There are thousands of online businesses that require certain marketing tactics to bring them customers and attention. However, if you’re a business that deals only with physical customers – such as a law firm, dental office, real estate agency, or medical clinic – it’s important to use tactics that work on a local level.
You should be employing certain local SEO tactics that appeal to those in your area. Marketing to the online masses will be a waste of time and money since only a fraction of those who see your ads will be near your business. If you’re looking to target the right customers and increase business, here are some local SEO strategies you have to try.
1. Have a Responsive Site Design
Even though you’re aiming for customers in the physical world, you still need a mobile-friendly website to penetrate your target market. According to research, consumers often search for local businesses on their smartphones before visiting them. What’s more, 75 percent of customers who search on a smartphone for a service visit a location within five miles of them. If you want to snag more local customers, a website is essential.
2. Create Landing Pages
In order to rank for local search above your competitors, you need landing pages optimized with local keywords. As an example of this, check out this landing page for a Phoenix law firm. Their page highlights a specific service area with maps, information about the need for their services in the area, and a description of how their law firm can help. This is a great example of how to both rank for local keywords as well as drive consumers to action online.
3. Get Online Reviews
Research also shows that about two thirds of consumers trust online recommendations, even if they’re from total strangers. To set yourself up for such effective word of mouth marketing, list your business on Google, Yelp, and other review sites. Fill in your profiles with accurate and relevant information.
Then, solicit online reviews. Offer a discount on services or a free gift if customers will leave a review. Since this will significantly boost your brand’s reputation and bring in more customers, the cost of incentivizing reviews will be well worth it.
4. Focus on Online Content
In any SEO campaign, content is essential to success. Your content will have keywords and context clues that help search engines recognize it when matching search queries. Avoid keyword stuffing, however, to escape penalties from the strict google algorithm.
Use a diverse variety of content to attract attention. Blog posts, infographics, videos, podcasts, and webinars can all be used to market yourself subtly while providing value for consumers. Focus on quality in every piece of content to keep the audience engaged and improve campaign performance.
