Local SEO Tips and Tricks
Posted by Christine Herrington on Tue, Jun 05, 2012 @ 02:58 PM
As Google and the other main search engines begin to refine their search results to YOU, the consumer, local SEO becomes increasingly important when it comes to attracting your target market. As a result, it’s important for businesses to have a local search presence, especially if the business that operates solely in their local market.
Below are few or our favorite Local SEO Tips and Tricks
Understand Your Target Audience
Common sense tip here but you’d be surprised… you need to understand who it is your trying to target or your SEO efforts whether locally or not are worthless. What words are your customers using to find you or your products? Are they buyers or researchers? What kind of budget are they searching with? Will they be ready to convert?
Optimize for Local Keywords
You’ve discovered what and who you want to target. You’ve figured out how they’re searching (i.e. which keywords). Now what? When focusing on local search you need to take the national implications out of your search terms. For instance, if I want to rank for SEO nationally my keyword would be SEO or search engine optimization. If I want to compete locally I would add Denver to those terms. SEO Denver, Denver SEO or Denver search engine optimization. This tells the search engine that I’m focused on the Denver market for my target audience. You can make this as broad or specific as you like. For instance using Colorado instead of Denver or adding a local area such as Cherry Creek SEO. Its all about who YOU are trying to target.
Update Page Titles
Once you’ve completed above be sure to incorporate those “long tailed keywords” into your page titles to tell the search engines how relevant your pages are to those searching for Denver SEO or whatever widget you’re trying to promote.
Include Contact Information on Every Page
Include a physical address, a mailing address, and a phone number on every page of the site and make sure that this text is visible to the search engines, we always recommend the footer of your website.
Submit to Local Directories and Create Local Search Profiles
Crucial that you submit your local profile to each of the main search engines. These local search profiles are featured prominently on a search engine results page for a local search. Basic listings are free, but paid “Enhanced Listings” offer more options like photos, logos, and a more detailed business description. Don’t forget about local directories like Yelp and local.com if they make sense for your product.
Have a Mobile Friendly Website
A large percentage of searches for local establishments are conducted on a mobile device. As more and more people use smart phones and tablets. If a visitor can’t view your website via their mobile device, they obviously won’t purchase or do business with you.
Optimized Social Profiles
Social media is no longer only a place to connect with friends and family. It’s also a place for consumers to connect with brands. Take the time to optimize social media brand pages just as you would optimize your website and incorporate local keywords. For our company, this would include Denver SEO as previously mentioned.
Contact SeoSkye to start optimizing your local marketing efforts, 720.328.0415.
