Competition is fierce,
especially for new local businesses. A huge challenge for many companies is
figuring out how to rank high in Google’s search results.
When someone needs a plumber or
a landscaper, that person will often search in Google and call the first few
names in the search results. To build your business it is vital to make your
way to the top of the rankings.
In this guide, we will walk
you through our proven, step-by-step process to catapult you to the top of the
list. But first, let’s look at the main reasons why local SEO is so essential…
3 Reasons All Local
Businesses Should Invest in Local SEO
1. Google is the New Yellow
Pages: Until recently, the tried and true strategy for local businesses
was to place an ad in the Yellow Pages and wait for the phone to ring. Today,
though, a stunning 97% of people search for local businesses online, and Google
is by far the most popular option.
2. Free Traffic: Although
search advertising can be a very effective channel, it’s hard to beat free. If
you boost your organic Google rankings, you can take advantage of an ongoing
stream of free traffic that you can convert into customers.
3. Level Playing Field: Local SEO
is one area where small local businesses are on an equal playing field with
larger, national businesses. And if you implement Local SEO best practices,
it’s not uncommon to gain first-page rankings in as little as 30 days.
Here are the 5 steps to get you
started…
Step 1: Select Your Keywords
First, just make a quick list
of simple keywords that explain your services. For example, an accountant might
choose “accountant”, “cpa”, and “tax advisor.” Keep going until you have a
reasonably comprehensive list, and then sign up for a free Google Ads account.
You don’t need to create or
fund an ad campaign, but a Google Ads account gives you access to the free
Google Keyword Planner. This helpful tool lets you input your selected keywords
to see how much traffic they generate, as well as suggestions for related
keywords that you may not have considered.
After running all of your
prospective keywords through the Google Keyword Planner, you are ready to
finalize your list. All keywords can be loosely classified into 2 basic
categories...
A) "Buying Intent"
Keywords
People searching for buying
intent keywords are looking for your product or service now. For example,
someone who searches for “tax help Orlando” likely needs to have specific tax
questions answered as soon as possible.
Your initial focus should be on
buying intent keywords since those are the searches that are more likely to
generate leads and customers for your business. Incorporate those keywords into
the content on your homepage, and create service pages for them. Your homepage
should be focused on your #1 most important “buying intent” keyword. And then
each of your service pages should be optimized for keywords related to those
specific services.
B) "Research Intent"
Keywords
Research intent keywords show
that a prospect is “just looking” or potentially looking to handle the work
himself. The person might want your services eventually, but not today. For
example, “what does a cpa do” likely indicates that the prospect is just
beginning to wonder how an accountant can offer help. Or, a person researching
“how to plant a dogwood tree” may not want to hire a landscaper right now.
Research intent keywords should
not be of top priority since they do not drive quick conversions. Hang onto
them, though, as they are excellent for FAQs and blogs. These informational
posts introduce you to prospects who might remember you when they are ready to
make a purchase.
Step 2: Optimize For Your Keywords
Now that your keywords are
finalized, you can move on to optimization. You need to separately optimize for
them in 2 places—your Google My Business profile and your website. Here’s what
to do:
A) Google My Business
Think of your Google My
Business page as a mini website that will show up in the “Map” section of
Google local listings. It offers a brief snapshot of your business.
The important thing to
recognize is that Google prefers to show Google My Business pages for lots of
local searches. Google realizes that when people are searching for a dentist or
a yoga studio, they want to see local results — and Google shows the “Map”
results (Google My Business listings) above the regular website results.
In order to rank on the first
page, your Google My Business page must be fully completed and entirely
accurate.
Here’s a checklist to get you
started:
·
Verification: First, claim your page and submit it through
the Google verification process. Google will send you a postcard in the mail
with a verification code.
·
NAP: Make sure that your business NAP (name,
address, and phone number) are up to date, and are identical across your Google
My Business profile, your website, and other online listings. You can check the
accuracy and consistency of your NAP with MozLocal. Let Google know that you
have a local business by choosing a local phone number rather than an 800
number.
·
Categories:
Choose the most relevant
available categories for your type of business. For example, a fence company
might choose Fence Contractor and Fence Supply Store, along with any
supplementary services such as Handyman.
·
Description: Your description is a brief overview of your
business that closes with a call to action, and should be between 100 and 200
words long. A fence company might use something like this: {Name of Company} offers
professional {fence building and repair or similar} in {Your City}. {Provide
some information about your company and/or why customers choose you.} Call
{Phone Number} today for a free estimate!
·
Hours: Make sure that your hours of operation are
correct and are identical across the Internet.
·
Images: Images help to humanize you to potential
customers, and can increase customer engagement. Depending on the nature of
your business, you might add a few photos of your office and your staff, your
team at work, or even your satisfied customers (with permission).
B) Website Optimization
Start with your homepage and
service pages, which are considered your core pages, and optimize them for your
selected buying intent keywords. Later, you will optimize your blogs and FAQs,
or content pages, for your research intent keywords. Here’s how:
i) Homepage
The most important element on
your homepage is a 50 to 65-character title tag, which is roughly
equivalent to a book’s chapter title. An orthodontist’s homepage might use a
title tag like this:
Orthodontist in {Your City} |
{Name of Your Practice}
Next is the meta description,
which should be 100 to 150 characters long, describe your core services, and
end with a call to action. For an orthodontist, it might look like this:
{Name of Practice} offers
quality {orthodontic services keywords} in {Your City}. Call {Phone Number}
today to schedule your free evaluation.
