Tag: local seo

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SEO

Uncommon Ways to Do Local SEO for WordPress to Get Top Local Google Rankings

local-seo-for-wordpress-tips

Local Google rankings are so important.

It doesn’t matter if you are a dentist, doctor, plastic surgeon, lawyer, financial services executive, coach, consultant or a local florist or plumber near me. Everybody in the local business markets wants top local rankings, and for good reason(s).

Here are some stats to help you understand the local search importance:

local-seo-stats-importance-of-local-search-numbers
Local search stats and importance for local businesses and users (searchenginejournal.com)

Add to this fact that WordPress powers 25% of all websites globally, and you have a powerful framework to work within. (We use the WordPress CMS for 95% of all our deployments within design, development, content marketing and optimization).

If you’re looking for some uncommon ways to do local SEO for WordPress, with the goal of scoring top local Google rankings, you’ll find that our guide offers the best and most practical local SEO solutions.

We’ve researched the sorts of strategies that really get results and we’re here to share them with you. Plus, other ambitious entrepreneurs and smart local marketers will benefit too.

Once you’ve perused our comprehensive guide, you’ll be ready to gain more traction online.

Let’s talk a little more on why local Google rankings are so vital to business success and also touch on why local SEO is different from other forms of search engine optimization.

Here is an infographic with simple tips to get started:

Local SEO Benefits – 5 Simple Tips To Get Started

Why is Local SEO So Important, Anyway?

In the world of online marketing, what you do for your company should be measured against what your competitors are doing, as well as understanding the numbers for growth opportunities. Your bottom line. (Not only revenue, but the profit streams and how your products and services contribute to that).

In terms of local SEO, this means that you’ll need to rank higher than your rivals by matching their Web marketing efforts and then exceeding them.

It means attracting relevant traffic, and converting those visitors to consistent sales and follow-up.

When you don’t make an effort to improve local search engine optimization, you’ll be vulnerable to being eclipsed in terms of search engine rankings.

For this reason, local SEO should be woven into the fabric of all of your online marketing initiatives.

First, let’s share the basics – these are the things that every savvy local entrepreneur does in order to strengthen local search engine rankings.

After this, we’ll talk about some uncommon methods that in-the-know entrepreneurs are using in order to improve their local SEO efforts.

Tried-and-True Local SEO Tips

First off, you should understand how important reviews and your reputation actually are.

The truth is that Google gives extra rankings to companies which have reviews (positive reviews are the best!) at an array of websites, including Yelp, Google Reviews and Angie’s List, to name a few.

If you’re running a business which relies on local clientele in order to turn a profit, you’ll find that getting more reviews at these websites really helps you to optimize your local SEO.

Plus, it makes it easier for potential customers to trust you. Reviews and testimonials are important human-relations building components.

With this in mind, encourage your customers to review your company at those and similar websites for your marketplace.

Asking for these reviews is one of the secrets of creating an effective local SEO small business system. (IMPORTANT: this process should be organic and honest. Don’t pay for reviews, or you might find yourself in deep water with legal issues).

Friends and family who’ve patronized your company and support it wholeheartedly will be great people to turn to for reviews.

Also, loyal customers who’ve had great experiences with your company will probably be more than happy to oblige.

Make sure to get these reviews published on your website too, and implement an easy to follow process for your customers or patients to provide reviews online.

Naturally, if you provide great products and/or services, these reviews should appear on their own. However, there’s nothing wrong with nudging people a little bit.

Most local entrepreneurs have to do this – it’s just the way of the world in the Internet Age. So, don’t be shy when it comes to requesting reviews.

All Web content that you post should also be populated with local terms.

These include addresses, as well as city or town names of nearby areas where you’re also interested in finding customers.

Adding county names and regional names is easy and it really works. There’s more to adding local terms than typing in business address-specific information.

(IMPORTANT: don’t spam by adding tons of local links in the footer and send visitors and search engine bots to thin pages with no/low value pages. This will not work, and further undermine your authority with users and search engines. Start with one location and build from there).

Keep data up to date.

Lastly, make sure that all online listing are up to date and include relevant addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.

Google looks at this information to make sure it’s consistent across a range of web pages. If it is, your local SEO rankings will rise.

If it isn’t, you should fix it or pay someone to clean it up for you. It will be worth the effort or the cost of outsourcing.

Uncommon Local SEO Tips to Try

One hot tip which isn’t used that commonly is to place an embedded Google Map of your business on your website.

This local SEO WordPress tip will engage website visitors – after all, a map will be visually appealing and it will be so easy for viewers to use and understand.

However, it will also benefit you in terms of sparking higher search engine rankings. Adding a link for directions is also a valuable tip.

You’ll need to add a local map correctly in order to reap its advantages.

First, ensure that your map doesn’t point to your company address (which you added to the Google Maps search engine). Instead, use an embed code via a map which points to your Google My Business entry. The map should be verified with Google My Business.

