1. Find the top keyword for local search engine.
The very first step you need to do is to identify the keywords you want to use before making any effort to optimize your site, social media, for SEO purpose. Below is an example of a local plumbing business that might have several locations in Washington. When planning their optimization strategy, the first thing they might do is take a look at some geo-specific keywords + plumbing to see how many times they are searched, using Google AdWords Keyword Tool.
Although the numbers might not be precise, you can rest assured that, given the above data, “seattle plumbing” is searched more than “tacoma plumbing,” but “tacoma plumbing” is searched more than “everett” and “edmonds plumbing” combined. When you start with terms like that, you will also get additional suggestions plus the approximate number of times those phrases are searched monthly.
Try typing in your keyword ideas in Google search, then scroll down to the bottom to see the related searches. Looking at which keywords your competitors are optimizing also a thing to consider.
2. SEO onpage.
After having your keyword, you move to the next step: optimize Onpage for local search engine. Let search engines know what locations you are targeting by including geo-specific information, keywords and phrases in the specific places on your website as described below.
Title and Meta Descriptions
- Locally Optimized Title Tags
- Locally Optimized Meta Descriptions
Location-Specific Pages
Have more than one location but only one website? That’s not a problem. Just create a page on your website specific to each physical location. This way, anyone searching for your business in a particular region, city, state or country should be directed to the appropriate page.
Local Phone Number and Adress on All Pages
Another good signal to search engines is a local street address and phone number on all pages. Most businesses will place this information in their website’s footer. Be sure that it is actually in the text and not in an image. This is good for search engine bots and for people on their mobile phones as your phone number will be clickable!
Install Magento Store Locator extension for your site
You have multiple physical stores and don’t know how to give your Customers chances to select their closest one? If so, you need a Magento Store Locator extension which is exactly the right solution for you. With various search fields and a friendly user interface, Customers can easily locate the most convenient store, such as the one within 5 kilometers of their homes for instance, and then get instant directions on Google map. In particular, Magento Store Locator extension can help promote your stores effectively by allowing Customers to view and give Facebook comments on the store.
Learn more about Magento Store Locator Extension
3. SEO Offpage
Once you’ve built your local business listings up, the next thing you should start doing is building links to your website. Keep in mind that you don’t want to overdo things as Google is hard at work on an over-optimization penalty as we speak. That said, there are many great ways to acquire links.
Since I’ve already discussed 10 hard-hitting link building tactics and leveraging link blending to maximize rankings, I won’t go into any more general link building strategies here. Instead, let’s look at some local linking options including the following:
- Related Local Businesses - Look for businesses that are in the same industry, but are not competitors. See if those websites have resource pages that link out to other businesses similar to yours. Then see if you can strike up a dialogue with the business owner and convince them why they need to have your link listed as a valuable resource to their visitors.
- Local Bloggers - Find bloggers that are in your region whose audience might be interested in your business. See if you can arrange to do a guest post for them or get them to sample your products or services in exchange for a review on their blog.
- General Local Resource Pages - Search for local business resources that may not have come up in your local directories search and find out if you can get your site listed.
- Competitor Backlinks - Using tools like Open Site Explorer, find out what backlinks your local competitors’ websites have to see if you can get yourself listed on them as well.
- Local Events - Be on the lookout for events in your area such as industry conferences, expos or shows. Check the event’s website to see if they link to their exhibitors and sponsors. If they do, invest as an exhibitor or sponsor of the event to get your link on their site as well.
- Local Charities - Give back to your community by sponsoring and donating to local charities. Many will have websites that thank their local sponsors and donors, linking back to the sponsors’ and donors’ websites.
4. Local Marketing on Social media.
Google +
Although Google+ doesn’t have nearly the number of users as Facebook or Twitter do, it does corner the market in influencing search results. There are lots of reasons you should use Google+ such as the fact that businesses that might not normally show up on the first page of results will, thanks to having the right Google+ connections.
Google has even incorporated Google+ people and pages above Google AdWords ads for some searches.
If you want to reap the search and social benefits of Google+, here is what you need to do:
If you want your Google+ profile to appear in search recommendations for local searches, be sure to include your current location in your Google+ profile in your Places Lived section. Also, be sure to add locally optimized keyword phrases to your profile’s headline, introduction, and occupation.
This should help people find you both on Google’s main search and Google+’s internal search.
For Google+ pages, be sure to set up your page as a local business from the start. You can even use your Google Places information to populate your page’s data.
This is especially important now that Google mixes people and pages in its main search results and within Google+’s internal search.
Google+ is similar to Twitter in that you can follow anyone you choose, assuming that those people share public updates. If they do share public updates and allow anyone to comment on them, you can comment on them without having to wait for them to follow you! Here’s how you can grow a local audience on Google+.
The best way to optimize your Facebook page for a local audience is to make sure it is set up as a Local Business. If you haven’t created your Facebook page, make sure to create your page as a Local Business.
If you have already created it, you may be able to change the category, depending on your number of fans. To check to see what category your page is listed as, go to Admin Panel > Manage > Edit Page and then Basic Information. Here, you will see a category and sub-category for your business.
Once your Facebook page is set up as a local business, be sure to enter all of your local details including your street address, local phone number and business hours. If you don’t want to list your exact street address, you can just enter the city, state and zip code to give users an approximation of your location.
One thing to mention in regards to the new Facebook pages design is the About information for your business. It will generally show your business category, location, phone number and business hours.
You can make the area show your website by removing your phone number and business hours from your page’s details. You just have to decide which is more important for your visitors – seeing your phone number on your Facebook page or having the ability to click through to your website. If you do want your local business information to stay intact, you can also add a status update with a link to your Facebook page, then pin the status update to the top of the page so it shows in the top left column.
While Twitter may not have as large of an audience, it does have 100 million active users. It is also much easier to gain followers since you can interact with people without them even following you. Here are some ways to make sure your business gets found by Twitter users in your area.
With Twitter profiles, you don’t have to worry about properly categorizing them from the start to make them local-friendly. All you have to do is a few minor edits to your Twitter profile. Be sure to include a specific location in your Twitter information as well as a local keyword phrase in your Twitter bio.
This will help anyone searching specifically for local businesses on Twitter to find yours easily.
As previously mentioned, remember that on Twitter you can interact with anyone, regardless of whether that person is following you by simply mentioning his or her @username in a status update. Here’s how you can grow a local audience on Twitter:
Once you find some people that fit your targeted, local demographic, be sure to follow them on Twitter. Don’t just click the “follow” button though. Be sure to actually follow their updates and interact with them. The second part is key if you expect to get any local followers to your Twitter profile in return.
- Connect with Local Twitter Users
- Check out Followers for Local Businesses
- Follow Local Discussions
- Try Twitter Maps App on Bing
I ensure that if you follow all the method above, the traffic come into your site will increase dramatically. However, these steps takes time to see the results. Do not be rushed and keep patient to follow all the steps. At the end, you will double or triple your sales, revenues, and profit. Good luck!
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