3 Local SEO Tips For Your Business
Posted on: 14 November 2017
Search engine optimization (SEO) has been an invaluable resources for both small and large businesses. When you depend on revenue partially or completely from local customers, investing in local SEO will surpass what you can accomplish purely through standard SEO practices.
Capture Local Searches
Utilizing local SEO tactics will help you appear in relevant search engine results. Typically, you can improve your local SEO by including certain keywords on your website. You want to include keywords focused on the type of business you have, but also location-based keywords. Depending on the type of business and your locality, other keywords may be helpful. For example, if your business is located in a college community or near a prominent place of employment, such as shipyards or military installations, adding these keywords may help. If your business offers discounts for certain groups of people, such as local college students or active duty military, adding this information may help with search visibility.
Utilize Directory Listings
Major search engines make it easy for people to find area businesses, even when they are not searching in a specific area. Many of these searches utilize geolocation to match the user's location with applicable results. This means a simple search, such as "places to eat," will often result in a list of various food places nearby. If your business is not in the directory, you can miss out on customers who may have discovered your business via a spontaneous search because they happened to be in the area. So directory inclusion is essential for online marketing for local businesses.
Directory listings, such as Google My Business, are ingenious in their ability to integrate with mass transit. If you live in an area with mass transit, Google Maps will likely show people where your business is in relation to bus stops, train stations, and airports. Often times, people who utilize mass transit may need to make quick decisions for meals or shopping that is accessible for their mode of transportation. This is a prime opportunity to capture these customers and possibly turn them into returning customers.
Monitor Online Reviews
Not only do reviews appear alongside information about your business, but the way you deal with them can help or hurt your business. It is important to regularly search reviews about your business to see what people are saying. Many business owners erroneously assume people love their business and would confront them if there was a problem. This is a potentially damaging assumption. Most customers do not want confrontation and will simply not return to your business. They may leave a negative review and encourage people they know to avoid your business. You could rarely hear a complaint and suddenly see a downturn in business. It is imperative for you to address complaints in a professional manner. The only situation worse than a bad review is to rebuttal a customer's complaint with rude, condescending, or profane remarks. Since people may read reviews before visiting, you will lose potential customers if you handle these situations poorly or in an immature way.
Local SEO is one of the most important tools when trying to attract local customers. Increasing your presence for relevant local searches and maintaining professionalism will help your business thrive.
Share