Local SEO is essentially about helping your business get found online by people who could potentially become your customers. There are many ways to do this, and some methods are easier than others. We’re going to talk about how to improve your chances of getting found online using these techniques.
First things first – what does Local SEO mean?
Google is an omniscient being whose job it is to help us find information when we don’t know where to look. When you search for something on Google, whether that thing is “how to make coffee” or “where my favorite band lives,” you type in some keywords related to whatever you want to find out. In doing so, you’re telling Google that you’re looking for specific content. Google then scans its database of information, finds places where those words appear, and returns the results to you.
If your business’s website appears at the top of the list of results, that’s great. But if not, then how do you get there? That may depend on how well optimized your site is. Optimization means making sure your pages have relevant titles, tags, and descriptions, that they load quickly, and that they use appropriate images. This ensures that your page is effectively communicating what it is about, and makes it more likely that people will click through to get more details.
How do I know if my site is optimized enough?
There are two main ways to tell whether your site is optimized enough. First, you can check your web analytics tool (website traffic statistics) to see how often people are finding your site via certain keywords. If you see high numbers of visits to your site through certain keywords, but only low numbers of clicks on links to other sites, that’s a sign that your site isn’t working as hard as it should to reach potential customers. If you don’t know what keyword phrases to target, ask around among your existing clients. They might have suggestions for terms that relate to your service/product or industry.
Another way to see if your pages are optimized enough is to do a few searches yourself. Type in different words relating to your business in Google. Do a whole bunch of them, and see how often they bring up your site on the first page of results. If you don‘t rank highly on the first page of Google searches for your keywords, then there’s probably something wrong with your optimization.
What’s the best way to optimize my site?
The easiest way to start is to focus on technical aspects of your site. Technical issues, especially slow loading times, are more easily fixed than emotional ones, like your brand image. Start off by checking your Html code to see if there are any errors or problems. If you see anything odd here, fix it! Don’t worry about fixing everything right now – just tackle the biggest obstacles first. Once you’ve done that, move on to your CSS files to make sure they’re formatted correctly. Check the size of your images using a free online file checker. Make sure that you have a good balance between text and visuals on your page. Use a keyword research tool to determine what keywords people are searching for and write pages using those keywords instead of your own. Finally, try to add additional, non-essential elements to your site to ensure it loads fast.
How can I measure if my site is effective?
Once you’ve tackled the technical stuff, it’s time to take a step back and think about your brand identity. What is your company’s message? How do you want your clients to perceive you? Think about your logo, colors, fonts, taglines, slogans, etc. and write down what you think they represent. Now go back and read what you wrote. Did you notice any flaws or inconsistencies? Is there any part of your branding that doesn’t fit with what you’d like to communicate? Fix any mistakes. A bad brand image won’t convince anyone to buy from you, even if you offer excellent customer service and quality products.
Looking to implement Local SEO on your website? Give us a call today for you FREE Local SOE Assessment
by EdgeMedia