It is often believed that the web presence and, therefore, search engine optimization is reserved for large national and international companies. Yet, even the smallest structures can be at the top of Google’s results. This is what allows for local SEO.
How to use the web to be found by customers near you? This is what we will answer by revealing 6 strategies that will help you improve your local SEO.
6 strategies that will help you improve your local SEO
1) SEO Title and meta description
The SEO title and meta description are two key elements of natural SEO, both local and non-local.
These are the two main pieces of information that appear in search results (although Google may choose to display a text other than yours as a meta description).
First of all, it is in your interest to include the name of your city / department / geographic area, as well as the main keyword that designates your business, for a better local search positioning (for example “Ancona web agency”).
Beyond the purely SEO interest, your title and your meta description allow you to reassure the internet user by clearly showing him that you are a local company.
On WordPress, these two pieces of information can be easily entered using a plugin like Yoast SEO:
Local seo on Yoast
2) Corporate directories for local SEO
There are online business listings and directories that are just a must for your local SEO, such as:
** Yellow Pages
** White pages
** Trip Advisor
And many others depending on the field of activity.
Directories have several advantages.
They contain links to your site that bring you traffic and improve your SEO.
They offer good visibility for Internet users who browse these directories, all for free (most of the time).
3) Google My Business
Google My Business can also be considered a business directory, but its importance is such that it should be treated as a separate case. This screenshot illustrates it very well.
Google My Business can make you VERY visible in search results. Hence the need to create a listing for your business and optimize it with the following tips:
Choose your categories carefully and precisely to be found easily (eg: choose “Fresh vegetables shop” rather than “Boutique”);
Highlight the best reviews left by your customers. Use quality photos to illustrate your business. Don’t hesitate to be original to stand out;
Obvious but really important: enter the company name and the correct contact details.
4) Online reviews
Online customer reviews are of great importance to Internet users, who refer to them constantly before purchasing.
As an Info study points out, 88% of people consult consumer reviews, forums or blogs before making an online purchase.
But reviews also have a direct impact on SEO, as Google says:
“The number of Google reviews and the corresponding ratings are taken into account in the ranking of proximity searches. The more positive reviews a business has, the more likely it is to appear in local rankings. “
Offer quality service to your customers, encourage them to leave you reviews, and your local SEO will reap the rewards.
5) Rich snippet
Rich snippets (or rich extracts) are elements that improve search results for certain queries, especially in the context of local search.
As we can see in the example above, snippets allow you to stand out strongly on a request such as “hotel ancona”.
The appearance of rich snippets in SERPs is linked to the integration of structured data on the site: these, if well marked, allow search engines to more precisely identify the content of a site or page.
6) A responsive site
Most local searches are done on mobile phones, so it is essential that your site is fully responsive, meaning readable on all media.
A site unsuitable for smart-phones would not only make you lose potential customers, but it would also give Google a bad signal, which could penalize your local SEO.
Conclusion
These tips, while not an exhaustive list, will provide you with the keys to implementing an effective Local SEO strategy.
However, the positioning – local or not – of a site largely depends on the optimization of technical SEO and the creation of quality content: blog articles, product sheets, etc.