If you’re not currently verified with Google My Business, get verified before you embed your map.

You’ll need a Google+ page for your business before you begin the verification process.

Having a presence of Google+ is really important, as links on this website rank better within Google than links from other websites.

IMPORTANT: Google+ Local (interface and usage) is changing, and the direction is headed towards serving an increasing mobile user base. This mobile-first thinking includes your website. Apply a mobile first mindset now, desktop comes next. You’ll win both in search engines and in users’ eyes.

To review the Google My Business verification process, visit: https://support.google.com/business/answer/2911778?hl=en&ref_topic=4854193

There are other ways to use WordPress to your benefit.

One of them is adding geographical information to title tags, H1, H2 and H3 headings. What’s most important is that your city name (or town name) is added to one or more of these fields. You can add your phone number directly in the <TITLE> tag. It engages the users and provides local data too.

Adding a local SEO WordPress plugin can help – but don’t rely on WP plugins alone to solve all your local ranking problems.  Relevant on-page content and local referrers and mentions pointing back to you are central keys to local success.

Also, add your city or town name (or state name) to the pages that you publish.

While you should never over stuff titles and content with geographical information, adding a city, town or state name once or twice will assist you with improving local SEO right from your own website.

You might consider this approach for your most valuable pages, and the ones you want to rank locally.

Also, adding geographical terms to WordPress Meta Tags will be helpful. Adding terms to headers, content and Meta Tags should not take too long (although it should be tested and re-visited) and it’s a great way to optimize for local SEO.

While not a direct impact on ranking, it will benefit in higher click-throughs.

Finally, as you add and update content, think about “how can I help my users find me, and what do they find valuable?” Create such value that others will link to you, share your content, widgets, tools and more.  Think “them” not “me”.

It will help create local links and citations to your business, which are a way to ‘upvote’ your pages and sends trust signals to search engines.

Use Our Sensible Tips Today

Getting a handle on local SEO techniques will empower you as an entrepreneur.

While it will require time and effort to optimize for local SEO, in addition to all of the other tasks that you need to perform daily, it’s an essential element of driving business to your company.

Without utilizing proper local SEO techniques daily, you may lose crucial market share to your rivals.

Great local SEO methods will help you to stay one step ahead of the competition.

If you can’t spare the time to design and implement a dedicated and consistent local SEO campaign, it’s wise to outsource the task.

There are plenty of companies which offer local SEO services to busy entrepreneurs.

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SEO

7 Local SEO Tips for Your Small Business

7-local-seo-tips-google-marketing

The Internet is constantly getting more competitive and high, non-local organic search engine rankings are harder to achieve.

The new “3-pack” from Google has made things even more competitive. There are even less screen real estate in the local Google maps than before. (It used to be the 7-pack, not too long ago).

But for many businesses, especially small businesses that target their local markets, the most relevant forms of traffic come from local search.

What can you do?

FREE WEBINAR: Register For Your Free Access so you can get more value from keywords and your content. Includes 2 bonus gifts not found in this article.


local seo tips small business marketing

1. Use keywords to target local areas

Targeting a local market can make Google local SEO go a long way, especially since high rankings in local search are much less competitive.

For example, contractors targeting keyword phrases such as “general contractor” will have to compete with virtually every other English-speaking general contractor in the world, while businesses targeting “elkhart general contractor” will only have to compete with general contractors in Elkhart who happen to own a website and are actively trying to SEO optimize their websites.

TIP: Adding location & local phone numbers modifiers that describe your keywords and pages better, tend to have a higher conversion rate as well.

Continue reading “7 Local SEO Tips for Your Small Business”
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SEO

7 Reasons You Should Implement Local SEO in 2015

local seo in 2015 - chaosmap digital

As a business owner and marketer, you (probably) know that SEO (search engine optimization) is an ideal marketing strategy.

Especially when implemented correctly.

Research shows that the requirement for business owners to implement SEO strategies will increase in 2015.

These owners can benefit from smart and appropriate local SEO techniques, which in turn can lead to an increase in their customer base. While there are many reasons for a business owner to implement local SEO, in this article, we’ll discuss seven of the best reasons to start optimizing for your local market.

1. Mobile Search is Growing

The mobile market is booming.

This has led to an increase in mobile search.

People use their mobile devices to look for businesses like yours. Almost 70 percent of mobile users use mobile search to locate businesses in their local area. Of those people, about 94 percent will visit the local business within the next 24 hours. Mobile search users are focused on finding fast solutions to problems.

If a person is at the top of the search results, in mobile search, they are more likely to be the website the person clicks on. That means they are more likely to see an increase in mobile search customers. By focusing on local SEO strategies, your business can be the one they find when looking for a product or service on their mobile device.

2. Your Competition May Already Be Using These Strategies

With increased competition in the marketplace, many businesses can see that it is becoming harder to meet marketing and sales goals.

