Effective Local SEO Strategy is an essential part of a proper online marketing strategy. It is still one of the best ways to attract potential customers and to ensure the right people notice your business on the internet. As with many SEO strategies within a full article of SEO service, it is easy to get confused with all the conflicting information you find and the countless things you are told you should be doing. But getting your local SEO strategy to work isn’t all that difficult.
Here are 5 steps for an effective local SEO strategy with the SEO checklist
1. Start With Keywords:
As with many SEO strategies it is a good idea to start your optimization process with keywords. It is a good idea to come up with a list of keywords that you think your customers would be using. It isn’t a good idea to focus solely on the keywords that are ranking high because these aren’t necessarily going to result in higher ROI.
Keep in mind that Google is moving towards when it comes to ranking websites. Therefore it is important to come up with conversational keywords like “phone call to the business”.
2. Optimizing The Website:
Now that you have the keywords ready it is important to start including them onto your website. Remember to adjust all elements of your website including meta tags and header tags, for example.
Remember to include a proper contact page, as this is essential for good local SEO. Keep in mind that your keywords need to naturally fit on your website and you can’t just stuff the website with them.
3. Building High-Quality Links:
Local SEO also needs to have a good link-building strategy to back it up. You shouldn’t resort to buying low-quality links either. You need good, high-quality content that links back to your website.
Remember to focus on content marketing. This is a really good way of getting proper links for your business. You can find some specific local content marketing tips from this Asking Smarter Questions article, for instance.
4. Focusing On Directory Listings:
Once you have the above under control it is time to move your efforts to the final points. First, you want to get your business onto as many local directories as possible. It is really important to establish a strong online presence in various directories because these are something that people often use to search locally.
A good local SEO strategy should make use of the different tools available for optimizing your directories. For example, Bright Local’s tools help with Google Places optimization among other things. Spend some time finding the right local SEO tools for your needs.
5. Attract Reviews:
The last thing you need to do is to start building reviews. Customer reviews are a really powerful tool in improving your ranking and they can also ensure people find your business trustworthy.
It is important for encouraging people to leave a review on these sites. And always remember to respond to any possible negative feedback you get. Take it as an opportunity to make your business better.
