At home or on the go, nowadays the web is undoubtedly the main source of local information. I work for several small business, most of them local, and I never tire to stress to them the importance of an effective SEO strategy to be found by customers who need their services, exactly when & where they need them.
1) Optimize website and landing page
First and foremost make sure that the website can be viewed and easily navigated on mobile devices, a responsive website is usually the easiest solution. I would not recommend mobile-only site as yet, as for some categories of business I still see a majority of visits coming from desktop, therefore for now it’s better to keep your options open.
Titles and tags: It’s all about location
Page and category titles should contain both location, being it neighborhood, city, state, depending on the reach of the business, and main keyword related to the services/products offered.
And don’t forget to tag images! Search by images is popular and it can bring some leads, so remember to include your service and location in alt text for your logo and for that amazing shot of spaghetti carbonara from your chef!
2) Mind the NAP
Name, address and phone number are essential information, together with contact and business hours, they should be clearly visible on all the pages, including mobile. If the landing page is long and/or rich in images, video and other gadgets, please put this information at the top, so visitors won’t be frustrated by long loading time (you never know what network you get when you’re on the go), after all user experience (and bounce rates) are important SEO factors. The NAP should be consistent across listings, in order not to generate Hamletic doubts that usually resolve in a “pass”.
3) Put map on the website
4) Create a Google Business Profile
Once the website is in order, it’s time to start spreading the word, and the first stop is, of course, Google.
Google My Business is a free listing service, that brings up a full profile when it matches a local business search, therefore it is crucial to get this right. The creation of the listing is a two step process:
- fill out the form in all its parts, add a few good images (logo, products, interior if open to public).
- Address verification: Google will send a postcard with the code at the listed address, within a couple of weeks (days in major cities).
If a listing is already there, because a previous owner has created it or a user posted a Google review, it is possible to claim it, using the new Google My Business account and verifying it.
While you’re on Google business another good practice to improve local SEO is to open a Google+ Page, it adds some juice to your search engine ranking on Google.
5) Good visuals count … a lot!
A picture is worth a thousand words, you’ve read it before and you’ll keep reading it as images are a sort of shorthand of communications: with one glance the visitor can load a lot of information not only about the look and feel of the products/services offered, but also about the quality and professionality behind them. The investment in a few good quality images of the business is totally worth it, they can be used over and over in different contexts, online and offline. Good images are more likely to be shared, if they are shared the search engine ranking goes up; it is a matter of relevancy and user experience.
6) Get listed
For local SEO, like all SEO, inbound links, that is links that point to a site, are considered a sign of credibility and authority by the search algorithms, submitting the business information to all the local relevant online directories and to DMOZ is a way to build these links.
Some directories require paid submission (like Yahoo) but many others are free, for example:
New York State small business directory (for business in NY State)
The Business Journals Directory
7) Get the word out
Press releases are always a good way to build momentum about news: new business, new site, new product, new service. A good round of P.R. can not only get exposure on local media and bring customers to the business, but it also helps to create a inbound links, and get some SEO juice, from online magazines and site that pick up the news. Writing and distributing a press release is a job for professionals (like me 😉 but if you really spent all your last funds in that must-have stylish door handle, remember: keep it short and to the point and use free press release distribution services like:
8) Choose your socials wisely
Not all business need to be on all social channels, choose them wisely looking at what competitors are doing. But once you chose them you must have a plan to manage them: monitoring them and feeding them good content, leaving this task to the busboy or your niece just because they’re young and have an account on Facebook and Snapchat is not an option. Unfortunately, this is an error I see small business owners doing over and over. For a new business it is essential to start well to make the most of the initial momentum, most local business do not need a full time social media manager, but if you’re serious at building a reputation online, it is recommended to leave it in professional hands at least for the first six months. This is a crucial time to establish the foundations of the online reputation and voice of the business. If the business cannot afford a professional social media person beyond the launch, it must definitely put together a blueprint for social channels and educate employees on best practices.
9) Don’t be shy: ask for reviews
For local business user reviews are the second most precious piece of information that their potential customers can find on the web, the first is the website of course. Contrary to popular belief, bad reviews are also important because they add credibility to the positive ones (too many goodie-goodie comments sound fake), and with the right, courteous reply, they can be turned into another customer-winning piece of information.
10) Monitor & update content
You launched your site, social media & business profiles, got the listings and press releases, some reviews, you think all is set right and you can go back to your business right? Wrong! As mentioned above social media need to be feed regularly with new content and so does the website if it aims to rank high in search results. A frequently updated site means it continues to offer new content to visitors, and if this content is popular on social media, the business is definitely doing well. Monitoring social media accounts is also a daily task, not only Facebook has recently introduced a answering time widget on its Pages, but it is also good common sense to build customer relationships. Here the key is to keep offering a variety of contents, without being afraid of experimenting, check the results and optimize your content strategy. The web is like society: always evolving and changing and so should your business.