Refine Your Local SEO Strategies to Find More Local Customers
Search
× Search

Sprocket Websites - Blog / News / Updates

Refine Your Local SEO Strategies to Find More Local Customers
Kate Gingold
/ Categories: The Sprocket Report

If you find this helpful, pay it forward! More after the article...

Refine Your Local SEO Strategies to Find More Local Customers

Did you know that consumers use local businesses 56% of the time? This is why your business needs a local-specific SEO strategy. Read on for some top tips:

What is “local?”

First, let’s define a local business. Yes, it could be a brick-and-mortar store that sells products, but it could also be a service that works within a geographical range. “Local,” then might be defined by neighborhood, city, or region.

Study your current customers and then do some research to define what “local” means to your business. List all of the locations that make sense, including your town, neighboring towns, county, and so on.

How do customers search for local businesses?

That phone in your pocket uses geo location data, which is why, when you search for “pizza,” it shows you the place down the street instead of a place in another state. Computers use an IP address for geo data. People will also type in a location if they are looking for restaurants in a place they plan to visit, for instance.

What is the first step for local SEO?

Before you do anything else, be sure that your business’s name, address, and phone number are correct everywhere online. This includes, but is not limited to, your website, social media platforms, and directories.

“Correct” means exactly the same. If you are Acme Incorporated, Acme Inc. is not the same name. If you started with “Road,” then don’t be “Rd” elsewhere. Deviations could be construed as a separate entity, making you compete against yourself for precious online visibility.

Are there more steps for local SEO?

The list you made of what “local” means to your business will be handy for optimizing your website and social media. Write local-specific content that uses those geographical terms and use them in meta descriptions. For instance, your pest control company could blog about common insects in your region. Your coffee shop could share news about the commuter train station around the corner. Your office could post a photo of the friendliest staff in the city.

Consider also building several landing pages on your website, each with similar content about your business, but written specifically for different towns in the area. In addition to useful search terms, you also reap the benefit of geographically appropriate URLs.

What else can be done?

Support your business’s geographic presence with suitable backlinks, for example, from your local chamber of commerce or industry organization, and articles or ads from local news outlets.

Also, try brainstorming local-specific long-tail keywords to supplement more common ones. “San Francisco” would be an obvious search term, but others that apply include “Bay Area,” “Silicon Valley,” “SF,” and “Frisco.”

Finally, don’t neglect your Google Business Profile. As we have said many times, Google still owns the biggest game, so you need to play. Pick the correct category for your business, optimize your profile, and keep your content fresh.

Price and convenience can influence buyers, but personalized customer service by a company who cares about their reputation is a huge reason why people prefer to work with local businesses. Customers are out there looking for you. It’s your job to make it easier for them to find you by improving your visibility in local search. Call us today to learn how Sprocket can help with your SEO strategy.

Did you enjoy this article? Was it helpful? Insightful?
Then please share it! Post it on your favorite Social Media platform(s) so your followers see it.
It's easy. Just click on any of the social icons below and we'll do the heavy lifting for you.
Oh yeah, leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for visiting!

Print
123 Rate this article:
4.0
Kate Gingold

Kate GingoldKate Gingold

I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

Other posts by Kate Gingold
Contact author Full biography

Full biography

I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

x
Previous Article Beef Up your LinkedIn Profile and Practices for Better Networking
Next Article Spotlight Your Event With Better Links in Your News Releases

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Contact author

x

Stay In-The-Know...

Via QR Code

... With Every-Other-Week Tips!

Every other Tuesday, you'll receive the Sprocket Report completely free! Learn the latest business tip or news about what's currently happening in internet marketing. You get:

  • A web marketing tip from Kate
  • Another one from Breanne, and
  • Bonus! Tips curated from around the web

That's three valuable posts that you can read, plus a quick look at upcoming events and what's being discussed on Twitter. 

You'll want to get this info for yourself, in your own inbox. It's easy!

Type your email in the box above. OR scroll to the bottom of any page on this site. We have our subscription box there, too!

We NEVER give out your email address to anybody else and we don't flood you with ads. It's just good, free information. 

About Us

We turn surfers into visitors and visitors into customers.

We'll make you a beautiful, interactive website. Then we'll help drive traffic to it.

Read Archived Articles

Search

GET SOCIAL

LEARN MORE

Get The Sprocket Report

 

Terms Of UsePrivacy StatementCopyright © 2024 by Sprocket Websites, Inc.
Back To Top