What is Local SEO and how to rank your local business? Well local listing management services or Local Website Optimization is a strategy of making websites optimized for a specific local audience. It is a different concept from off-page optimization. Many companies believe that Local SEO is all about meta tags and keyword stuffing. They forget to consider the content, usability, visual design, site navigation, internal linking structure etc.
When you optimize a website for a localized audience, the search engine spiders and algorithms of popular search engines like Google and Yahoo will recognize the existence of Local SEO factors on your website and will give higher rankings. This process of optimizing the website begins with the understanding of the target audience. As a Local SEO Consultant we analyze your business, website and web pages to understand the main purpose of the site, the most appropriate keywords, most fitting visual design, content type and the best way to optimize it for a specific geographical location.
If you have a physical storefront in the city center, you can get a ranking through Google Places, a search engine where customers can find your business in your area by typing in a phrase like “what is local seo and how to rank your local business in Google”. It is very easy but it will take time. Another way is to hire a Search Engine Optimization firm who will do the work for you. They know the ins and outs of the search engines and have strategies on how to rank your local business in the top results. These firms will be more cost-effective than you but will be effective.
Another question which arises is how much should one pay for this kind of service. The answer is that it depends on a lot of factors which include your budget and the amount of traffic you expect in your area. If your business is located in the countryside, then you should not worry about paying anything because most probably no one will come in unless they are really interested. But if your business is mostly located in the city, then you have to pay more for what is local seo and how to rank your local business in Google.
There are different types of SEO packages. Some offer free services while others charge a certain fee. You should carefully research each SEO company to make sure that you are getting the best value for your money. Some SEO companies will also give you recommendations based on their experience so it pays to take time and look into each SEO company before making any final decisions.
If you are wondering how Google recommends the page ranks, here it is: Google wants your site to be on the first page of Google! This makes it a little bit difficult because most of the sites that are ranked highly are the ones that have done something right. For example, if you have a blog or a website where you post content regularly, Google will surely put it at the top of its search results page. However, you have to remember that you can’t just spam your content to the top. You have to post quality articles, create inbound links to your site, use targeted keywords in your Meta tag information and do keyword research to avoid missing spots from Google’s search algorithm.
Since most people type Google local into the search box, your online marketing campaign has to be aimed at local searchers. Your web pages should clearly state where you are located, your hours of operation, contact details, maps, directions and many other local business specific features. You have to advertise on these pages, but more importantly, you have to drive targeted traffic to them. If your visitors are from a nearby city or even a neighboring state, this makes a big difference!
In conclusion, what is local SEO is very important in increasing your rankings on Google and other search engines. This method does take some time before you start seeing visible changes in your Google ranking, but you have to be patient. Remember, Google will not rank your local business until you show them that your business is for locals, that your customers will come to your location first when they do searches. If you do all of these things then you can rest assured that soon your local SEO efforts will pay off!
