Best Tips For Businesses Looking To Optimize Local SEO

Do you have a functional and well-designed webpage? Today, websites have become digital storefronts where people shop for products and services. They can browse the webpage by clicking a few buttons, add products to their cart, and checkout by filling in their details. Sounds simple!

However, what happens if your webpage isn’t visible to the audience? Millions of people could search for products and services like yours but cannot catch a glimpse of your digital store. It happens when your website isn’t optimized for the search engine. As a result, Google doesn’t rank it amongst the top results, leaving it on the second or third page of search results.

If that is the case with your business, it is time to invest in search engine optimization (SEO). It will help boost brand visibility, build users’ trust, and improve website engagement. You can also optimize the webpage for local SEO to enhance visibility in local search results for better results. It targets nearby customers, leading to more foot traffic and website visits.

Let us show you the ropes if you are ready to jump. Here are five best tips for businesses looking to optimize local SEO.

1. Optimize for voice search

Nowadays, search engines have witnessed a rapid increase in voice searches. Therefore, optimizing how people ask questions in local SEO has become vital. Firstly, all marketers should remember that they are optimizing the site for local marketing products; hence, long-tail keywords will be more effective. And due to this, you must adjust the content’s SEO to make it sound more conversational and informal.

Moreover, understanding the user intent is important when optimizing voice search. People perform voice searches when they need specific information. For example, they might ask Alexa to ask about your store timings. Therefore, ensure all such crucial information is readily available on your webpage. For this, you can make an FAQ section on the website. It will help match the exact phrasing of voice search queries, improving visibility.

2. Improve internal linking structure

There are two types of links – internal and external. Most marketers believe external links are ideal for boosting SEO rankings, but internal links can be a game-changer for local SEO. Internal links support website navigation by assisting search engine crawlers with information and web structure. Likewise, these links also improve page authority, improving website visibility.

Internal links can also connect relevant pages with your website. Hence, any link from a page related to your local business to other pages that provide information about your products can build credibility.

Now, the question is how to improve this linking structure. First, identify local landing pages on your website and create a sitemap. It will help visualize the connections between different pages and their relevance. Next, group related local content into different categories to create a pathway for users to navigate your site. You can also use descriptive keywords for your internal links to improve the website’s visibility in local search results.

3. Optimize webpage for local SEO

Another crucial step towards local SEO is to build an optimized website that captivates local audiences. Here are a few tips to optimize the website for local SEO.

Contact information: Today’s consumers want to know everything about businesses; hence, create an “about us” page on the website. If you have multiple store locations, include all your business addresses, email, and operational hours. It will make it easier for the audience to find you.
Mobile-friendly optimization: More than 82% of smartphone users conduct near-me searches, which means you must optimize the website for mobile devices. It involves four elements – responsive page display, readable font, clear text, and media display.
Keyword research: Every marketer must target local keywords that answer people’s search intent. For example, you can add “near me” to your existing keywords to target nearby customers. Let us explain how. You are a boutique owner whose site contains keywords like stylist, designer, clothes shop, etc. To attract local audiences, you can use keywords like stylist near me or clothes shop nearby.

4. Create local content

Previously, content marketing was all about appealing to search engines. But as Google gets smarter every day, marketers should start creating content for audiences. You can focus on writing about local or industry news to captivate your target audience. You can capitalize on the popularity of an upcoming community event and write about it. Likewise, cover local events from a local business owner’s perspective.

Once you have a few content ideas ready, learn about your target market. You cannot create valuable content if you don’t know who you are creating it for. Thus, go through the readers’ personas and understand the demographics. Do you young adults read your blogs? Is it the Gen Z that has caught your attention? Depending on your audience, you can curate content that resonates with them.

5. Focus on link signals

According to stats, link signals are the most crucial factors for local SEO. These are backlinks pointing visitors to your site while boosting your local SEO. They contribute to the site’s credibility and visibility in the local search, indicating your site is a trusted source. So, the question is, how can you get high-quality backlinks? Look below.

Use local directories and industry-specific web pages to list your business. Alongside this, ensure your contact information is consistent with increasing link signals.
You can collaborate with other local businesses and influencers. In turn, they will write about your business offerings, leading to high-quality backlinks from their website.
Reach out to local media outlets and share stories about your business. Believe it or not, media coverage often helps generate authoritative backlinks.
Develop relationships with local bloggers and journalists who cover topics related to your business niche. They can reference your webpage in their articles.

