If you’re in business today, your online presence is probably the most important piece of real estate that you own. But if you can’t get anyone there, then it isn’t worth anything. That’s why search engine optimization (SEO) is such a crucial piece of any marketing plan so that you can get in front of your target audience on a regular basis.

This is especially true in the local context where you’re competing against other companies both local and international – to target specific people in your geography. At Trusted Search Marketing, we’ve learned a lot from our time in the business and we thought we would share our top 5 local SEO tips that can take your business to the next level.

1. Optimize your ‘Google My Business’ listing

Google remains the undisputed behemoth in the space and so you want to make sure that you’re squeezing every last piece of value out of them. That’s why it makes all the sense in the world to spend some time optimizing your business listing that shows up in the right hand sidebar when people are searching. Ensure that you have the right contact information, a compelling and complete description of your services, strong reviews, and some good photos to create the best impression possible for your business. It takes some effort, but it will pay off in the long run.

2. Create location-specific content

There is so much content being created these days that it can be difficult to stand out. So, instead of trying to compete on very competitive keywords and phrases, see if you can create content for more long-tail, location-specific search phrases. This will allow you to be more precise and specific with your ideas and this translates to better value created for your target customers.

3. Use highly specific keywords

Search engines will periodically crawl through your site to identify its context so that it knows what to show to users. As such, you want to make sure that your website is abundantly clear about the local area in which its targeting. Don’t be scared to be highly specific and use the local keywords that apply in your small niche. That specificity actually works in your favour, and it will help you get your site in front of the right people for your business.

4. Add your location to meta tags

Whenever you create a piece of content, you’ll have a chance to add some information to the meta tags which helps search engines decide what to do with it. Be sure to add the specific location(s) you are serving in these tags so that it is more focused and less generic. You might be picking up that the key to local SEO is niching down your keywords, and the same principle applies here.

5. Optimize for mobile

It’s no secret that the vast majority of online searches happening today are taking place on mobile phones. If your website is not optimized for that use case, then you’re missing the boat. Make sure that everything you create is mobile-first and that the customer experience is world-class in that department. You want a customer to contact you right then and there, from your phone, which then tells Google that your site is relevant and valuable. Go through the entire customer journey with fresh eyes and see if you can find ways to improve it. You’ll be amazed at what you find.

To Conclude…

So, there you have it. These are five local SEO tips that you can action today that will give your business the attention it deserves. Focus on these core principles and you can supercharge your entire operation.

If you are looking for some more professional help in this regard, we’d love to hear from you. We work with a number of clients who have taken their local SEO to the next level through utilizing our services, and you could be next! Get in touch today and let’s see how we can help.