Each business owner needs to look at what their competition is doing (but don’t copy outright…be different!). If your competition is ranking well with the search engines, then they are gaining customers, which means you may be losing business.

Remember, it’s not just new customers who look online for products and services. Your old customers may also be searching. If your competition has good reviews and a nice website, they may be able to lure your customers away. In order to keep your old customers and gain new ones, it’s imperative that you stay ahead of the competition. Local SEO can help.

3. You Need Local Customers, Looking for Local Businesses

Google’s core focus is on the user (and selling clicks). In order to provide better service to their customers, the searchers, Google tries to make sure they get the information they’re looking for. When a person in California is looking for information about a plumber, dentist or financial services expert, they do not want the result to show a business in New York for example. They want a business they can call who can provide them with the product or service they need.

As a local business, you want local customers to find you. You don’t want your listing to show up for people in another state. You can’t serve these customers, so it’s a waste of time. Since Google wants to connect the local business and customer, it’s important for the business to ensure that Google knows where they are and the areas they serve. This is done with local SEO.

4. Local Searchers Converts Better

We are living in an inter-connected, global economy.

However, most local businesses only serve local customers. By focusing on the local customer, a business can significantly increase their lead to sale ratio when and if their marketing and sales funnels are built out correctly, and tracked. (dashboards)

5. Local SEO and Social Media Engagement Can Increase Rankings and Your Customer Base

Social media is an important additional marketing strategy that can help a business increase customer loyalty and assist in customer service. Social media engagement can also help a business with their search engine ranking. Search engines are taking “social signals” into view even more in 2015.

A business should use social media to emphasize their local brand by providing helpful information and engaging with their customer base. Building a strong local following will help the business when it comes to local SEO. If you implement local SEO, you’ll get a double benefit from your social interaction.  A combination of organic work for search engines and social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube – coupled with social ads can and will have a big impact for your brand.

Tweetable: “Write for users, not search engines”
Tweet:

6. Local SEO Reviews Can Improve Ranking And Bring In New Customers

Before trying a new service or product, many people look at reviews. This is especially true when people are searching for restaurants, for example. Reviews can build a business’ online reputation.

Reviews, when combined with local SEO can increase the number of people who choose your business over the competition. Since local ratings and reviews can show in search results, it’s important for a business to have positive ratings. When a business has both high reviews and a high ranking, people are more likely to click on their link for more information.

7. Local SEO Can Help Serve the Local Community

When using local SEO, a person brings attention to their business as well as their community. In large cities, a small community or city center can get lost among all of the others. When a business uses local SEO, they can bring attention to their local community.

This can help bring dollars to your business, as well as other local businesses in the community. If more businesses in the area use these strategies, then it could help boost the community’s economy.

There are many reasons you may have for implementing local SEO for your business. When deciding what strategies to use for your business in 2015, remember that local SEO does not just benefit you and your business, but also the community as a whole.

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SEO Local

Local SEO Benefits You Should Know About

local seo - what are the marketing benefits

High Search Rankings

If you have an online business, you know how important it can be to maintain a high search ranking. When people look online for information, the first place they often turn is a search engine, such as Google or Bing. If your website does not appear near the top of the search results, you are not going to get many visitors.

Because of this, you need to make sure that you are investing enough time and effort into search engine optimization, more commonly referred to as SEO. If you do not know what this term means, you need to learn right away. Neglecting SEO is one of the most common reasons that online businesses fail.

Focus Locally

However, it is not enough just to focus on general SEO principles, such as selecting the right keywords or building links. While these can help, you also need to make sure that you focus on local SEO. Since many small businesses get most of their customers from the surrounding community, you need to make sure that you have a good search ranking for local searches.

The Internet makes it easy to attract customers from all over the world, but for many small businesses, this is not an important goal. If you run an auto repair shop, for example, you are not going to be interested in whether someone on the other side of the world can easily find your website. Instead, you are going to focus on establishing a strong local presence.

Strategies & Tools

You want to make sure that your site is one of the top results when people who live near your location search for auto repair shops. Fortunately, Google and the other big search engines make it easy to focus on promoting your presence to local searchers. By making good use of these tools, you can boost your search ranking without too much difficulty.

Of course, to receive the benefits of these features, you have to make use of them. This means that you have to make sure that you have given the big search engines plenty of information about your location. If you do not submit this information to Google and other search companies, they will have a harder time connecting you to your locality.

Focus & Time Management

However, investing the right amount of time and effort into local SEO can take time away from other parts of your business. You do not want to neglect your customers or provide poor service because you were so focused on boosting your search ranking. In many cases, you will be better off hiring an expert SEO firm to help you out. They can make sure that your website maintains a high ranking so that you can focus on providing great service.

By investing in a strong local SEO campaign, you can make sure that you maintain a highly visible presence in your community. With the right approach, you can attract more customers and make sure that your business thrives for many years to come.