Next, make sure you’ve got a
well-written H1, the visible headline on your page. It should be concise
and easy to read and should include your main Google category. Here’s an
example homepage H1 template for an orthodontist:
{Name of Practice}:
{Orthodontist} in {City, State}.
Finally, consider your page
copy. It should be 500 to 1000 words in length, tightly written and edited,
and peppered with your primary keyword in a natural fashion. Give some
background information on your company, briefly describe your main services,
and end with a strong call to action.
Also, make sure you have a
prominent call to action “above the fold” on your homepage, so it’s obvious how
to contact your company, without scrolling down the page.
ii) Service Pages
Each of your core services
should have its own separate service page. Optimize each for a buying intent
keyword, following the same steps that you used for your homepage.
For example, if you’re an
attorney with multiple practice areas, you’d want to have a separate page for
each practice area (such as estate planning, criminal defense, and personal
injury). And each of those pages should be optimized for the service keyword as
well as the geographic keyword.
For example, the title tags for
the pages could be structured like this:
Estate Planning Attorney in
{City, State} | {Name of Practice}
Criminal Defense Attorney in
{City, State} | {Name of Practice}
Personal Injury Attorney in
{City, State} | {Name of Practice}
iii) Locations & “Service
Area” Pages
If you have multiple locations,
we recommend building out a page for each location.
And if you travel to your
customers/clients, we recommend building out a Service Area section of your
website, with 5-10 pages optimized for your 5-10 top priority towns within your
service area.
Each page’s title tag could
then have the service keyword and the geographic keyword pertaining to your
primary service and the town.
iv) NAP on Every Page
Earlier, we mentioned the
importance of having accurate and consistent Name, Address and Phone number
(NAP) information for your business online. One important step to take is to
get your NAP listed on every page of your website, and an easy way to do that
is to add your business Name, Address and Phone number in the footer of every
page on your site.
Step 3: Develop Citations and Links
Now that the skeleton of your
local SEO campaign is in place, you are ready for citations and links. Both
enhance your online reach and improve your Google rankings.
A) Citations
A citation is just a listing of
your business NAP (name, address, and phone number) in an online directory.
Popular options include general national directories such as Yelp, general
local directories such as your town’s Chamber of Commerce site, and directories
that are targeted to your industry.
Be careful to ensure that your
NAP is identical across all of your listings. You can check the accuracy of
your NAP using MozLocal.
B) Links
It’s important to build a
foundation of links in order to put your business in the running with your
local competitors.
Directories are a good starting
point for building links as well as citations.
Also, consider the “real world”
offline relationships you have with colleagues, partners, and suppliers, and
see if you have opportunities to get links from their websites or swap links.
In addition, research your
competitors to see where they’re getting links. Tools like Moz Link Explorer
and Ahrefs.com can show you where your nearby competitors find their links.
Step 4: Request Reviews
Online reviews are crucial for
2 reasons. First, they let Google know that you have a legitimate business.
Second, they can help convince prospects to give your company a try. All
reviews are valuable, but Google My Business reviews are obviously the most
important for improving your Google rankings.
The best way to get reviews on
your Google profile is to send your customers a direct link to where they can
post a review. We recommend sending your customers an email with that direct
link. The only problem is that Google doesn’t make it super easy for you — you
have to create this direct link yourself.
Here’s how to do it. Search for
your company name, and you should see a Google My Business profile preview in
the top-right of the search results. you’ll see the “Write a Review” button
next to your company name, below your profile preview. Click on that link, and
then copy the full URL in your browser. That’s the link you’ll want to share
with your customers. It’ll be a long link, so just hyperlink it in your email,
and say “Click here to leave us a review.”
People are generally eager to
help, and doing this regularly can ensure a steady flow of recent reviews.
Step 5: Track Your Results
It’s important to track your
results with Local SEO, so you know what’s working and what’s not, and how to
improve over time.
Here are the 3 most important
metrics to track:
A) Rankings
The search results that Google
displays are customized based on location and your previous browsing activity.
The best way to get consistent ranking metrics is to use a tool (rather than
checking manually). Some of our favorite tools for tracking Local SEO rankings
are Rank Ranger, AgencyAnalytics, and BrightLocal.
B) Traffic
To track your traffic, or
visitors to your website, use Google Analytics.
We recommend keeping an eye on
organic search traffic trends on a long-term and short-term basis. For example,
you should review the long-term SEO traffic trends over the past year, and also
compare the most recent completed month (January 2020) to the previous month
(December 2019), as well as to the same month from the previous year (e.g.
January 2019).
That way, you’ll have a sense
of whether your traffic is growing over time, and you’ll also know how each
month stacks up to previous months. And if you have a seasonal business, then
it’s important to measure against the same month in the previous year versus
the previous month.
C) Leads
Finally, it’s critical to track
the leads you’re generating from your website. For example, you’ll want to set
up Google Analytics Goals to track website form completions when people submit
a contact form on your website or sign up for a coupon or for your email
newsletter.
Using Goal tracking in Google
Analytics, you can track how many leads you’re generating from SEO, as well as
which pages on your website and generating the most conversions.
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