Brick-and-mortar businesses are a vital part of the local economy. They’re also businesses that rely heavily on foot traffic and word-of-mouth recommendations to succeed. If it’s true that “real estate is all about location,” then a brick-and-mortar business needs to be as visible as possible in order to attract its target customers. Local SEO can help with this visibility by improving your rankings on Google Maps, driving more traffic to your website, and increasing conversions so you can finally take down those pesky online competitors!
You’ve learned about the importance of local SEO, but what is it exactly?
In short, local SEO refers to strategies that help businesses rank higher in search results for their location. It considers the user experience and focuses on providing customers with information that’s relevant to their search query. The goal is to provide users with answers as quickly as possible so they can find the best solutions for their needs—whether those are finding a nearby restaurant or doctor, or learning about upcoming events in town.
Local SEO must take into account many factors such as location (e.g., zip code), time (e.g., weekday vs weekend), device type (e.g., desktop vs mobile), etcetera; all of which affect how Google determines which sites should appear first when someone performs a given search query related to your business category or geographic area. For example: if you own a bakery located in Los Angeles whose name starts with “The Best…” then Google will show results from sites titled “The Best Cupcakes” before any other bakeries regardless of where they are located since this keyword phrase would be considered more specific than others within its larger category (“bakeries”).
Google My Business is a free tool that can help you manage and update the information on your business listing. It’s also important to verify your Google My Business account because it helps increase online visibility, which in turn leads to more conversions and revenue.
In order to verify your Google My Business listing, you’ll need to do four things:
Reviews from other customers are an essential part of local SEO, as they show you’re a credible business. The average review on Google gets about 5-10 clicks before it fades into the background noise of the SERPs, but if your business has a high number of reviews—especially positive ones—you’re more likely to be seen first.
To get started collecting reviews, make sure you have a link on your website that reads “Write a review” or something similar (you can also use Zendesk and other customer service platforms). You should also encourage past customers to leave reviews by offering perks such as discounts or free delivery.
If you have no reviews yet, don’t panic! It’s possible for businesses without any online presence whatsoever to get off the ground with just one strong testimonial from an existing customer. This can be used in place of customer reviews until the website generates enough traffic for people to feel comfortable leaving their own feedback on your site itself.
In order to rank well in search engines, you need to provide relevant information about your products and services. Focus on the details that are most important to people who might visit your business. Make sure you have a clear call to action so they can immediately find what they’re looking for on your site without having to leave and go somewhere else to get it. Write in the first person; customers want personalised experiences from brands, so make sure that’s how you present yourself online! Finally, use keywords in the title of each page and throughout its body copy – not only does this help with SEO but also gives potential customers information about what kind of business you are offering locally by looking at these key terms before even visiting or calling them up!
Local SEO is important for businesses who rely on people in their area to find them. If you’re a local business like a restaurant or coffee shop and have limited foot traffic, there’s likely a lot more competition for your business than there is for national chains.
Local SEO can be done by anyone with an internet connection, but only professional local SEO specialists will know what factors will help you rank higher on the search engines like Google and Bing.
There are a lot of things businesses can do on their websites to ensure they’re found by their local customers. These include adding Google My Business details, optimising URLs and using schema mark up so that search engines can parse your data more easily. Local search is one of the most important factors in driving traffic to brick-and-mortar businesses, and any business owner should take advantage of these tips to help boost their local SEO.
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