Local SEO Tips for Small Businesses

Small businesses should make sure they are doing everything possible to ensure their website appears in local search results. By hiring a local SEO expert, they can help to improve their website’s ranking in Google for searches in their area. In this guide, we’ll list down some of the most important tips on how to optimise a business website for local SEO.

It can be difficult to rank for keyword phrases as a small company. It could also be challenging to move up the search engine results pages (SERPs) when the same terms the business is ranking for are also targeted by bigger, more resourced firms.

How, then, are small businesses supposed to rank highly in SERPs? Fortunately, with the aid of local SEO, there’s a lot more than simply a good chance.

When it comes to hiring a local SEO expert, there’s one thing that’s certain: it has never been more essential for small businesses. Simply consider how popular “where to buy” + “near me” mobile searches have become, growing by more than 200 per cent in the past few years.

Recent research also revealed that 69 per cent of digital traffic is local and organic — which means it’s more important than ever before to optimise every small business’s local organic SEO efforts.

What Exactly Is Local SEO for Small Businesses?

Local SEO is the practice of enhancing a business website in order to improve its likelihood of appearing when individuals search for terms relevant to the business. Although it has the same goal as search engine optimisation, local SEO focuses on local keyword phrases.

The goal is to send visitors to the website from within the local area as they are more likely to convert.

What Is the Importance of Local SEO for Small Businesses?

With more people turning to the internet for help making offline purchases, local SEO has never been more essential for small businesses. In fact, according to one survey, 78 per cent of mobile searches lead to an offline purchase. This could only mean good things for businesses!

Optimising websites using the best local SEO strategy has many benefits, including building authority and informing target audiences about the business’ services and products.

Local SEO doesn’t simply have to result in more sales. It can also be used to educate or inform visitors of a website.

SEO Tips for Small Businesses That Work

Some local SEO practices can be implemented within minutes, while others might take days or weeks to complete. However, the tips shared below may greatly improve a local business’ offline and online presence.

1. Optimise for Google My Business

Google My Business is a Google-owned and -run business directory. The aim of the platform is for searchers to have access to the most up-to-date local businesses data available. As a result, most firms will have a Google My Business profile within a year after launching their business. This happens automatically as a result of Google’s website crawl bots discovering the company.

2. Claim Every Business Directory

Business owners should stake their claim in as many business directories as possible, especially since they’re marketing a small business. Google My Business and Yelp are two of the most popular. A Google Business Profile may appear to be sufficient for driving traffic both online and offline. However, consider that a Yelp page is among the top five results for 92 per cent of search queries with a city and business category.

3. Conduct a Local SEO Audit

Now that the company’s up and running on business listings, it’s time to get a sense of the competition and the playing field. This will determine key competitors and what they are doing so that the business can replicate these practices or do even better on their own website.

The highest amount of information and encouragement comes from the results on the first page of SERPs. After all, just three places account for 66.5 per cent of all SERP clicks!

4. Identify Local Keywords for Targeting

As a small company, keyword targeting might appear to be difficult. When searching for high-volume keywords, most people are sure to get lost; however, low-volume keywords have a poor return rate.

The number of “near me” search phrase variations has risen from as little as 150 per cent (e.g., “near me now”) to as much as 900 per cent (e.g., “near me today/tonight”) in just a few years. This indicates that small businesses may benefit from including both high-volume and local keywords in their strategies.

5. Promote (and Reward) Customer Feedback

When was the last time anyone went to a restaurant or bought something without doing research on ratings and reviews? In fact, 82 per cent of consumers conduct local online searches before making a purchase, so the answer is almost never.

Customer feedback is a business’s lifeblood. This is especially true for start-ups and small businesses.

6. Create Local Content

After discussing how to target local keywords while avoiding keyword stuffing, the focus should now be on how businesses can create local content for their websites or blogs. Creating local content is a great way to appeal to potential customers in the area, as well as improve a business’ chances of ranking highly in SERPs.

A blog post, a news release, or a static web page can all be local content. These various content types may be used to promote local events (both past and upcoming), products/services, and roundups of local businesses that complement one’s own but aren’t necessarily competitors.

Leverage Local SEO for Your Small Business

Small businesses play a vital role in keeping local economies going. They are the backbone of many communities, providing goods and services that people need on a daily basis. However, running a small business is no easy feat. With so much competition, it can be difficult to get your business seen and heard by potential customers.

That’s where local SEO comes in. Local SEO services, such as those offered by position1seo.co.uk, can help your small business rank higher on the search engine results pages (SERPs), making it more visible to people who are searching for the products or services that you offer.

We at Position1SEO do this by optimising your website for local search, improving your online listings and making sure that your business is listed in the relevant online directories. We also create targeted content that promotes your products or services to a local audience.

Don’t fall behind the competition – get in touch with us today and see how we can help you boost your business with our local SEO services! If you’d like to learn more about our services, please visit our homepage or contact us for a free consultation at jason@position1seo.com.