Conclusion

Today, local SEO has become an integrated part of every SEO strategy for local businesses. It helps the audience find your business readily, improving website traffic, lead generation, and conversions. Therefore, it is time every marketer optimizes the webpage for local SEO. Besides content and long-tail keyword, ranking in local search results takes a few backlinks and optimization. Therefore, ensure your site is mobile-friendly and optimized for voice search to gain visibility on the search engine results page.

How to Improve Business Results by Local SEO

Looking to optimize your business website for local search, but not sure where to start? When it comes to marketing your local business online, a search is a great place to start. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a number of small to mid-size local businesses. I have tried to improve business results by local SEO. It has helped them grow their reach and revenue.

One of the biggest hurdles we face when working with local clients is that they’ve been burned in the past by so-called “experts.”

They’ve invested their hard-earned money only to see little, if any, return. This has led many local businesses to believe SEO is too hard and/or doesn’t work.

My goal is to share some local SEO tips that actually work — and how you can start using them today to grow your business’s online reach.

Why local SEO?

Before we get into the tips, let me lay the groundwork for why you need to use local SEO. People use search engines to find local businesses they want to buy from. This is not just my own opinion; Google’s own research proves it. Here are a few stats the make the point.

Four in five consumers use search engines to find local information.
Fifty percent of consumers who conducted a local search on their smartphone visited a store within a day, and 34 percent who searched on a computer or tablet did the same.
Local searches lead to more purchases than non-local searches. Eighteen percent of local searches on smartphones lead to a purchase within a day vs. 7 percent of non-local searches.

What does this mean for your business? Not only are people searching locally, but they’re also taking action when they do! Building a strategy that promotes your business locally will do more than drive website traffic — it will drive sales.

So let’s get into some tried-and-true tips to help you rank better and convert more local searchers.

Local link building

Link building is perhaps the most important factor when it comes to SEO. But not all links are equal. The directory links we talked about above are great, but they don’t carry the same weight as organic backlinks.

Just like any other backlink strategy, local backlinking begins with good research. City-run sites are a great place for local businesses to start. Many of these local sites have “local directories” on them. Most of the time, all you need to do is email the website admin and request to be added.

Another great place to find local backlinks is with local clubs and outreach organizations. Joining a local Rotary Club or business group will often land you a nice quality backlink.

These links are important because they show how connected you are to the community. I’ve seen this work over and over again for clients.

The key is to only link to or get links from, sites you want to be associated with. Make sure that the link makes sense contextually, and never pay to play.

Link building is really, at its core, about building relationships. When it comes to local SEO and business, relationships are huge.

Locally focused content

When we talk about local SEO, often much of the focus is on citations, local directories, and maps. All of these components are important, of course; but to really give yourself an edge, you need to create quality localized content.

What do I mean by localized content? Here, I’m referring to content that is based on or around your local area and educates readers on the specific issues/problems/wants they have. Local businesses can benefit a ton by sharing the purpose and passion behind what they do.

Here’s what I recommend: Start a blog (if you don’t already have one), and create content specific to your niche and town.

Share why your community is special and how your products or services align with the community’s values. You started your business for a reason; tell your audience and let them connect.

Be sure to use location modifiers in your content, too. For instance, if you are a bakery in Palm Bay, Florida, share how your bakery serves that town.

A great place to get inspiration for local content is your customers. Interview them, share stories about interactions you’ve had, the possibilities are endless.

Localized content creates a personal connection and serves your end user. It also gives other local sites a reason to connect and link to you!

Maps, directories & citations

For local businesses, it’s important to ensure that your business is present (and optimized) on Google Maps. After all, if people can’t get directions to you, then you’re out of luck!

It still amazes me that so many businesses have yet to claim their map listings through Google My Business. This is a simple and easy step that gives you more exposure and allows you to manage how your business appears on Google Maps.

Here are Google’s instructions on how to add or claim your listing.

Google My Business is just one of the hundreds of listing sites for local companies.

The goal is to claim and update your business listing in as many relevant, legitimate business directories and maps services as you can, and optimize those listings with correct business information. (It’s especially important to ensure that your name, address and phone number are consistent across the web.)

