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Published September 29th, 2016 by

7 Local SEO Strategies to Boost Small Businesses

SEO is an essential tool to market a business, whether small or big, having a successful SEO gives marketers an edge among others in the competitive field. Everyone aims of having a website with better search engine ranking on Google and any other search engine platforms. However, it is not as easy as writing content and posting it, you first need to understand what SEO is and how can you boost your site traffic through it. Many web marketers and bloggers are still unaware about the in depths of SEO; all they know is that they need it for their website. And since many are not keen enough and will not bother to wade through it, they rely the job to a professional or local SEO firm. It is actually a wise decision hiring an SEO expert instead of DIY if you want to get quick results. On that note, you need to carefully do researches about why local SEO service is a better choice.

7 Local SEO Strategies to Boost Small Businesses

Read through this article to see few SEO strategies that will help boost your business search engine ranking. DIY or outsourcing, these tactics can be done by a dedicated SEO team.

Keywords

Many web marketers are still unaware of the benefits in using the right keywords for their content. Having a stellar web design is not an element to drive traffic; Google and other search engines will not recognize how your site looks, instead, it recognizes through the wordings. Thus, it is essential to focus on this matter.

According to article,7 Local SEO Tips for Better Local Search Results – AabacoSmallBusiness.com, keyword research can help you discover words or phrases that suits best to the niche of your business. There are various tools for keyword research, such as storybase.com, Google Keyword tool, answerthepublic.com and many more. It is ideal to look for keywords which most likely drive the right traffic to your site.

Competition is a factor makes tricky ranking. Having many competitors is a consideration for you to be even more careful and wiser on key word research,thus, you should give a high priority in your local SEO checklist. However, it is smoother to rank phrases that are more precise or what is called “long tail” phrases. Keyword brainstorming must be given enough priority so the rest of the SEO procedures, amidst writing a content, becomes rewarding in the long run.

Improve Content Quality

Having great content is a no brainer to include in your SEO strategy. It serves as the backbone of your website as a whole. It determines whether your site is reliable and credible or not. Nowadays, good quality content is a great demand for both the users and search engines.

But what actually is a quality content? How does a web marketer publish a content that visitors will find helpful? There are a handful of answers to those questions. According to Why Quality Content is the Core for any SEO Strategy – Writtent.com,the fresh, informative, useful, engaging and interesting articles are the core qualities of a great content.

Good content gives you the benefit of being easily found online and keeps people coming back at the same time. Not just that, quality content is a great apparatus for driving sales since a lot of offline purchases nowadays are brought about by a careful web research.

Meta Description

Going back to keyword research, if you come up to a list of your top keywords and phrases, it is now time to make a good use of it. You may have heard about META description all over the internet but never made a research about it. META is the short term for metadata which defines the data about your content. It is the brief summary of what a post, page or website is all about and is incorporated with a keyword or phrase.

According to a post from Hubspot.com, the main purpose of a META description is to persuade a user to click you in search results and that you need to do everything to convince someone to do the decision and press click. Here are few tips in making an effective META description:

  1. Adapt action-oriented wordings
  2. Contribute solutions and benefits
  3. Keep Meta description under 155 characters
  4. Don’t fool users
  5. Make it relevant and straightforward

Remember, your Meta description is your stake in winning for prospect clients, thus, you need to be careful in making it.

Social Media Promotion

Needless to elaborate, social media is indeed a great avenue for web marketers and their business. Considering the fact that billions of people around the world have Social Media account is enough to say that you should consider Social Media promotion. Most local SEO guide articles and blog posts say you need Social Media in your SEO strategy.

You need to remember that Google is not the only spot in order to promote your brand. There are definitely a lot of channels to get the exposure you wanted. In creating a Social profile, you need not to create an account for every Social Media channel as it may take a lifetime for you to manage all. Instead, know the popular channels around your niche and in the area, you belong. Set a profile relevant to your business; for example in the category section, if your business is all about selling dress and shoes, then you need to categorize your account as an apparel business. Also, do not forget to include the address of your physical store (if you have), your website and your means of contact (email address, phone number).

Claim or Create Local Listing

Many web marketers are still unaware of the importance of claiming a local listing. Having a local listing in Google and other search engines is crucial to your website’s SEO. It enables users to locate you when they enter a search query for products and services related to your niche.

According to an article from copyblogger.com, local listings represent citations, which are important in search engine ranking algorithms. Citation refers to the mention of local firms in the web, either with or without a link.

When dealing with business, it is crucial for every marketer to inform the prospects to know their existence especially on the local aspect. There are multiple ways to get your local listing; one popular example is through Google My Business where you simply have to create an account and verify.

Ask for Authentic Reviews

It is massively important to never ask for fake and solicited reviews for your business. Instead of getting a better impression from audiences, it might ruin your credibility and overall image.

Asking for authentic reviews is crucial to your website’s SEO as it increases trust from your clients and prospect customers. However, this strategy is not something you have a full control with, you will have to ask people to have an honest opinion about your service. It can be something about a great experience or dissatisfaction.

There are many ways to get genuine reviews for your business on your Google+ page, Angie’s list, Yelp or through bloggers. Getting honest reviews from reliable sites will help you leverage your site’s SEO as well as your business’ marketing.

Review Results

Now that you’ve got a handful of SEO strategies, try to apply those and see the differences it gives. SEO strategies does not happen overnight, you need to be patient as it takes time, maybe weeks, months or even years.

There so many local SEO strategies to try that are proven to make difference on your website’s traffic. It is completely fine to incorporate various SEO techniques at one, as long as you still follow search engine rules. After a while of managing your site’s SEO, take time to review the results and see whether you need to make adjustments or alterations.

Consider Outsourcing

If you are one of the people who need abrupt results, then, doing SEO yourself may not be the best idea especially if you are not an expert in the field; you are most likely have had to wait in order to get the results you want. Good news is you can hand the job to your local SEO experts.

Seeking help from a local SEO firm is the best option for many as it is proven to bring rapid and desirable results. However, you need to remember that not every firm is the same; there are great ones but there are also some that will just give you another pain in the neck. Therefore, it is ideal to look for genuine reviews of local SEO firms to check whether a company is reliable or not.

In all honesty, there are some things in life that needs expertise and for sure SEO is one of those. Blessed are those who are keen enough in doing it by themselves. But we all know that not everyone can.

Remember to only pick the best local SEO firm of your choice to get the desirable results you’ve been aiming for.

Conclusion

That’s it! Those are some of the many effective SEO strategies you can apply for your business website to boost traffic and improve sales. Whether you choose the DIY SEO or hire a local SEO firm, it is important to keep up with the ever complex and changing search engine rules and algorithms.

Seeking for the right local SEO firm around you? Check out reviews of local SEO firms on CrowdReviews.com to get up-to-date and evident reviews from real people. Side note; see the latest recap of the best local SEO firm.

John Tovar

John specializes in the creation and planning of business-centric mobile applications and mobile website design and development.

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