5 TIPS to improve your Local SEO

Mastering how to get on the first page of Google is the ultimate goal for most companies. But more important than ranking first overall, is to appear first, locally. That is why Local SEO and Google’s Local algorithm are increasingly important and ways to improve local SEO should be your main focus.

Local SEO is very important to bear in mind for companies, especially for those that operate within a strong territory or competition. Having good Local SEO positioning on Google allows your company to appear visible, possibly in the first pages, to every user who carries out a localised search.

Here are some useful tips to improve the local ranking of your site.

1. Start with your Google My Business page

Google My Business service was created by Google Plus in 2014. This platform allows a professional or company to create a profile with all the details of their business. This data will then be inserted into Google Maps. 

For those who are just beginning, the advice is to fill in all the descriptive fields trying to use the right keywords, obviously making sure that the description is written for human beings and therefore genuine.

What data can be entered? The possibilities are many and to have a detailed and useful profile for Local SEO it is good to specify:

• Description of the activity
• Commercial category to which you belong
• Pictures related to the activity
• Opening/closing times
• Address
• Telephone number
• Mail
• Reviews of users

In all probability, you may have neglected this area of local SEO optimisation – from the lack of contact information to the inclusion in the wrong categories which alienate the really interested leads. Fortunately, this is all easily fixed and learning how to create Google My Business page is easy.

2. Use other online directories on the web 

These are portals and platforms where you can enter the URL of your and information about your business for free. Users very often rely on these as business directories, because they are considered safe and free.

Some popular directories are:

• Apple Maps
• Yellow Pages
• Foursquare
• Yahoo’s Localworks 
• Google Places

Being featured in these directories can have a big impact on your ranking. In addition to directories, it is useful to have good reviews on other sites such as:

• Yelp
• Glassdoor
• TripAdvisor
• Hot Frog

These are very popular sites, where people can leave comments and reviews about different types of local businesses. Keep in mind that one of the most important factors in ranking your business is positive reviews.

In fact, according to Google, high-quality reviews can significantly improve your online visibility.

3. NAP

Not the sleeping “NAP” you’re thinking about – NAP (name and place) refers to information about your business.

When filling out your forms, you must always check that you have entered consistent information in all the lists in which you are present on the web.

Google cares about its credibility and it is vital that the information is accurate.

Your name, address, and phone number must match on all profiles to make it easier for customers to connect with your business.

4. Keyword research for Local SEO 

Research your company’s keywords- but, what keywords should you use? How many keywords should you use?

Don’t worry! Google Keyword Planner can help you

• Enter keywords that are relevant to your business and that will be found by local users
• Monitor the search volume of your keywords
• Monitor the degree of difficulty and relevance of keywords.

Implementing this type of research and keeping it active over time allows companies to always be ready to respond to hypothetical requests from users.

5. Generate fresh content

Search engines favour sites that offer frequent updates in their content. This means that if your site stays the same for months, it won’t get good results from a positioning point of view. 

The best way to always have new content is to learn how to create a blog and constantly insert new content. This blog should be on the company website and not in a separate site. 

Using the keywords, you’ve researched about your company, now would be a good time to begin using them by entering the necessary keywords according to the rules of SEO copywriting.

Want to know how to write better content for social media? Read our featured blog on the subject.

Here are just some of the main elements you need to understand what Local SEO is and why Google’s Local algorithm is so important today. So, don’t delay, begin optimising your Local SEO today!