If you’re a small business looking to attract more customers to your in-person venue, ranking near the top of the search engine page for your location is key. When used effectively, local SEO can be a very powerful tool that provides you with a steady stream of leads. To optimize SEO for small businesses, you should always keep Google’s criteria in mind, do some local research, collaborate with other businesses, and make use of social media.
1. Keep Relevance, Distance, and Prominence in Mind
Google states that they rank local businesses by their relevance, distance, and prominence. This means that you have a high chance of appearing at the top if your business corresponds to exactly what the person is searching for, is located very close to the area mentioned in the keyword, and is already well-known there. For this reason, you should always make it clear where exactly your business is and what it does.
If your product or service is unusual, you might be able to choose the largest town or city near you, as there won’t be many other relevant results in your area. However, if there are a number of businesses providing a very similar service to yours, it might be better to start with a very local keyword and work your way up to the broader area.
2. Do Your Local Research
There are many different keyword overview tools available, so you should make use of them and analyze the words or phrases you are considering. That way, you’ll find out which one might be most relevant to what you’re hoping to achieve as well as what competitors you have. Check out their website and note what they are doing well and what you want to do differently. Such analysis will help you to optimize your strategy and create the best online content.
3. Link to Local Businesses
Websites tend to rank higher if they are deemed relevant to the area, so you should work together with other local businesses. You can do this by visiting or calling them about online strategies, then linking to their content if they agree to collaborate. In turn, they will link to your content, so you end up with a lot of high-quality backlinks, which increases your site’s authority.
4. Make Use of Social Media
A number of social media platforms can be of use to small businesses looking to increase their local customer base. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are some of the biggest players, but depending on your product or service, a video-based app such as YouTube could also be a good fit. Make sure to post eye-catching content regularly to build a loyal following.
There are many different SEO optimization strategies, and ranking highly involves creating a clear and relevant website, doing a lot of research, collaborating with others, and posting on social media. If you’re new to these concepts or they sound like a lot of work, you could benefit from speaking to a professional. Call or email us at M&D Digital Advertising to find out more about our SEO services and how we could improve your marketing strategy.
