Local SEO Strategy: Best Practices To Ensure Success

Do you have a local SEO strategy in place to grow your small business? Many business owners don’t, which puts them at a disadvantage. A strong SEO strategy produces fantastic results that help you grow, but you need to know where to start.

As local SEO experts in New Jersey, our team at Peppermonkey Media cultivated a list of best practices for your business. You can easily implement these practices to improve your local reach and win potential customers.

We can help your small business thrive with digital marketing plans designed to meet your needs. Call us at (888) 231-9764 to request your free digital marketing consultation. Read on for a list of local SEO best practices you can easily implement. 

#1 Research, Research, Research! 

The first step to any strong digital marketing plan is research. It shapes your understanding of the best way to reach potential local customers. To start forming an idea about your target audience, find answers to the following questions:

  • Who is your target audience? 
  • What are their ages, likes, dislikes, etc.?
  • How do they search for local businesses? 
  • Why do they need your products or services?
  • How can you make a good, lasting impression?

You should also check out what your competition does. Make notes about where their customer experience falls short and when it succeeds. Use the information you glean to inform your own strategy. This way, you’ll steer clear of fumbles while reaping marketing benefits more easily. 

#2 Optimize Your Google Business Listing

Most internet users looking for a local business prefer Google as their search engine of choice. Google Business listings offer amazing tools for small businesses to reach a local audience. 

When you claim your Google Business listing, you access features that show local searchers what your small business is about. From building your listing’s basic information to posting about the latest in your business’s offerings, you make all your business’s products and services, contact information, hours, and photos available on one of the most-used search engines. 

You can also use other directories like Bing Local Listings to increase your business’s reach. As you add more information, you make the search process easier for potential customers. This increases the effectiveness of your SEO strategy.  

#3 Improve Your Website’s Local SEO

As a business owner, you know the storefront of your brick-and-mortar location plays an important role in attracting foot traffic. Likewise, your website gives you an edge in attracting traffic from a search query. When you implement a strong local SEO strategy for your website, you increase the amount of search traffic you receive. 

Location-Specific Landing Pages

Each landing page offers the potential to win a new potential customer. However, you must present information in a way that allows search engines to attract local customers. When you provide more specific content about a particular product or service, you’ll have an easier time attracting local customers.

For example, the headers on your website should match your general location. This ensures the search engine lists your website correctly. If a local searcher types in “restaurants point pleasant beach NJ,” you want your restaurant’s website to appear in that search. 

Let’s get a little more specific. If your restaurant offers outdoor seating, your website should reflect that. So when someone looks for “restaurants with outdoor seating near me,” your bistro shows up as a top result in a Google search. 

Utilize NAP

NAP is an abbreviation for Name, Address, and Phone Number. Each land page on your business website should display this information clearly. Website visitors should be able to easily locate this information when they visit any of your pages.

Create uniform headers or footers that display your business’s contact information on each page. When visitors are ready to contact your business, you should make it as easy as possible to access that information. Double-check to ensure the contact information on your website reflects what your Google Business listing and social media profiles display. 

#4 Create a Mobile-Friendly Website

These days, mobile searches exceed desktop searches by a landslide. Your website’s mobile appearance outranks its desktop appearance. How mobile-ready is your website? Try testing how your website performs on your phone. 

Make sure that each landing page appears as neat on small screens as it does on computer screens. If your website lacks mobile-friendliness, search engines like Google will rank it lower on searches. This thwarts any of your other SEO efforts. You also can access free mobile testing tools to perfect your site’s mobile-friendliness. 

#5 Leverage the Power of Social Media

Social media platforms provide some of the most powerful tools for a local SEO strategy. On Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, you can connect with your local audience in a more conversational setting. The more your audience grows, the more engagement your business receives. 

First, find out which social media platforms will best serve you. Each platform caters to a different audience and provides different functions and tools, from video and image hosting to long-form text content. 

If you run an upscale restaurant, you’ll find your best local audience on Facebook or Instagram. If you have a clothing brand that attracts young customers, use TikTok to better connect with them. Learn the platforms to which your local target audience flocks for engagement. Discover which features will best suit how you showcase products or services.   

Each social media platform allows you to connect with your audience more conversationally. Find and curate your brand’s unique voice to present a better experience to users. Like Google Business, many social media platforms host reviews as well. This allows you to further your business’s reputation as you reach more satisfied customers locally.  

Scale Your Small Business with Peppermonkey Media

If you want to learn more about the importances of local SEO for small businesses, we’ve got the tools and know-how you need. Jump-start your local SEO strategy with Peppermonkey Media today. Call (888) 231-9764 for a marketing consultation from our digital experts. If you’re ready to break new ground and scale big, we’re ready to help you!

The post Local SEO Strategy: Best Practices To Ensure Success appeared first on Peppermonkey Media.



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