The big directory and map sites you definitely need to get on are Google, Yelp, Yahoo Business, Bing, MapQuest, Super Pages, Yellow Pages, and Facebook. To see some of the other main directories, check this out.

Now, one thing to note. When you start claiming these, expect to get calls from bots or emails from the sites themselves telling you they can grow your business for a small fee. Ignore them. They will go away.

Claiming your listing, ensuring your address and phone number are correct, then adding the correct categories, social profiles, website URL and a good description should be enough to get you going.

If you want to really be on top of things, I recommend looking into Moz Local or Yext. They’ll help you streamline the process and alert you if something needs to be fixed.

They won’t catch everything, but they can provide a good starting point, and they can help you monitor and maintain any listings you have claimed.

The bottom line

These simple ideas will help you rank better and drive more quality and localized leads to your business.

Whether you’re a new local business looking to grow or you’ve been burned in the past, you can start to gain some traction by creating quality local content, claiming your listings, and building relationships that lead to good links.

So what are you waiting for? Go for the gold and grow your business!

Digital Marketing Dos and Don’ts for Law Firms

Law firms are slowly letting go of traditional methods of marketing in favor of digital marketing. More than half of lawyers actually believe that digital marketing is important for a law firm, but still allocate a less than 15% budget to online marketing. Many more digital marketing dos and don’ts to review

Some lawyers complain that they are not achieving the desired results with digital marketing, which explains the minimal focus directed towards the same. However, it is crucial to understand what you are doing right and wrong before throwing in the towel.

Online marketing has the ability to propel your law firm by taking your business to millions of internet users. Below is a list of dos and don’ts for your law firm to ensure that you are getting the desired results.

Do Have a Specific Target Audience in Mind

Among the first steps of developing a digital marketing strategy is to identify your target audience.

Who is your ideal client? What legal problems do they have? How and where do they search for services or spend time on the internet? Having the answers to these questions will help you craft a marketing strategy that directly appeals to the people that matter.

This will also save you from spending on an audience that does not convert to paying clients. Segmenting your target customers further when you introduce new services is also easier when you understand them as a whole.

Do Invest in Local SEO

The wise law firm marketers have implemented SEO, but the most successful ones have already adopted local SEO tactics. Local SEO allows you to further optimize your content so that it ranks top among local search results.

Google statistics show that local searches with the words ‘near me’ have multiplied by 150%, surpassing those that do not include this qualifier.

If your law practice serves clients in Northern Illinois, local SEO ranks your content to more people near your locality when you use localized keywords like Rockford car accident lawyer.

Do Analyze and Improve Your Marketing Campaigns

Nearly all digital marketing platforms have a way of tracking the results. Here, you can see the number of people visiting your website, what type of content is bringing in more visitors, and even the specific demographics of users converting to customers.

Analyze this data often to help you improve existing campaigns or inform new marketing strategies.

Don’t Go In Without a Digital Marketing Plan

Digital marketing is so much more than having a website or posting on social media. After identifying your target audience, craft a digital marketing strategy. Among the things to include are your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to help you determine whether your efforts are working.

You should also add the different platforms that you will be using and associated targets. Having a plan gives direction to your marketing efforts and ensures that they are headed towards the right goal.

Don’t Spread Yourself Thin by Using Every Platform

This is a mistake that most law firms who are handling their digital marketing often make. In a bid to increase their online presence, lawyers register on every platform, while implementing a myriad of other internet marketing strategies. Doing this and hoping that one of the approaches will work is a risky tactic.

Determining the channels that are right for your law firm will depend on how well you identified your target audience.

Don’t Be Too Salesy

The primary reason for digital marketing is to convince your potential customers that you are the right person for their legal issues. However, pushing this salesy agenda on every platform or post is going to push away even qualified leads.

Create a marketing balance by including content that simply adds value and does not try to sell your services. This might sound impossible but you would be surprised at how much engagement a fun legal trivia would generate on social media.

The Subtle Rules for Achieving Extraordinary Local SEO

One of the most difficult tasks in blogging or content marketing is achieving extraordinary local SEO. And be patient, as extraordinary local SEO results take time.

Amazon Antitrust Issues: Applying a Cost Benefit Analysis

What is local SEO?

