Local seo guide

Local SEO Guide Ranking Higher in Google

If you have spent some time engaging and interacting with the forces that run the online marketing business, you must have realized that the ranking of your business on Google is the driving force behind all your online successes.

Whether it is in the local market or a wider, global arena, unless you are ranking on a considerable position, I’m sure you aren’t experiencing the online market and what comes with it properly. Bottomline- you need to rank higher on Google.

If you own a small, local business and are looking to improve your ranking as well as business prospects, Local SEO is what you need to focus on. To help you understand it better and consequently add up to your ranking prospects, I’ve created this comprehensive and precise Local SEO Guide.

By taking care of the things that I’m about to present, you can optimize your website to boost your business successfully. But before we get to the details, let’s first understand Local SEO and its need for your business to be successful in 2021.

Local SEO & Its Need In 2021

Search Engine Optimization or SEO is the backbone of an effective marketing strategy for an online business. Without it the chances of you making it to the top with your business and experiencing online success is minimal.

You know that optimizing for the search engine requires to take care of a lot of intricacies involved in the process. What you also need to know is that optimizing for search engine is different for a local business when compared to some other business.

I’m not ruling out the similarities in the local and the global market. What I’d like to let you know is that the process as well as the things that you need to work on while optimizing as a local business vary considerably from a general SEO plan.

That’s when Local SEO comes into the mix. It simply means that you direct your SEO efforts to optimize for the local market and tailor the methods to achieve higher authority and visibility in the local market. The competition is heavy and in order to stand out, you must optimize properly.

Whether it is 2021 or five years later from now, one thing that is going to stand the test of time when it comes to its effectiveness in helping your local business grow, is an exclusive Local SEO strategy. The best thing that you can do is to make use of it to add to your chances of making it big. I’m here to help you do that and keeping in mind the same motive, I’ve crafted this Local SEO Guide to help your local business rank higher in 2021 and beyond.

Local SEO Guide For Local Success

What I believe is that for any Local SEO Guide to be successful and have profound positive impact on the progress and growth of your local business, it must pay right attention to the right things. We can make a long list of factors/signals that play a role in determining the level of success that you will experience. However there are only a handful of these factors that, when paid due and proper attention to, can change the game.

Ensuring that the strategy that I propound incorporates all those quintessential things, I’ve bifurcated the strategy into five areas of focus. These are:

  • Keywords
  • GMB Optimization
  • NAP Citation
  • On Page Optimization
  • Backlinks

Let’s dive deeper into these and figure out what needs to be done to make sure that you are outperforming every competition.

Proper Use Of Proper Keywords

Google isn’t going to rank your website for any and every search. The keywords that you target are the same ones on which you can get your business to rank. This goes to show that the keywords are the cornerstones for your business’ online ranking and therefore you should work on making the best use of these.

Now, there are so many keywords related to a business/niche. You cannot rank the same on all of them. That’s why you need to narrow down your focus to the most effective, relevant and rewarding keywords. You need to enlist such keywords and incorporate them properly in your content.

Here are some tips from my side to ease this process for you:

  • Focus On Specific Keywords

Specific Keywords or Long Tail Keywords are different from general keywords as they have a degree of specificity to them. By focusing on these keywords, you further narrow down your radar and also the competition. Thus it becomes easier to secure a credible rank as compared to ranking on a generic keyword.

  • Learn From Your Competitors

When you have someone rank better than you, it simply means that they are doing the right things which you are probably missing on. By analysing your competitors, you can get to know the keywords that are working for them and decide to use them effectively to rank better than them.

  • Use Google Keyword Planner

Google Keyword Planner is a tool from Google that helps you get an idea of the right keywords that you could be using. Once you are done with the steps that I’ve mentioned before, you can head on to use this tool to get to know the trending keywords along with competition associated with them.

Optimized GMB Listing

In my opinion, your business listing is the most important asset for your business/website. Given the prime importance that it holds in shaping the marketing experience for you as well as your customers, it becomes crucial that you optimize it completely and in the right way.

It all starts with setting up of a Google My Business account. Your GMB account and the business listing associated with it helps you monitor your online presence. What you provide in your GMB profile in the form of necessary information, is what pops up when people look for your business.

It is a prominent point of interaction between you and your customers and therefore ensuring that you have optimized every major part of it in the right manner is indispensable.

Here is a checklist for you to keep in mind while optimizing your business’ GMB listing.

  • Complete Every Section With Accuracy

You are required to provide a lot of information at different sections for your Google My Business Profile. Some of these are- Business Name, Address, Phone Number, Category, Website, Working Hours, Description etc. Make sure that you provide complete and accurate information for all of these.

  • Be Specific With Your Business Category

This is the most important piece of information that helps the search engine associate your business with the right niche. Be as specific as possible to narrow down the competiton and stand at a better position to be found online.

  • Make Right Use Of Media

Photos can add a lot to the image of your business. Make sure that you utilise high quality, relevant and engaging images with your business listing to help customers get a better idea of what you are all about and what they can expect from you.

  • Engage Through Reviews

Reviews posted by your customers speak volume about your business. Serve them well and get them to leave reviews. Also respond to these reviews and address any queries they may have. Engagement shows that you care about your customers and what they have to say.

Consistent NAP Citation

A consistent NAP Citation can separate your from numerous competitors who overlook this extremely crucial thing for online conversion of traffic to successful leads. In fact, having a consistent NAP citation is the most prominent thing that makes or breaks the deal for you.

Google loves consistency and so do its users. Consistency bears a mark of clarity. And that’s what we all love. I have witnessed several instances where despite having a solid website with all the right things, a business fails to attract customers for business, owing to inconsistent NAP citation. I know you don’t want to experience similar things.

Therefore you must ensure that you maintain a degree of consistency with the information that you list online. The most effective thing that you can do is to make sure that all crucial information such as the business address, phone number, working hours etc, is updated regularly.

Customers don’t like it when they are left wondering which number to dial on because they found different phone numbers on your website and listing. A confused customer is an unhappy customer and we don’t want that. NAP consistency can save you.

On-Page Optimization

Your website cannot be left out in the process. There is a lot that you can do when it comes to On-Page Optimization that can profoundly improve the standing of your website in Google Local Search Results. Some of these are as follows:

  • Make sure that you create a solid and well structured landing page.
  • Optimize the titles, meta-description, tags etc.
  • Create a structured layout for your content to enable easy navigation.
  • Embedding Google Map to your website.
  • Optimize your webpages for mobile devices.

When you take care of all these intricacies, you can rest assured that you have a website with perfectly optimized and regulated On-Page.

Earning The Right Backlinks

I’ve said it time and again that creating a solid backlink profile is indispensable for any business that functions online and wants to be successful, regardless of the type or size. In fact, the quality of backlinks that you have associated with your business dictate the level of success that your online business will experience.

When you have high authority and credible sites link to your website, your business gains trust points and authority that help the search algorithm improve your ranking prospects. Google is looking for authenticity and credibility. Your backlinks can help you prove the same provided you ensure relevancy and do it in the right way. I advise you to craft a link building strategy before you go on to earn those backlinks that will propel you to massive success.

Right Efforts Yield Right Results

These are the only things that you need to take care of and you will experience exponential growth and improvement in the ranking of your local business. Search Engine Optimization has many colours to it. Some believe that it is a tough nut to crack. What I have experienced through my years of engagement with the online marketing industry is that it only gets as tough as you make it. Sure there’s a good number of things to take care of and work on. However, with the right insight that years of experience and insight bring, you can make the job pretty simple and easy. If you would like to utilise my experience and expertise to help you succeed in your online ventures, feel free to drop a line.