If you own a local business with a website, you really want people to be able to find you through the search engines. The following are some effective local search engine optimization methods that will help you to rank better.
The best way to start out with local SEO is to imagine that you are one of your prospects using a search engine. A crucial part of search engine optimization is thinking like the customer. You have to picture yourself as a prospect using a search engine to locate the kind of item you sell, and try to figure out exactly what they would type into the search field. Let’s say that you have a store that exclusively sells golf accessories. People who search for the word “golf” are probably not going to be your customers, as this is a very general term. If someone does a search for “golf courses,” they are not looking for what you are selling either. Some people, however, will type in “golf accessories,” and since this is your specialty, you should be targeting this keyword phrase. Businesses trying to generate local traffic tend to overlook keywords that are relevant but not hugely popular. They focus instead on the keywords with the most searches and traffic but are very hard to rank for. You have to learn how to think like a customer because this is exactly what helps you in the long term. Your ability to find targeted keywords will improve with practice, and you’ll find more customers and you will eventually be able to rank for a variety of relevant keywords.
Don’t forget to target the local site listing services run by the search engines, such as Google Places, Yahoo! Local and Bing Local, and these sites all allow you to “claim your profile,” which is something worth doing. If you want to claim your profile on any of these sites, there are a few steps you have to complete to verify various facts about yourself, and this includes verifying your phone number and address. Many businesses never think to do this, so it’s a simple way to give you an advantage in your marketing efforts. By including photos of yourself or your business on these local site listings, you enhance your reputation, as people feel more positive and trusting when they see an image. So to make sure this process goes smooth and people see good, worthy pictures, upload a few from your site. You don’t have to use gallery quality photos (unless your business is photography), but they will be reflecting on your business, so they should have some quality.
You should also look for quality backlinks from high status websites in your area that will help you with the search engines. It can be very beneficial to get a listing with a high status local organization such as the local Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau or similar groups. You can easily find additional ideas by searching with the name of your area and a term like “business directories.” Then you’ll have a useful list of local websites you can try to get a listing with. You can do all of this very quickly, and the potential long term benefits are great.
All in all, if you use the SEO methods you just learned about, you’ll see success in no time.
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