Local SEO (search engine optimisation) is important, and it’s key that you optimise both your on-site and off-site SEO to attract customers in the local area.
We’ve put together a few tactics that you can use to gain an advantage over your local competition.
Title and description tags are vital
These are HTML elements that allow you to summarise the content of your website into a small title and description, which will be displayed in search results.
It is almost a mini advertisement for your company and the products or services you offer.
These two elements should be concise to grab the attention of the reader. An acceptable length for titles would be around 50 characters and for descriptions would be around 150-200 characters. They should reflect the content of the site, and should include keywords in an attempt to attract more customers.
Optimise your Google Business Profile
This is a strategy for local SEO, and it is therefore essential to claim and optimise your profile.
These are the profiles that show up when someone searches for companies, products or services near them, usually showing their location on a map.
Once you have gone through the verification process with Google, you must optimise the profile. This can include adding categories, business hours, putting together a description of the business, uploading photos and videos, creating updates, answering questions left by customers, listing the products and services you provide, and much more.
This profile will give a full breakdown of your company, as well as any contact information, providing your target audience with everything they need about your company and its products and/or services.
Online reviews are key
According to a recent survey, up to 84% of people trust reviews they see online just as much as personal recommendations.
Online reviews are a huge factor in displaying a business’ reputation, and the more 5-star reviews, the better.
All companies should encourage satisfied customers to leave a review on their Google Business Profile – not only to improve their online reputation, but because it’s a huge ranking factor when it comes to Google searches.
Google claims that:
“High quality, positive reviews from your customers can improve your business visibility and increase the likelihood that a shopper will visit your location.”
Another form of online reviews would be Facebook reviews, which is another great place to direct customers to leave a comment on the experience they had with your business.
If you are looking to improve your SEO, get in touch with our team at Engage Web today.
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