Local SEO is focused on providing results that are relevant to a searcher based on their current location. If I search for ‘best steak restaurant’ on my desktop right now, Google will provide me with results that are nearest to me.

Local SEO has grown significantly over the last few years, particularly given the rise of smartphone usage and better connectivity while out and about.

Although it has a lot of similarities with organic SEO, it’s ultimately very different.

It has been that over 40% of mobile queries have local intent. According to Fresh Egg in 2013, four out of five people use smartphones to look up local information.

Two in three people take direct action as a result, and one in three people went on to make a purchase.

Google has also recently indicated that one in three US mobile queries is now ‘local’. They also noted 87% of people use their phone when on the go.

Google also found that 95% of mobile users look up local information on their phones and the primary functions are calling or visiting a business.

For Google and other search engines to serve users with the most relevant information, using the vast amount of data they have on us, local based results will become more and more prevalent.

Local SEO … the website is your online shop window

Putting in all the effort that is required for SEO might seem like a hassle. However, as you are putting so much time in local networking, redecorating your shop’s windows and more.

You have to keep in mind that for someone that finds your shop online, it matters what that shop looks like.

Your website is an online replacement for window shopping. If your actual shop is decorated for the season, I would also suggest taking a closer look at how you can translate that to your website.

Make sure people feel welcome, and are enticed to buy your products or services online.

Or at least feel the urge to come by your local business to see what you can do for them.

Set Up Google my business

To start, you need to claim your listing. After that, you can use the following tips to make your My Business account a success.

Keep in mind that everything you add must be in line with the information you provide on your site.

Inaccurate information kills your listings and could kill your rankings:

Claim your listing with your actual business name
Choose a category as accurate as possible
Provide as much data as you can – your profile has to be 100%
Check your phone number
Check your opening times – think about the holidays!
Review your photos – are they accurate and good or can you improve them?
Create citations on other sites as well – pick well-regarded business listing or review sites and directories, stay away from spammers
Keep your My Business listing in line with your site – and use Schema.org data
Above all, keep your data up to date

It’s critical to remember that this is not a set it and forget it type of thing. Things change your business changes.

Keep everything active, monitor reviews and stay on top of things. It’s frustrating if your listing doesn’t perform as well as you’d like, but keep putting in the hours, and it will work.

US businesses can check their listings with this tool by Synup: Google My Business Guidelines Checker.

local SEO factors — **Local SEO factors.**

My Business is Google’s one-stop-shop to manage how your business will look and perform in the search engine.

It is an essential tool to find out and adjust how your site shows in Maps, the Knowledge Graph, Google+ and organic search results.

According to the 2017 edition of Moz’ Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, Google My Business continues to be the biggest driver of local SEO success, with quality links coming in at a close second.

You can manage your business listing by adding NAP details, opening hours, photos et cetera.

In addition to that, it is possible to manage the reviews your customers leave behind. As you know, reviews should be a key factor in your local SEO efforts.

Getting started with My Business is easy; you have to make an account and claim your business.

After filling in your details, you will get a real-life postcard from Google on the address you’ve specified. This card is the only proof you’re the owner of the business listed at the address.

Once verified, you can fill in all the necessary details and check how your listing is doing. You can even get regular insights to see how many impressions, clicks, and subscribers your listing got over a period.

It’s a great way of getting a feel for how your business is perceived by Google and customers alike.

Keep in mind that My Business is not the catch-all tool for your local SEO. It has to work in tandem with your on- and off-site SEO efforts.

You won’t climb the charts if your profile is inaccurate, but you also won’t reach the top without a well-optimized site and localized content. These things go hand in hand.

What you can rank for

Google My Business uses many factors to determine rankings for businesses. We’ll highlight the three most important ones:

Relevance
Distance
Prominence

Relevance

Relevance determines how well your business fits the search intent of the customer.

Is your focus identical to what the customer needs or are you a bit opaque about what your business does?

Vagueness doesn’t rank. Be as clear as you can be. Keep your focus.

Distance

Distance is a well-known factor for ranking local businesses. You can’t rank in a local search for (dentist New Jersey) when you have located your company in Manhattan.

The exact way Google determines which businesses to show in a local search is unknown, and it can be pretty hard to rank in a given area.

The other factors play a significant role as well. It helps not just to say you are located in a particular area, but also to show it by creating local-oriented content around your business on your site.

