There are literally thousands of articles out there dedicated to the art of performing DIY local SEO. However, many of these articles include strategies that are either too complicated to complete on your own or simply aren't effective. This article is designed to break down the process of local SEO and provide suggestions for easy to do techniques that you can do on your own to promote your local business and help you save money at the same time.
The first thing to understand is that local SEO has a different focus that global SEO. Local SEO is focused on providing increased visibility for local businesses on both mobile and traditional browsers while global SEO is primarily focused on promoting websites for businesses catering to a much larger audience. Most experts agree that global SEO can be done by the average person, it is much more technical than local SEO and in order to be the most effective, it should be handled by professional online marketing companies.
Local SEO, on the other hand, is a much more simple process. The idea is that you promote your business on a smaller scale. Here are a few things that you can do to increase the visibility of your business locally:
Business Directory Listings
If you have been in business for any length of time at all, there is a good chance that your business is listed in at least one, if not several online business directories. However, there is also a really good chance that the information contained in those listings is incorrect. Claiming the entries and correcting the information will ensure that readers that run across the listing will be able to contact your business, it will also help search engines recognize each listing as being in reference to the same business, allowing them to work together to increase your position in search engine results rather than having them been seen a completely separate businesses.
To do this, simply Google the name of your business followed by the city you reside in. Then, click on each business directory listing and follow their process for claiming each one. Complete the listing with the correct information regarding your business's name, address, phone number, website address and more and then complete your profile by adding exciting pictures, fun facts, etc. Make sure that everything matches what is on your website, if you have one, and then publish.
Google Places
While Google Places it considered an online business directory, it has its own listing here because it has a much larger impact on your company's search engine ranking. Google places a lot of emphasis on your listing in Google Places. For this reason, you need to establish a listing and keep it updated. If you don't have a listing when you search for your business on Google, add one and then ensure that it is complete and accurate. Use plenty of pictures and videos.
Social Media
Most business owners use social media wrong when it comes to advertising. Customers don't want commercials, they want interaction. Make sure that you spend time interacting with customers rather than just sending them promotional material when you are on social media and make sure that you spend time on social media daily. Ideally, you'll have a profile on several different platforms, at least three, and you provide information that is informative, engaging, and relevant. Next, spend time answering questions, responding to commentary about your business and just interacting with customers on a more basic level. You want your social media account to give your business a more human side rather than simply regurgitate advertising fodder.
