The internet can help open up your reach to billions of people around the globe. But if you are a startup running a brick and mortar business, a global reach may not be your most immediate goal, or at least not for now. What could get your business a constant flow of customers is local seach domination.
According to statistics, approximately 75% of all searches are for local businesses. Better still, dominating local searches produces the most qualified leads, as people that do these searches are almost always ready to make a purchase.
Below are tips to help you dominate local search results.
Get the Help of a Local Digital Marketing Agency
Every business similar to yours in your city or state will be fighting to rank. This means that doing your best may not be good enough. Most businesses that have succeeded in dominating their local searches do so by engaging a local digital marketing agency.
You want to hire a local agency because they are more familiar with local SEO tactics to bring in real leads and sales in the shortest time possible to give you a good return on your investment.
Target Local Keywords
Proper keyword use is critical to SEO. When looking for local reach domination, it’s essential to ensure that your keywords are location specific and include what people usually use when searching for your type of business.
There are two types of keywords, namely short and long tail keywords. Short tail keywords are more competitive, thus giving you a low chance of dominating the search results. On the other hand, long tail keywords are less competitive, giving a higher chance of ranking in search results.
A short tail keyword like “restaurant in Queens, New York” may be challenging to rank for because everybody will be looking to rank for the same keyword. So you may want to choose keywords that are longer and more specific to what you offer.
For example, if your primary offering is sushi, you could go for a long tail keyword like “the best sushi restaurant in Queens, New York.”
Set Up a Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile, also Google My Business, can be your best source of business when done right. Listings on Google Business Profile appear at the top of local search results in a Google feature known as local SEO 3-pack.
Setting up a profile is not enough. You have to optimize it for local searches. You want to ensure you enter accurate information such as location, building, telephone numbers, email address, business website, business hours, and the legal business name.
Having the correct information helps search engines get as much information about your business, allowing its algorithms to list you for the most relevant search queries.
Manage Your Reviews
Google Business Profile allows customers to leave their reviews. However, most customers won’t leave until you ask them. So if you are confident in customer satisfaction, you can always ask them to post a review on your profile.
A happy customer will be willing to help by leaving a review. You could also add your link somewhere on your website and ask happy customers to write a review. Positive reviews are a ranking factor in Google, so you want to have as many of them as possible.
Ensure Your Site Is Responsive
If you run your business on your old website, there could be a chance it is not responsive, which could cost you lots of online business.
A responsive website should render well irrespective of the device used to view a page. Websites responsiveness is a ranking factor in SERPs, so you may want to make sure you upgrade your site.
Also, most local searches are done using phones, so you want to have a mobile-friendly website if you hope to dominate those searches.