Local Focused Pages – What Every Business Should Know
What is local SEO? And what does it mean to focus on local pages?
Local SEO is a tactic what allows businesses to reach their customer base locally.
If your business targets a certain area, local search engine optimization will enable you to find customers that are within that area. It is a solid SEO strategy for businesses that work in multiple areas and want to compete independently against their counterparts.
Why do businesses need to optimize for location-based web pages? The rise of mobile phones has made it imperative for businesses to optimize to target local audiences. A majority of people use their phones on the go and search engines are always one step ahead based on their user intent to find useful results. Laptops, mobile phones and smartwatches are switched on for location these days, and it is helpful for customers who are interested in finding your products and services to know where your businesses are based.
This means that your customers don’t necessarily have to be looking for you, the results are already optimized and you are on top of the search result pages.
Location is a form of trusted verification for customers. Location gives credibility and indicates that it is a real business. As long as you are listed on popular sites like Yelp and Facebook, it will give customers the impression that you are running an authentic business and not a warehouse in the middle of nowhere.
How do you optimize for local searches? Local SEO should be a part of the overall search engine optimization strategy. Learn how to apply Google My Business, it is one of the easiest ways to optimize for local SEO and tell Google exactly where you are based.
One of the common pitfalls that businesses make and should avoid doing is forgetting to list their address in the footer. This enables search engines to locate your website and pinpoint it to certain locations.
Be clear when you list your service areas. If a customer cannot locate your area they will discount your credibility. If you don’t serve certain regions, list that down as well so that customers know what they are getting into when doing business with you.
Here’s a secret, optimize your landing page for certain locations. You can make them mini-homepages. Remember that optimizing landing pages is one of the most effective ways to target your local audience.
List your business on citation pages. Type in your business on Google and see what comes up. You will be surprised to see your business listed on more pages than you’ve created. These citation sites are incredibly useful to customers and an opportunity to attract traffic and generate more leads.
Request reviews from customers. Reviews are like goldmines. It is valuable and can make a difference when trying to convince a prospective customer to convert into a buying client. You can ask happy customers for reviews and they will gladly provide it. People usually love to express their happiness online. Reviews bring credibility and will help increase high-quality local traffic from prospective customers.
