In order to stay ahead of the competition, you need to keep track of their latest SEO techniques. The 2022 edition of the Only Local SEO Checklist covers the most important aspects of online marketing for small businesses. If you want to stay ahead of your competition and rank higher in search engines, make sure you're following all of the tips in this guide.
When optimising a website for local areas, it's important to consider a range of different factors. Here is a local SEO checklist of things you should take into account:
Link building
Reviews
On-Page SEO
Technical SEO
Mobile-first & Google My Business
What exactly is local SEO?
Local SEO is the technique of optimising a website to increase traffic, leads, and brand awareness through local search results.
What is the significance of local SEO?
There are numerous reasons why local SEO is crucial, such as:
46 % of searches begin with a local intent
"near me" have increased 150 % quicker than comparable searches without "near me."
76 % of smartphone users who conduct a local search visit a business within 24 hours, and 28 % of those searches result in a purchase
Local Link building: The bulk of traditional link building tactics will work in this instance, but because local businesses have strong affiliations with a location or city, there are several opportunities to develop linkages inside your local area. Local businesses frequently have connections with other firms in the area. When it comes to link building locally, the best place to start is by contacting people with whom you already have a relationship.
Social Media: Social media for businesses is now required, you should invest some time in developing your brand using social media platforms:
Reach out to new individuals - through organic or sponsored social ads, you can contact potential customers you may not have been able to reach before. Establishing authority on a subject increases brand trust; show people why you are good at what you do.
Reconnect with old customers - they may not immediately re-use your services, but providing informative information and remaining on their feeds may mean that when the time comes, they will remember you to use them again.
Competitors: If a company provides the same service or product as you, they are most likely targeting the same market. Keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing not only allows you to maintain competitive advantage but may also assist you to identify prospective prospects for new routes to use in your marketing approach.
Generate Reviews: Obtaining Google reviews is a sometimes forgotten component of a marketing campaign, yet it is perhaps one of the simplest jobs you can perform. In a nutshell, it can be as easy as:
Requesting a review
Including a Google review button on your site
Examining other companies
Manage Reviews: No business owner enjoys receiving negative feedback, but how you respond to it makes all the difference - remember, you know the context of the complaint. When it comes to negative reviews, the best thing to do is to take them offline and respond to them with a resolution alternative, such as an email address or phone number. Remember even if some reviews are fake, written by your competitors may be, do take the time to address them as well.
Testimonials: From a search engine standpoint, including reviews from local consumers might help to increase your local SEO efforts; search engines respect the quantity and quality of testimonials.
Title Tags: When it comes to title tags, there are three main considerations: Be pertinent (for humans and search engines). Be intriguing (for humans). Keep it simple (for search engines).
Here are some of the greatest general SEO tactics I use, as well as some local SEO specifics:
Keep your title tags distinct! Using the same name for several different pages can be incredibly confusing for both people and search engines, perhaps leading to your pages being blacklisted
Keyword optimization — increases the likelihood of your website being ranked and improves relevance for searches
Make it a practice to include your location in your title tags, especially if you serve a local audience
Optimize Images: For example, alt tags on photos effectively transmit a message to crawlers to aid in indexing. Try incorporating location keywords in the image name to help people understand what the image is and increase the likelihood of your image ranking on search.
Local Landing Pages: If you have multiple locations, create a landing page for each one with an emphasis on the relevance to that region.
Structured Data: Search engines crawl your site on a regular basis, thus it is quite helpful if you highlight the vital areas of your site to make the crawler's life easier. Structured data effectively does this. You can create them using free online resources.
Page Speed: Google has recognised page speed as a ranking factor since 2018. Not only that, but it is critical for the user experience. Remember this when it comes to website design, construction, and updates.
Among the methods for increasing page speed are:
Image compression and optimization
Limit the amount of redirects.
CSS, JavaScript, and HTML should all be optimised.
Use a Content Delivery Network to disable any website plugins you aren't utilising (CDN)
You may also utilise Google PageSpeed Insights to check if there are any possibilities that you can take advantage of.
Did you know that 61% of mobile searchers are more inclined to contact a local business with a mobile-friendly website? Google has a "mobile-first" programme in which they index and rank the mobile version of the website. And you must have a Google My Business Page. Here is a link to all of Google's guidelines for Google My Business: https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177
In conclusion, having a strong local SEO strategy is important for businesses of all sizes. Local SEO can help increase brand awareness and drive more traffic to your website. It can also be less costly than traditional marketing methods. If you are looking to improve your local SEO, contact a reputable SEO company today.