, share the website links, and encourage your customers to engage with you. Social media platforms are a great tool for customer engagement today. Your social media activities also influence Google to give you a better rank.

 

Better Internal Links

Internal links are those which help the audience navigate to their desired part of the webpage. It also aids in website navigation, website hierarchy, etc. In fact, the proper use of internal linking increases the ranking power of your webpage.

 

Add Your Location to Your Website

If you put a Google map on your website, Google considers you for higher ranking. This is because it attracts relevant audience. All your pages and profiles on the internet should have a similar location.

 

Optimize Your Content According to Local SEO

When you write content, make sure you write for your local audience. Talk about local events, festivals and happenings. You can also discuss the local or industry news. Educating your audience with the local events will make you more trustworthy in their eyes. When you mention these things, Google will show you to the audience of that particular area.

 

Create a Mobile-Friendly Site

This is particularly important because most searchers use smartphones while looking for a local business. If you don’t have a mobile-friendly website, you won’t be able to rank high. To create a website with good readability, you can contact local SEO services. This is a very important feature you must focus on to increase your reach.

 

Author’s Bio:

The writer of this content discusses website optimization and writes about local SEO.