Google uses what’s known about the location of the searcher to present the most relevant local businesses.

Prominence

Prominence is all about the activity around your listing; this could be the number of reviews, events, local content et cetera.

It also helps if you can get loads of quality links to your site. It is somewhat hard to determine what prominence means exactly, but one thing is sure: no one likes dead profiles.

You have to keep it updated with new photos and manage your reviews. As said before, this works in tandem with your site, so make sure both listings align and that you publish local content.

Local SEO factors … Move on to Google Maps

It is important for your website to appear in Google Maps because you want people to be able to find your contact details.

Perhaps people already know your business, but don’t know the phone number. If you set up your website right, this location data can easily be found through search engines.

More importantly, people often do not know your business yet and are searching globally for terms like “pizza,” “lawyer” or “broker in New York.”

Google often shows a Google Map or a 7-pack for this kind of searches, so it’s of great importance that your business is listed there!

The first thing you have to do to get your website in Google Maps is to have a physical location for your business. That sounds silly, but this is one of the major requirements to get you listed in search engines.

It’s hard to rank on “divorce lawyer Boston” if your business isn’t physically located in Boston (even if you provide services there). After you have a physical location of your business, you can sign up for your business in the search engines: Google, Bing and now even Apple.

The third thing you have to think of is your SEO strategy!

Just like regular SEO, Local SEO exists both on the page and off-page SEO. For on-page SEO it’s important, you mention the address of your business on your website in Schema.org format.

And not only on your contact page, but it’s also recommended to place it in the header or footer of your website, so it’s visible on every page.

Besides the address itself, the title tag is something you need to look at. According to the Local Search Ranking Factors naming the City and State, besides your keyword, in your page title is the most important thing to do.

A good format would be “<your service> <city> <state>,” for example, “Shiny Teeth dentist Portland Oregon.” It’s pretty straightforward but clear and strong!

But don’t take this format for granted. Play with it and, even better, by testing it!

For off-page SEO, links from other sites are of course important, but also the so-called citations.

Citations are just mentions of your business, which don’t even have to contain a link to your website. For example, you can get citations from people who review your business (like Hotfrog, Yelp, Tripadvisor, etc.).

Small business blogging

The easiest way to keep your customers (and others) in the loop about your products and offerings, is by adding a blog to your website.

That blog will fuel your social media and newsletter, so it’s a much more extensive tool than ‘just an addition’ to your site.

Facebook and other social media listings

If there is one thing I can tell you from my experience in this, it is that local small businesses communicate a lot via social media.

Use that Twitter account actively, set up your Facebook page and maintain it. Add your business to Google Business and make sure your opening hours are filled out if you have any.

Every Google search for your company or closely related searches might show these immediately, before any organic search results.

The same goes for sites like Yelp or TripAdvisor. They have their marketers working 24/7. In the end, it doesn’t matter if people find your business through websites like Yelp or Google, right?

Employ local directories

Next to your Google My Business listing, Google uses the local Yelp and other local directories to determine just how important and local you are. Where we usually recommend against putting your link on a page with a gazillion unrelated links, the common ground for a local listings page is, indeed, the location.

And these links do help your local rankings.

So get your web team to work, find the most important local directory pages and get your details up there.

I’m specifically writing details and not just links. Citations work in confirming the address to both Google and visitors.

If a local, relevant website lists addresses, get yours up there as well. And while you are at it, get some positive reviews on sites like Yelp as well, obviously!

benefits of local SEO — **Benefits of local SEO**

Create word of mouth buzz

Create a buzz around your shop, for instance by asking people to leave a review on Google Business or Yelp.

Do sweepstakes or giveaways for your online visitors. 500 likes on Facebook? Give number 500 a coupon for your shop, online or offline.

Have a sale for a specific brand? You could consider promoting it online only. Sponsoring a local event?

Be sure to set up an event-specific landing page and ask them to link that one.

These are all little things that might trigger people to talk about your website, next to your shop.

Offline platforms

New website? Contact your local newspaper. New products? Contact your local newspaper. New business? You get the drift.

Do not underestimate the reach these local news companies have. People read these publications.

If you have anything newsworthy, please contact these publishers and see if they can help you to promote your business offline.

If you participate in a local event, by all means, add a blog post to your website as well. Just be sure it is relevant.

