Potential customers near you can’t find you on the internet? Maybe that’s because you haven’t done enough to rank your website on the local search pages. If you are a local business owner struggling to rank locally, the Local SEO Guide below can help.
Before you jump into the tips and strategies in the guide, it’s important that you understand the factors that impact local SEO ranking.
Primary Local SEO Ranking Factors
The following factors have the greatest impact on local search rank, with a combined total of almost 70%.
On-page Signals and Link Signals – While On-page Signals constitute 20.3%, Link Signals constitute 20.0%. On-page Signals include the presence of your business details (in terms of NAP, i.e., name, address, and phone number) on your website, the domain authority of your site, and using keywords in the title. Link Signals include linking domain quantity, linking domain authority, and inbound anchor text.
Google My Business Page Signals – These signals form 14.7% of the total stats. They involve claiming, completing, and updating your My Business page on Google with accurate business info, relevant categories, and keywords in your business title and description.
External LOC Signals – At 13.6%, the external LOC signals include listing your business in the Internet Yellow Pages, keeping your NAP updated and consistent, and building citations. Your NAP should be exactly the same in all locations around the web.
Secondary Local SEO Ranking Factors
The following secondary factors are also important for you to understand in order to rank your website locally.
Behavioral/Mobile Signals – These factors account for 9.5%, and affect your local ranking in a big way. They consist of the number of check-ins done from smartphones, your click-through rate (CTR), and the number of mobile clicks to call. They may also include other metrics, such as pogo-sticking and post-click time spent on-site.
Review Signals – These signals make up 8.4%, and include metrics associated with reviews. How many reviews people are writing about your business online, and how often can affect your rank in local search results.
Social Signals – Data from social media platforms constitutes 5.0%. It includes how many people like, share, click, and comment on your posts on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and more.
How to Optimize Your Website for Local Search
Keeping the local search rank factors above in mind, you can optimize your site for local SEO in a variety of ways, including:
- In case of multiple locations of your business, mention the complete NAP for your business in the footer of the page. Keep the details updated.
- Create unique landing pages with call-to-actions. Don’t forget to use keywords in H1, H2, titles, and descriptions, and optimize your page by adding customer reviews and testimonials.
- Build citations manually by listing your business in the Yellow Pages, Yelp, FourSquare, etc., and by associating with local newspapers, and taking part in local events and awards.
Check out the Infographic shared by Shane Barker, an SEO consultant, to find out more ways to improve the local SEO ranking of your business.
You are in reality a just right webmaster. The website loading pace is amazing. It seems that you’re doing any distinctive trick. In addition, The contents are masterwork. you have performed a great activity on this matter!