Business owners all struggle with one unavoidable, very common obstacle – competitors. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there, and as a local business, it’s vital to be the biggest dog. Competing with businesses that have been in the local SEO game for years and companies with auto-generated local listings will be tough to overcome.

Start focusing now on how you will move the needle in your favor with these local SEO tips.

1. Add location pages to your site: By providing a detailed landing page on your website for each one of your locations, search engines can easily find your listing and provide the correct location to the person conducting the search.

2. Maintain your business listings: As time passes, business listings are produced, and duplicate listings begin to accrue at some point. It’s important to claim all your business listings, remove duplicates, and ensure the remaining information is accurate and current.

3. Update Google My Business: Each day, visitors rely on your business listings for the right information. By logging into your Google My Business account, you can confirm that your business contact information is correct.
4. Improve NAP uniformity: For search engines to provide your business as a result, your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) need to be uniform everywhere.

5. Create and publish local content: Produce content that caters to your niche market – it impacts your local search rankings.

6. Collect reviews: Reviews are a local ranking factor that makes your listing stand out. Enticing happy customers to leave a Google review for their positive experience can surpass almost any local SEO strategy.

7. Gather backlinks from sponsorships and partners: Create a list of the organizations and businesses you partner with or sponsor, including fundraising or charitable events. Reach out to these contacts and ask them to include a link to your website.

8. Take advantage of Google AdWords Keyword Planner: This is an effective tool to utilize when identifying your local SEO keywords. It can help you research which keywords have the lowest competition and highest search volume and help you find similar terms that your local audience is researching.

9. Use social media platforms: Google will pull search results from your social platforms, such as your business’ LinkedIn or YouTube, Facebook reviews and profiles, and even your X (formerly Twitter) account.
10. Perform local link-building: It cannot be stressed enough how important link-building is for your business. Optimize your links by establishing a relationship with local websites related to your industry.

Have more questions about tips for local SEO? Need assistance with your local listings management or identifying the right keywords? Our team at Blue Orchid Marketing is ready to assist you. Call us at 203-746-5901 or email us at sales@BlueOrchidMarketing.com today to schedule a consultation to discuss our digital marketing services.