Having an optimised website is essential to maintaining online presence and rising in search engine rankings.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) goes hand in hand with the term ‘local search’. We’ve added resources at the end of the blog for more broader detail on website optimisation but for the main purpose of this blog we’re focussing on what small businesses can do to improve local search. We’ll cover how local search can help you target local clients and prospects, particularly now when we’re reliant on the online world.
Target areas for local search with relevant content
As part of your marketing campaign you should be focussing on areas you want to target to find new clients.
Review the content on your website and check if it is specific for the location you’re targeting.
Make sure you start to weave in information about the area you’re targeting in blogs and on your contact page.
Read ‘Why Blog’ which will give you more tips on why you should have a blog or news page. Ultimately, it’s about keeping content fresh and provides a great way to add local information which search engines will trawl helping your website to Google rank.
You want to be the authority in your field, especially locally. For your content marketing plan, think about tips you can provide your target audience, key dates you can use as a news hook and add links to useful resources.
Google My Business
Make sure you have completed your Google My Business page. It helps Google verify your business. But not only that your business could also appear in the sidebar when a prospect searches a relevant business.
You can continue to add fresh content to your Google My Business page by repurposing your blogs and adding images. Also ask clients to add reviews.
Ensure all your contact details on external sources are consistent with your website.
Online directories
It’s not just about Google My Business. Inclusion on other online directories will help in search results. For example, Yelp and Bing through to industry associations you may be linked with such as Chamber of Commerce.
When you first embark on SEO, you should include this within your wider marketing strategy rather than look at it in silo.
Internal links
When you conduct a review of your website to check you have good quality relevant local content for your target audience. But also remember to review the navigation too. Is it simple to follow? Is there anything you can do to help website visitors? This all helps the user experience and helps keep visitors on a web page for longer.
A quick win is adding internal links throughout your website so that if a visitor is on one web page it not only provides additional information but helps guide the visitor easily to another page.
Social media engagement
Maintain your presence on social media as this will help you with local search too. If content is shared by your followers, this can help with search ranking too as it is helping position you as an authority.
Resources
If you’d like to work with a digital marketing agency to help you navigate Search Engine Optimisation as part of your wider marketing plan and give your business a boost in search, get in touch today. Take advantage of our FREE WEBSITE REVIEW to help discover the areas that you may need to improve initially.
We also have links to blogs below with further information on local search to help you and your business.