Improve Your Local SEO For Optimum Success

Do you know that by improving the Local SEO positioning , you will have the possibility of reaching clients who are close to your business? For several years, the main search engines and especially Google, show personalized results for each user. These results are based on our location or if we do a local search, and they will allow us to quickly find what we need. That is, if your business is in a certain physical location and you want to attract customers from your locality or nearby, you have no choice but to appear in the first local search results. Interesting, right? Well, let’s not waste any more time and let’s start by seeing what actions you should apply to optimize the Local SEO positioning of your business.

Why is it important to improve Local SEO positioning?

Do you remember the order in which Google shows you the results when you do a local search? First, the paid ads (if there are any), and then the Google Maps map with 3 location pins. Well, in one of them your business can be, therefore, it is very important to be well positioned in your city or province. For example, if we search for hotels in the city of New York, Google shows us this map and these results.

How to do Local SEO

I can tell you that, in order to achieve a good web positioning in your locality, and you must work on internal aspects , over which you will have full control and other external aspects, which will no longer depend only on you

1. Always use the same NAP

In order to properly work on Local SEO positioning, something very important is to always use the same and identical NAP (Name-Address-Phone) data on all the websites where you register your business. It is recommended that you write them down in a Word document or in Notepad, and from there you copy and paste them. This way, no characters will be missed ( this information must match letter by letter and point by point).

2. Create a profile on Google My Business

Now you can register your business in Google My Business. You just need to have a Gmail account and start filling in the data that the platform requests. Try to enter the maximum number of possible, real and updated data (no padding or irrelevant data). As such, it will allow Google to show your listing to potential customers in your area of ??action.

By creating and optimizing your profile in this service offered by Google, you will be providing the search engine with a detailed, personalized and updated file of your business. Without a doubt, this point is essential so that you can appear on the Google Map as a local result, and you will also appear in the organic results of the search engine itself.

3. Get reviews and comments on Google My Business

If a business does not have positive reviews, it will hardly be able to climb in the local search results. Truthful reviews and opinions will do nothing else, but demonstrate your good work and increase credibility and trust with the user. Given the importance of reviews, you must encourage your satisfied customers to leave their assessment about you and your business . It is a good method to contact them and invite them to leave their opinion and thank them for the high value for us that they do this action.

4. Register your business in local directories

If you register your business in local directories, you will be letting search engines know that your field of action is in a certain geographical area. In addition, another benefit that you will get when you register in the directories will be a link to your website, a factor that will undoubtedly help you improve the overall SEO of your website and at the same time the Local SEO positioning of your business. Once you have selected the most relevant local directories in which you are interested in being present, start the work of getting reviews, scores and comments from your users. As we have seen previously, this factor is one more in determining the position in the search results. Always use the same NAP. If there is a slight difference, in a punctuation mark or in an upper and lower case, it will be a reason for a penalty and all the work that you would have done so far to achieve a good local position could be ruined.

5. Add more information using Rich Snippets

Rich Snippets are micro data that provide additional information to Google about our website. In this way we make it easier for you to understand our content better. Google will show these rich snippets in search results if it thinks they can provide information of interest to users. Surely in searches that you have been able to do you have noticed:

The stars that indicate the rating given by users.
In the thumbnail images or videos that accompany the description of the content.
Or in the information about the author of the content, events, opinions.

These are all examples of enriched fragments and just as they have been able to draw your attention, they do it with other users, do you see their importance now?

6. Optimize your business profiles on social networks

It cannot be said that the presence in social networks where your target audience is, is more than necessary and cannot be absent from your Digital Marketing plan. You will imagine that not only being present is enough, your profiles must be active and properly optimized . With this I want to tell you to publish regularly and include the maximum information regarding the description of your business. And remember, no fillers, just important information:

Schedules
The different ways a user has to contact you ( E-mail, telephone, etc.).
And of course your location

Also make sure to include links that point to your website from each of the social profiles. This way you will soon be immersing yourself in the incredible world of local SEO and creating a successful future.