It’s no secret that modern consumers are more reliant on the internet to find information about products and services they are looking for. But did you know that most of these consumers use search engines to find local businesses? Around 97% of users bank on online searches to find relevant local businesses.
To stay competitive, attract more potential customers, and drive sales, you should consider incorporating a local Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy into your digital marketing plan. Local SEO focuses on optimizing a website to be found in targeted geographic areas. This tactic can give you an advantage since it targets people searching for your products and services in combination with your geographic area.
Ways To Improve Your Business’s Local SEO
Local SEO strategy is important for your business to find success online. It is one of the most effective techniques to grow your local customer base, improve brand recognition, and connect with your local community. However, to make the most out of this technique, you must know how to improve your local SEO efforts. Though there are many aspects to this, let’s discuss a few of the most important ones.
Register Your Google Business Profile Listing
If you are looking for an effective way to improve your local SEO ranking, consider claiming your Google My Business Profile (GMB) listing, which is an important part of your local SEO strategy. It is also one of the key factors that Google considers while ranking your website for local searches.
You’ve claimed your GMB profile; it’s time to optimize it. Suppose you are an Ottawa-based restaurant, who wants to drive more traffic using local SEO techniques. In that case, you can optimize your listing with your restaurant’s name, location, opening hours, and map. The more information you can provide your potential customers, the better.
Research and Publish Local Content
To rank higher on local Google searches, publish content relevant to Ottawa. You can write about the region, industry, or interest-specific topics to attract your target audience; the more applicable to the region your content is, the higher it will rank. For an example of where to start, an Ottawa-based ski shop could publish content about different places in the area to ski that people may not be otherwise aware of, this would rank you higher and engage with your target audience.
Manage the Consistency of Your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP)
When Google ranks your business in local search results, it considers the consistency of your online presence in respect to name, address, phone number (NAP). This is applicable across platforms, so it’s important to ensure that your NAP is listed the same on GMB, Facebook, or Safari. Monitor for inconsistencies in spelling or duplicate listing and correct these to improve your local SEO.
Utilize Local SEO To Grow Your Ottawa Business
Over the last couple of years, the number of people using the phrase “near me” to find local businesses has increased by approximately 500%. With the increase of such search intent keywords, it becomes more important than ever to focus on your local SEO strategy.
A good local SEO strategy can help you out create a strong identity in your local market. The above-mentioned techniques can also be applied if you are targeting more than one particular area. Use these techniques to improve your visibility in local searches and grow your business.
