Search Engine Optimisation can be a major headache for local business owners. Check out our free SEO advice for small business here!
Optimise Google Business Listing.
Google Business, Google My Business, or GMB, is a Google profile for your business. When people do a Google search for your business or niche, it is often the GMB listing that shows up at the top of the page. So, you should review your listing periodically to ensure it is current. Information includes your business name, address, phone number (NAP), web address, business category, and opening hours. Another ripper feature of GMB is the reviews section. GMB makes it supremely easy to request and manage reviews for your business. Getting positive reviews doesn’t just make your business look good, it’s actually helpful for SEO too!
Use Location-Based Keywords
Keyword planning is an essential part of SEO for small businesses. You need to know what your potential clients are searching for! If you are a local business, a simple way of supercharging your keyword research is to add geographic modifiers or location-based keywords. These keywords should then appear in your site content, meta tags, and headers. For example, a Bakery in Mildura could have Mildura Bakery or Best Bakery Mildura.
Use Local Directories
Add your NAP and web address to local directories such as Yelp and Yellowpages. The benefits of this approach are two-fold. Firstly, may get some visitors to your business or website directly from the directory listing. But our favourite benefit is the SEO boost these directories give you. Having a high-authority website such as Yellowpages link back to your website is called backlinking. Backlinking is a great way of building your own site’s authority, and therefore improving SEO.
Build Local Backlinks
While having links from high-authority websites is a big boost to your SEO, search engines want to see more. Companies like Google realise it’s easy to create a profile on directories to link back to your website, so their search algorithm wants to see businesses with other types of backlinks too. Local backlinks are valuable, because it shows the search engines that you are a real business in a real area, and you are therefore an authority in your chosen area.
The best way to build local backlinks is to reach out to other local businesses and websites and ask if they will link back to your site. This can help build your site’s authority, and ultimately its visibility in search engine results.
Most businesses are happy to link back to your website if you return the favour and link back to them!
Use Social Media
Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are great places to promote your business. Not only do they provide high-authority backlinks for your site, but they can act like mini websites too. Many websites generate leads, engage with their customers, and make connections directly from their social media. Some people even decide to forego their website altogether and just run with social media! Just make sure to include your NAP and link back to your website.
Conclusion
SEO isn’t rocket science, but it does take some skill and time. Following through on this free SEO advice for local business will get your website off to a good start. But if you’d like to take your SEO to the next level, or get someone else to do the dirty work for you, contact us for a free quote today!