The bottom line

The examples of marketing are all around us. All we have to do is be open-minded in how we look and how we apply the best lessons learned.

Now it’s your turn. What are the creative marketing ideas you have seen lately?

Looking to create a smashing brand image?

Need some help in finding ways to grow your customers? Such as creative ideas to help the differentiation with potential customers? Or perhaps finding ways to work with other businesses?

So what’s the conclusion? The conclusion is there is no conclusion. There is only the next step. And that next step is completely up to you. But believe in the effectiveness of collaborative innovation. And put it to good use in adapting to changes in your business environment.

It’s up to you to keep improving your learning and experience with innovation and creativity efforts. Lessons are all around you. In this case, your competitor may be providing ideas and or inspiration. But the key is in knowing that it is within you already.

All you get is what you bring to the fight. And that fight gets better every day you learn and apply new lessons.

When things go wrong, what’s most important is your next step.

Try. Learn. Improve. Repeat.

When things are not what you want them to be, what’s most important is your next step.

Are you devoting enough energy to improving your continuous learning for yourself and your team?

Mike Schoultz is the founder of Digital Spark Marketing, a digital marketing and customer service agency. With 40 years of business experience, he blogs on topics that relate to improving the performance of your business. Find them on G+, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

1. Optimize for voice search

2. Improve internal linking structure

3. Optimize webpage for local SEO

4. Create local content

5. Focus on link signals

Conclusion

One of the biggest hurdles we face when working with local clients is that they’ve been burned in the past by so-called “experts.”

They’ve invested their hard-earned money only to see little, if any, return. This has led many local businesses to believe SEO is too hard and/or doesn’t work.

My goal is to share some local SEO tips that actually work — and how you can start using them today to grow your business’s online reach.

Why local SEO?

Before we get into the tips, let me lay the groundwork for why you need to use local SEO. People use search engines to find local businesses they want to buy from. This is not just my own opinion; Google’s own research proves it. Here are a few stats the make the point.

What does this mean for your business? Not only are people searching locally, but they’re also taking action when they do! Building a strategy that promotes your business locally will do more than drive website traffic — it will drive sales.

So let’s get into some tried-and-true tips to help you rank better and convert more local searchers.

Local link building

Link building is perhaps the most important factor when it comes to SEO. But not all links are equal. The directory links we talked about above are great, but they don’t carry the same weight as organic backlinks.

Another great place to find local backlinks is with local clubs and outreach organizations. Joining a local Rotary Club or business group will often land you a nice quality backlink.

These links are important because they show how connected you are to the community. I’ve seen this work over and over again for clients.

The key is to only link to or get links from, sites you want to be associated with. Make sure that the link makes sense contextually, and never pay to play.

Link building is really, at its core, about building relationships. When it comes to local SEO and business, relationships are huge.

Locally focused content

When we talk about local SEO, often much of the focus is on citations, local directories, and maps. All of these components are important, of course; but to really give yourself an edge, you need to create quality localized content.

What do I mean by localized content? Here, I’m referring to content that is based on or around your local area and educates readers on the specific issues/problems/wants they have. Local businesses can benefit a ton by sharing the purpose and passion behind what they do.

Here’s what I recommend: Start a blog (if you don’t already have one), and create content specific to your niche and town.

Share why your community is special and how your products or services align with the community’s values. You started your business for a reason; tell your audience and let them connect.

Be sure to use location modifiers in your content, too. For instance, if you are a bakery in Palm Bay, Florida, share how your bakery serves that town.

A great place to get inspiration for local content is your customers. Interview them, share stories about interactions you’ve had, the possibilities are endless.

Localized content creates a personal connection and serves your end user. It also gives other local sites a reason to connect and link to you!

Maps, directories & citations

For local businesses, it’s important to ensure that your business is present (and optimized) on Google Maps. After all, if people can’t get directions to you, then you’re out of luck!

It still amazes me that so many businesses have yet to claim their map listings through Google My Business. This is a simple and easy step that gives you more exposure and allows you to manage how your business appears on Google Maps.

Here are Google’s instructions on how to add or claim your listing.

Google My Business is just one of the hundreds of listing sites for local companies.

The big directory and map sites you definitely need to get on are Google, Yelp, Yahoo Business, Bing, MapQuest, Super Pages, Yellow Pages, and Facebook. To see some of the other main directories, check this out.

