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    HomeBusiness TipsThe Best Local SEO Practices to Boost Your Small Business

    The Best Local SEO Practices to Boost Your Small Business

    Local SEO is a different type of search engine optimization approach that improves small businesses’ position in the market. When you search for something on Google, you usually expect that you will get the results near you. About half of the searchers will seek local information today, so if your business operates locally, you have to work on boosting your SEO strategy.

    Surely, you already know why local rankings are essential. Also, you understand why you should consider working on local SEO improvements. But, what do you say about a basic guide on how to rank your business higher on SERPs?

    1. Always Update your GMB Listing

    GMB is short for Google My Business. It’s a crucial part of the local SEO strategy. It helps you appear in both organic and snack pack results. You only have to be consistent with the information, like working hours, location, name, phone number, and of course, the customer reviews.

    Don’t forget to add the website, the exact location on the map, and, if possible, photos of your location, and the surroundings, so the customers can find you easily. GMB is vital to your business growth, so fill it up now.

    2. SEO Audit and Keyword Research

    The SEO audit is a process of scanning the website and seeing if some bad practices have been implemented. The audit will help you track down the thin content, broken links, and relevant keywords you can use for your further strategy.

    When it comes to localized keywords, you need to understand the importance of the local factor. For example, when you look for seo services long island companies, you need to mention the location, especially if you don’t live there. That will help you build a strategy around that location.

    Also, if you plan to open an office on Long Island, you have to research which keywords are relevant and how they rank among the competition.

    The SEO audit and keyword research may take plenty of time, but without them, it is impossible to create an efficient SEO strategy.

    3. Encourage the Customers to Write Reviews

    Rates and good reviews can help the local SEO strategy a lot. GMB accounts and SEO audits aren’t enough for local SEO.

    The goal is to attract and invite more people to visit your store, restaurant, agency, or consulting office. Honest reviews will help them get a clear image of what you are doing. Many customers decide to give a chance to a small business based on the comments and reviews.

    So, you can ask the customers to rate your business and share their experience with a follow-up email or even in person. It’s up to them to decide whether they will do that or not.

    4. Offer a Mobile Friendly Website

    We live with smartphones glued to our hands. So, people today are using their phones to search for specific services they need, even while they are out and moving.

    When searching for something, they expect the best “near me” results. So, optimizing the website for mobile displays is a crucial step you need to take.

    When in a hurry, users don’t have much time to zoom in on your contact details and rewrite the number on the dial pad. Adding a direct call button is another thing you can do to enhance the overall mobile experience.

    5. Focus on Local Stories and Events

    Your website is your identity. You can publish relevant blog posts that explain why your products and services are incredible. But, you can include content related to local events, charities, community, and support. It makes you easily trackable, and Google can efficiently localize your website.

    While publishing news and local stories, you are grabbing customers’ attention. They find you more trustworthy and relevant, and are more likely to visit your store, donate, contribute, or even buy something you offer.

    6. Get Quality Backlinks

    When you are acting locally, you can easily connect to other small businesses and support each other. The backlink strategy is crucial for local SEO, so getting quality link signals will boost you and your collaborators on Google.

    Don’t go for low-ranking and poor-quality links. The best thing is that linking is entirely free, and you don’t need to ask for permission to use a link in your content. It won’t take too long until you get the first signals, i.e., backlinks that lead to your website.

    Conclusion

    Local SEO is different than general SEO. The goal is to make the website visitors visit the physical store or order something. Indeed, ranking is important, but growth is even more essential for small businesses.

    So, make sure you implement these practices in your local audit and SEO strategy. We encourage you to explore this topic further to discover more secrets about content localization and how it improves your local SEO ranking.

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