Search engine optimization is important for local small business. With it, you can stand out when potential customers are searching for what you have to offer. By claiming your listings and including data on your website for search engines to know exactly where you are located and help your community discover you in search, you will see higher search engine rankings.
Local SEO Tips:
- Claim the big social media sites like Google+, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Complete your company profile thoroughly.
- Claim your business on the local check-in places like Foursquare, Yelp, and any niche systems related to your industry
- List your business on free local news websites. Many tv, newspapers, radio, and other traditional media outlets have sections of their websites for businesses to freely list their business.
- Include your address, phone number, and hours of operation on the main page of your website, along with your email newsletter. Preferably as a click-to-call link.
- Include Geotag data in the meta information on your website. I use Yoast’s Local SEO plugin for this, but you can also include data from http://mygeoposition.com/. The important addition that Yoast’s Local SEO plugin includes is Schema.org data, which can be complicated to hand-code.
- Claim your listings anywhere and everywhere else that you can. There are countless directories in your niche, but also many listings such as the online Yellow Pages. Find as many of these listings and precisely claim each. Plan for this to be at least an afternoon of tedious but simple work. Each asks you to verify that you are in fact the business owner by using your company email and phone to verify these. The more claimed listings that are all the same, the better your standings will rank.
- Ask customers for reviews.
Check your local seo citation listings at:
- GetListed – a great base start if you are trying to do it all yourself for free
- Yext – an inexpensive option if you pay, or a good listing for free places to claim
- Nuestar’s Localeze – a thorough listing, but works best when purchased
- UBL (not free)
- WhiteSpark (very limited in free mode)
Local SEO services:
It isn’t complicated to claim your accounts, but many just don’t know where to go to do so. In addition, seeking out a local seo company can provide the benefits of monthly reports on reviews, monitoring activity on the networks, and claiming additional listings as they become available.
I can help with your Local SEO needs if you’d prefer to go that route. Contact me for further information.
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