The Complete Beginners Guide to Local SEO for Small Business Owners

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local seo for small business

When it comes to growing your small business, SEO (search engine optimization) is absolutely essential. Businesses can live and die by their ability to rank high on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

Those who take advantage of a few simple principles will benefit exponentially and rise above the other competition.

But, local SEO for small business isn’t something you can just plug in and expect to work. It’s a process, and depending on your presence online to this point, could require some backtracking and editing on your part.

Like anything about building businesses, it takes time and effort. It’s best to learn how to do it right the first time so you don’t have to waste time fixing it.

But where should you start? What’s the most important part of SEO? Is there anything that isn’t obvious that you should be doing? We’ll answer all these questions and more as we dive into some local SEO strategies in this article. Let’s take a look.

What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a process that refers to a business owner optimizing their online presence- usually a website- so that it ranks high in Google based on specific search terms.

The idea behind localized SEO is that someone can more easily find your business and buy your products or services because you’re easier to find than your competition.

While Google is the obvious powerhouse (stealing more than 74% of all searches), it’s important to also factor in sites like Bing, Yelp, and Apple Maps, too.

Google

Obviously with 74% of searches coming from Google, it will pay for you to invest time here. And if you need some more inspiration, here it is. Did you know that 33% of clicks come from the top 3 results on Google?

People find what they are looking for fast and move on to the site for information. So then, it stands to reason that you want to rank as high as you can on Google. But what are they looking for?

Mobile-Friendly

Because more and more people are searching for things through their mobile phones, Google places a very high premium on the ability of your site to deliver on a mobile platform.

Fortunately, Google offers this mobile-friendly tool to see if your site performs like they want it to.

Keyword Search

The next thing to keep in mind is how your site is organized around keywords. Keywords are the things people type into sites like Google and Bing that lead them to your website. Probably one of the simplest local SEO tips is to find out what keywords your website is already ranking for.

For example, if you run a coffee shop in Tucson, type in keywords to check such as:

  • coffee shop Tucson
  • coffee shop near me
  • best places for coffee in Tuscon
  • Tucson coffee shop

Also consider alternative keywords that relate to coffee, such as “wifi” or “cafe”. As you plan your local SEO strategy, consider the keywords you already are ranking for, and then identify the ones you aren’t.

You can then curate blog posts or other content based around these keywords and use WordPress-friendly apps like Yoast SEO to make sure you are delivering with all your content.

The “Others” — Bing, Apple Maps, Yelp

Local link building isn’t just done on Google. Other search engines will also rank you, and it’s important to have a presence there, too. Luckily, for most search engines, what works with Google will also help you.

But consider things like Apple Maps and Yelp. Have you set yourself up there yet? If not, you’re missing out.

Yelp

Yelp is a go-to for many people looking for business solutions. Reviewers can leave you positive feedback about your service or product, which will increase the likelihood that strangers trust and buy from you.

If you aren’t on Yelp, simply use Google and search “add a business to Yelp” as your first step to using Yelp for SEO. Proceed to fill out your Yelp profile and add photos so that people can get a good first impression of the service you can offer.

Apple Maps

iPhone users are everywhere — just look in any major city. More eyes are looking at iPhones than people are looking at the space in front of them. A lot of those eyes are using the Maps feature to figure out where they should go next — and for your local SEO business strategy, this should be something you keep in mind.

Did you know Apple Maps are used 3x more than Google maps? This is why it’s imperative that your business is set up on it. Simply visit this Maps Connect link and do something similar to what you just did with Yelp.

The sooner you are on there, the better, and the sooner people will be able to discover you when they are looking.

While Apple and Google don’t always get along, this will ensure you are where the eyes are, which is the goal of any good local SEO strategy.

Other Things To Consider

SEO is a wormhole, and you can always improve your strategy. Some other things to research or look into for your local business that can improve ranking include:

  • Backlinks- How can you get other local businesses to promote your service by linking to it on their content? Can you help them?
  • Local Citations- What are people in your community saying about you?
  • Research and implement structured data so Google can more easily discover your website.

Local SEO For Small Business — Wrap-Up

While local SEO for small business can seem like a lot, the truth is, it’s all about time well spent. Small investments will gradually add up and help your local business grow as it ranks higher and appears more often than your competitors.

Things to consider as you begin include aking your site easily readable and structured so Google rewards you with high rankings. But don’t forget sites and apps like Apple Maps, Bing, and Yelp are also gold mines for getting new eyes on your work.

Learn the basics of content management systems and get started with your building. Thanks for reading and good luck!