Local search optimization is hot. Where before the users of the web wanted global information, more and more they wanted more personal results that, literally, took them to the place where they lived.
That’s why it’s no longer about optimizing your company’s website for local search, but about how soon you can do it. And to help, let’s look at some tips that will help you get started with local search optimization.
1. Identify local search terms
If you are going to optimize your site, you must know what people are looking for. To discover this:
- Use the Google Ad Words keyword tool or something similar to find local keywords in your niche that attract search traffic.
- Check your web analytics to see what local terms visitors have used to find your site.
- Local search terms are usually a combination of the city or town where your company is located and the type of service it offers.
2. Optimize existing pages
If you have a commercial website, you already have pages that describe the services you offer, so your first step is to make it clear that you are targeting a particular local market. You can do this by:
- Including your city or town in the titles and descriptions of the pages, along with the name of the service offered. Remember to keep page titles with 70 characters or less and descriptions with 156 characters or less.
- add local contact details (business name, address and phone number) on the corresponding pages.
- add a map to your site (do not forget to also write the details of the location in the text, so that the search engines can index the information).
You can also optimize the page and publish content including local terms.
3. Locate your content
If your company has several locations, then there are other options. These include:
- create landing pages for each location. Use these pages to group your local service offers, but be careful to avoid duplicate content.
- use a software solution to locate your content, such as Yoast’s local SEO search plugin, Rio SEO or similar products.
These solutions will help improve the local search engine ranking of your website.
4. Enumerate him to be worshiped
After optimizing and locating your content, the next step is listed in the local directories.
In addition to the obvious information (business name, address, phone number and other contact details), be sure to write an excellent description that includes your key local search term.
You can also add photos and labels depending on the directory. Point to coherence, so that wherever people find you, they will see the same information.
It’s a good idea to use Google Webmaster Tools to make sure your site is shown to target your chosen geographic area.
5. Remind mobile users
Mobile users are increasingly using their devices and applications to search for relevant information, as the e Marketer data shows.
A 2012 study conducted by Localize supports this finding. Recent developments, such as the launch of Google Now, show that companies must also be ready for local mobile search.