Now, one thing to note. When you start claiming these, expect to get calls from bots or emails from the sites themselves telling you they can grow your business for a small fee. Ignore them. They will go away.

Claiming your listing, ensuring your address and phone number are correct, then adding the correct categories, social profiles, website URL and a good description should be enough to get you going.

If you want to really be on top of things, I recommend looking into Moz Local or Yext. They’ll help you streamline the process and alert you if something needs to be fixed.

They won’t catch everything, but they can provide a good starting point, and they can help you monitor and maintain any listings you have claimed.

The bottom line

These simple ideas will help you rank better and drive more quality and localized leads to your business.

Whether you’re a new local business looking to grow or you’ve been burned in the past, you can start to gain some traction by creating quality local content, claiming your listings, and building relationships that lead to good links.

So what are you waiting for? Go for the gold and grow your business!

Do Have a Specific Target Audience in Mind

Do Invest in Local SEO

Do Analyze and Improve Your Marketing Campaigns

Don’t Go In Without a Digital Marketing Plan

Don’t Spread Yourself Thin by Using Every Platform

Don’t Be Too Salesy

One of the most difficult tasks in blogging or content marketing is achieving extraordinary local SEO. And be patient, as extraordinary local SEO results take time.

What is local SEO?

Local SEO is focused on providing results that are relevant to a searcher based on their current location. If I search for ‘best steak restaurant’ on my desktop right now, Google will provide me with results that are nearest to me.

Similar results are delivered if I search on my smartphone.

Local SEO has grown significantly over the last few years, particularly given the rise of smartphone usage and better connectivity while out and about.

Although it has a lot of similarities with organic SEO, it’s ultimately very different.

It has been that over 40% of mobile queries have local intent. According to Fresh Egg in 2013, four out of five people use smartphones to look up local information.

Two in three people take direct action as a result, and one in three people went on to make a purchase.

Google has also recently indicated that one in three US mobile queries is now ‘local’. They also noted 87% of people use their phone when on the go.

Google also found that 95% of mobile users look up local information on their phones and the primary functions are calling or visiting a business.

For Google and other search engines to serve users with the most relevant information, using the vast amount of data they have on us, local based results will become more and more prevalent.

Local SEO … the website is your online shop window

Putting in all the effort that is required for SEO might seem like a hassle. However, as you are putting so much time in local networking, redecorating your shop’s windows and more.

You have to keep in mind that for someone that finds your shop online, it matters what that shop looks like.

Your website is an online replacement for window shopping. If your actual shop is decorated for the season, I would also suggest taking a closer look at how you can translate that to your website.

Make sure people feel welcome, and are enticed to buy your products or services online.

Or at least feel the urge to come by your local business to see what you can do for them.

Set Up Google my business

To start, you need to claim your listing. After that, you can use the following tips to make your My Business account a success.

Keep in mind that everything you add must be in line with the information you provide on your site.

Inaccurate information kills your listings and could kill your rankings:

It’s critical to remember that this is not a set it and forget it type of thing. Things change your business changes.

Keep everything active, monitor reviews and stay on top of things. It’s frustrating if your listing doesn’t perform as well as you’d like, but keep putting in the hours, and it will work.

US businesses can check their listings with this tool by Synup: Google My Business Guidelines Checker.

My Business is Google’s one-stop-shop to manage how your business will look and perform in the search engine.

It is an essential tool to find out and adjust how your site shows in Maps, the Knowledge Graph, Google+ and organic search results.

According to the 2017 edition of Moz’ Local Search Ranking Factors Survey, Google My Business continues to be the biggest driver of local SEO success, with quality links coming in at a close second.

You can manage your business listing by adding NAP details, opening hours, photos et cetera.

In addition to that, it is possible to manage the reviews your customers leave behind. As you know, reviews should be a key factor in your local SEO efforts.

Getting started with My Business is easy; you have to make an account and claim your business.

After filling in your details, you will get a real-life postcard from Google on the address you’ve specified. This card is the only proof you’re the owner of the business listed at the address.

Once verified, you can fill in all the necessary details and check how your listing is doing. You can even get regular insights to see how many impressions, clicks, and subscribers your listing got over a period.

It’s a great way of getting a feel for how your business is perceived by Google and customers alike.