You need local SEO if your business does not show up on the first page of Google when people search for it. Google uses machine algorithms to decide which websites make it to the first page. These algorithms can be satisfied in a number of ways. The basic premise is to give your website more authority than others.
How do I increase my Google presence?
We are yet to see a website get onto the first page of Google for an extremely competitive keyword with potluck. We’ve been doing this for 20 years. Some businesses are lucky, but in Google’s world, good strategy always wins the race.
The reality is that standing still and doing nothing will get you nowt in Google. Your competition will invest in local SEO and beat you if you stand still. We know this because we have seen it time and time again.
How do I increase my local ranking on Google?
There are two ways to rank locally on Google:
- Rank in Google My Business
Google My Business is a free listing tool that puts your business on Google Maps. The idea is that when people search for a local service, you show up in these results:
That’s the idea anyway.
In reality, the top results are dominated by businesses with the strongest Google My Business listings.
How do I increase my Google presence?
High-ranking Google My Business listings have the following traits:
- 100% profile completion
- Up to date contact information
- Primary and secondary categories
- Questions and answers
- Lots of photos
- Google Reviews (the more the better)
- Regular updates (events, offers, product information)
In addition to these profile factors, it helps enormously if you have lots of high-quality citations published online.
Citations can be thought of as references. They are mentions of your business name with contact information but no backlink.
The idea is that the information published in a citation matches with your Google My Business information. This verifies the legitimacy of your business. Citations can be on business directories, websites and apps, and social platforms.
- Rank in organic search
Organic search includes all search results excluding Google Maps and ads.
Ranking for local keywords in organic search can be achieved by creating individual, high-quality location pages and building backlinks to them.
How do I optimize my website for local searches?
High-quality content is the key to getting location pages to rank. You need to create long pages that are location specific. This means including street names, local landmarks, history and recent events if there are any of note.
You will need one page for every location. This will ensure pinpoint focus and no location dilution. High-ranking location pages have the following traits:
- Over 1,000 words of text
- 2% keyword density
- Even keyword distribution
- Images with keyword alt tags
- Google Maps integration
- References to recent events
- References to landmarks and street names
- At least one relevant external link to a respected source
This blueprint also applies to your homepage if you intend to get your homepage to rank in organic search. However, bear in mind your homepage cannot rank for every location – it’s a lot easier to rank individual, high-quality location pages.
Do you need local SEO?
We can get your business to the top of Google. Advice is free and we welcome the opportunity to have a chat. We keep our prices low and you always get the ‘A’ team working on your business. Call us on 07946 497493 for a consultation.
I have been walking the talk with SEO for 18 years and have money-generating web businesses of my own. My background is real-world business and marketing. Search engine optimisation is not black art. If you want your website to do better, contact me.