Most multi-location and small businesses come across a similar predicament while competing with big national level brands and that is a limited budget. This is the reason why local SEO is a powerful marketing weapon. It provides an opportunity for smaller businesses to compete with the larger brands in the continuous battle for surviving in the market. Apart from being economical, the local SEO is useful for lead generation as well. Many small business owners are well-versed with SEO but, they are not familiar with local SEO. Local SEO is about getting search results based on the current location of the searcher.
Need for local SEO for small business owners
Here are some reasons why small business owners need to include local SEO in the marketing campaign.
- The local SEO is useful in targeting the local market.
- Local SEO offers you a higher return on investment (ROI). There is no other tool in the online marketing schema that offers greater ROI than local SEO.
- It provides credibility to your business. When your business is appearing on the local search and Google Maps your prospects are more likely to think of your business as a legit one.
- Local SEO is critical for mobile searches. It may help you develop local partners and leads.
The local search results are fundamentally achieved based on the distance, relevance, and prominence of your business. These factors work in combination to help you find the best fit for your search. You are required to develop prominence and relevance in the eyes of Google for dominating the local SEO.
Ways of improving the local SEO
1. Accurate Google business info: To have your business listing appear in the Google local search or Google Maps you will be required to create a listing with Google My Business with up-to-date information about your business. Ensure that you are entering full data, verifying the business location, maintain accurate working hours, add photographs, and manage the reviews.
2. Embed the Google Maps in the site: By making use of Google Maps Embed API it is possible to place a panorama containing a street view or an interactive map onto the website. This whole process is done by using a straightforward HTTP request.
3. Have proper on-page SEO: For dominating the local searches you will have to get your on-page SEO in the right order. Two important factors are responsible for your on-page SEO. These factors are the location of the service area and the products and services you are offering. It means you are telling Google what products and services you are offering and where they are placed. The key on-page SEO elements you have to concentrate on are,
- Meta tags.
- Title tags.
- Page content.
- Header tags.
- Photos.
- NAP (Name, address, and phone) information on each page including the schema markup. NAP has to be consistent across the internet.
4. Get reviews: Reviews matter a great deal in case of local ranking. The Google review count and the actual score are factored inside the local search rankings. A greater number of reviews with positive ratings are more likely to improve the local ranking of a business. Good reviews also help in your business standing out to the possible clients that are close to arriving at a decision. How do you get the customers to provide reviews for the services you provided? Here are some ways,
Create links leading to review websites present on your site.
Have a business card that provides the review website information.
Include links for review websites in the email signature.
Ask satisfied customers to write reviews about your services.
You need to keep in mind that you will get negative reviews also. Make sure that you are not leaving any of these negative reviews unaddressed. Rather, address them in an honest, courteous, and accordance with the guidelines provided by Google.
5. Develop local citations: Local citation means online mention of your business’s NAP and website information. Google considers these local citations as a way of establishing a business’s authority and relevancy. These local citations in other words help your local business develop relevance and prominence in the eyes of Google. The best citation websites are Apple Maps, yahoo.com, yelp.com, opentable.com, Google My Business, facebook.com, bbb.org, maprequest.com, angieslist.com, wellowpages.com, here.com. The local citations not only help in the local SEO but they are also useful in providing awareness about your small business through websites that are considered by most people to be reliable.
You can use the power of search engines for leveraging a greater customer base as it is a popular method for running your small business. A local SEO company can be extremely useful for multi-location and small businesses to gather more clients and develop sales. For your local SEO efforts in Tampa, FL area, get in touch with Local SEO Tampa Company for using their professional services.