The How to Guide for Local SEO
Having your site optimized for search doesn’t always mean your optimized for local search. Local SEO is a hyper-focused technique you can use to ensure that you are seen by your own geographical community.
Regardless if you are a service-based company, a brick-and-mortar store, or a nationally/internationally focused company/organization local SEO techniques can benefit you. Being seen by those down the street or around the corner can only benefit your business. So, why stay hidden?
Let’s get started. (Never fear, you do not need to be self-described as technically savvy to understand or utilize these techniques.)
Three Factors in Boosting Your Local Presence
We all know being online is a lot like a popularity contest. Local SEO is no different. Making sure you have online endorsements and mentions about your business are major factors. A lot of times people forgot about this aspect, but the good thing is there are only 3 factors and they are relatively easy to implement & maintain.
1. Having a Google Business Page
Letting Google know you are a business is a major step in being found in local search results. The golden rule of letting Google know who you are and what online properties are associated with you is a key one to follow. Having a Google Business page is just a footnote of this rule.
Google Business pages show-up first in Google search results and highlight 7 of the local businesses in the area the person is searching. Consider these to be the new Yellow Pages listing. They help enforce to searchers that you are legitimate and are trustworthy.
Action Steps:
- Check to make sure a listing doesn’t already exist for your business.Go to: google.com/business
- Sign-in with the gmail address associated with the business
- Search for your business by name & telephone number
- Create a Google Business page if one doesn’t exist. (It takes less than 5 minutes.)
- If you can’t find your business go back to google.com/business
- Click on “add your business”
- Fill out your basic information and upload your logo.
- Voila, you’re done!
- Google sends a postcard in the mail to the address associated with the business. The postcard contains a verification code for you to enter when you login into your Google Business page.
- A “verified” checkmark icon will then appear next to your business’ name, further solidifying to potential customers you are legitimate.Make sure to verify your Google Business once you are set-up.
2. Getting Online Reviews of Your Business
Online reviews are not just for brick-and-mortar stores such as restaurants and hair salons. Everyone “googles” you and/or your business name to see what information they can get before meeting you.
So, why would you not want good reviews of your products/services to be found? “70 percent of global consumers indicating they trust online reviews” per Nielsen’s 2013 report.
Action Step:
- Be proactive and make a list of 2-5 of your best customers (past & present) and give them a call or send them a quick email asking them to review your business on your Google Business page, Yelp, etc.
You’d be surprised how willing people will be to provide their opinion if you just simply ask.
3. Getting Online Mentions (Citations) of Your Business
This is slightly different from the SEO technique of “linkbuilding” or “online pitching.” A citation is a mention of your business (with or without a link) anywhere on the web. Normally these come in the form of directory listings.
This is another part of the popularity contest that being online is. By getting mentions on other’s sites you are proving to Google you are a valid business and worthy of appearing in search results.
As is with all things SEO related, not all links/mentions/citations/etc. are created equal. Some pull more weight than others, and the basic rule of thumb is contextualization. Is the website/directory contextually relevant for my business?
Ex: I own a Digital Marketing Agency. Would it be more helpful to have a listing in a directory for Boston based Digital Marketing companies or a directory of international female owned businesses?
Both are relevant, but just like SATs one is more contextually relevant. Remember this about appearing in local search results, not results for female owned businesses. So, find the ones that make sense for your local search needs.
Some forms of citations are free and some are paid. My advice is to start with the free listings and determine if you need to pay for. Paid citations are advertisements, not purchasing links, so if you add this as part of your advertising budget it will better help you keep tracking of your finances easier but also better track your ROI. If you look into paid, I would also highly recommend you use a service to help you with. Moz Local is a reputable and affordable option.
Action Steps:
- Make before adding any new listings to sites/directories one doesn’t already exist.
- Make sure your contact information (address, telephone number, email) and the name of your business are exactly the same across all citations.
Two Technical Factors for Local SEO
Did you think you were going to get away without any backend/technical considerations for local SEO? Not quite, but there are only 2 factors and only one of them is something you absolutely need at this point in-time. Let me explain.
1. Having Your Physical Address On Your Website
This is the one “technical” factor you can’t ignore if you want to be seen in local search results. I’m calling it a “technical” consideration because it will most likely require you to get help from a developer to implement. Thankfully, this kind of addition is considered minor and will not require a lot of time to add, QA, and push live.
Now a days many websites add their address in the footer, or the contact us page. From a local SEO perspective either is fine. It just needs to be somewhere on your site that is not blocked by the search engine bots/crawlers.
Action Step:
- Make sure your contact information (address, telephone number, email) and the name of your business are exactly the same on your website as they are across all your citations.
2. Adding Schema Markup to Your Website’s Content
Let’s get the what is this out of the way first. Schema Markup is a particular way of identifying types of content on your site in a universal way so that when search engines crawl your site they can quickly and easily identify what is what.
Ex: Imagine you have walked into your grocery store’s produce section. Besides the obvious ways of knowing you are in a produce section (ie. you see fruit and vegetables laid out) this section is properly labeled. There is a sign that says “produce” and perhaps even more granular signs further grouping items into “organic” or “root vegetables.”
Schema markup = the signs in your produce section.
Websites have all agreed to label types of content in a very specific way, so that no matter what website you visit you know what is what. If you think about it like a grocery store, it would be akin to every grocery store owner agreeing to place signs in their store labeling products in the exact same way as everyone else. Therefore, if you went into any English language based grocery store you would see the exact same labels, with the exact same phrasing in the exact same places regardless of who owned the store or where the store was physically located.
When it comes to schema mark-up there are specific labels for local SEO – local business, telephone, address, etc. All of which come in handy when search engines crawl your site.
Implementing schema markup on your site is a beneficial addition to your site, not just for local SEO, but for your overall SEO strategy. However, it requires development time to implement, and is not part of most standard website development procedures. Depending upon the type of CMS you are using for your site (open-source vs. propriety) implementing schema markup can be relatively easy or challenging.
The bottom line: Schema markup is something I highly recommend every site implementing. However, for Local SEO purposes, it is not necessary. You can still be seen in local search results without deploying it. Spend the time executing on all the other factors well and you will reap the benefits.
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