With the increase in localized Google search results, small businesses are looking for local SEO strategies that support their site’s search rankings and send them website traffic. So what exactly is local SEO, and what factors are important for small business websites to rank in Google search results?

What is local SEO?

Local SEO (search engine optimization) is work done on a business’s website and online presence to improve the visibility of a business within the local results of search engines. The local results include the actual search engine result pages, Google Maps, etc.

If a business has a brick and mortar location and they want people to go there, they should be doing at least some level of local SEO.

Why does local SEO matter?

Nobody uses the old paper Yellow Pages anymore. People of almost all ages are much more likely to go online and use a search engine to find new places to eat dinner, get their hair cut or buy dog food.

When people are searching online for local businesses with such frequency, business owners, marketing directors and anyone else in charge of marketing needs to make sure their business shows up.

How to optimize for local search:

There are no tricks anymore with Google or any of the other major search engines.  If a business wants to make sure their website shows up when people are searching, they need to make sure they give Google and prospective customers what they want – accurate information and quality content.

Step 1 – Make sure the website has a local phone number and physical address on all of the pages of your website. Not a picture of the business’s name, address and phone, but actual text. Bonus points for adding Schema markup with that information.

Step 2 – Claim and set up the business’s profile on the local directories of major search engines – Bing, Google and Yahoo. Fill out the descriptions completely, make sure to add pictures and choose the proper, most accurate categories.

Step 3 – Ensure the business’s citations are correct across the Internet with the correct name, address, phone number and website URL. Examples of citations include the online Yellow Pages directory, local chamber of commerce pages, etc. There are services that can help with this for a fee, or it can be done manually.

Step 4 – People are much more likely to visit a business with reviews. How do they get (the right kind of) reviews? By making sure their customers are so happy when they walk out the doors that they can’t wait to tell their friends, family and favorite review site about the experience. (Don’t forget to respond to good and bad reviews to show that your business actually cares about its online presence, and therefore its customers).

Step 5 – Create content. Google loves websites with content, but not as much as prospective customers. Give information about the business, write about the different product and services that are offered, etc.

Step 6 – Keep that content up to date. Google loves fresh content and customers love seeing a website with up-to-date information. Let them know about sales, new products or services, upcoming events, etc.  Pro tip: Businesses don’t have to update their website daily, but it should be updated on a regular basis. Every Monday or every other Wednesday, for example. Google loves that consistency.

Step 7 – Let Google know the name of the business and location. With that content that was just created, make sure to include the name of the business, the city and state in your title tag, H1 tag and in the body of the content.

Step 8 – Remember the don’ts. Don’t buy links from other websites and don’t use SEO services that promise the top result on the first page of Google overnight. Especially don’t if these offers come from unsolicited email. Don’t stuff articles, title

Need help developing a local SEO strategy for your small business?

Contact FSC Interactive for more information about how our local SEO strategy support can help your local business grow!