Search engine optimization (SEO) is a crucial aspect of Internet marketing, and local SEO is one of the hottest trends in optimization strategies. If you aren’t implementing local optimization techniques to market your business, you are putting your business at an unfortunate disadvantage. This is because many other companies have already begun to understand the importance of local marketing to their overall marketing campaigns – and they are using local SEO to reach their target demographics.
What Is Local SEO and Why Does It Matter?
To fully comprehend the impact that local SEO services can have on your business, you may want to first explore exactly what the term means. The term refers to the optimization process associated with achieving the highest rankings possible in local searches. Simply put, this means that when people search for various local products or services, sites that are properly optimized will be seen at the top of the search pages. If your business is not at the top of those pages, others will be – and those are the businesses that your prospective customers will see first. Additionally (and perhaps most importantly), the businesses that rank highest in Google search results typically enjoy a far higher click-through rate than the businesses that rate lower in those results. This is why high rankings in local searches are vital to your business, and this is also why effective local SEO techniques can help you crush your competition.
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What Your Competition Is Doing (That You Should Be Doing, Too)
Which strategies are being successfully employed by your competition? One of the first steps to take if you want to improve your local rankings is to be sure your business has as many citations as possible across the Web. You’ll also need to ensure that the NAP information for your business is listed properly (NAP is simply an acronym for name, address, and phone number). If any of this information is listed inaccurately, then the local search rankings for your business will likely be negatively affected. Be sure to check that your NAP details are listed correctly for Google My Business, Google Places, and Google Maps, as well as for local online directories.
Another essential strategy is to embed the right keywords within your content. Long tail keyword phrases are often integral to directing your target market to your site. More Internet users than ever are discovering that the best way to get the search results they seek is to enter the right combination of words in search boxes. Many people in Boston who might once have entered “dental services” to find a dentist have learned that entering “dental services Boston” is a faster way to find dentists in that area. However, refining such a search with a few more keywords may produce even faster and more relevant results; and as more people than ever perform online searches to locate businesses, more consumers than ever are learning which techniques they can use to save time. Therefore, the average Internet user of today might instinctively enter a phrase such as “which dentists in the Boston area specialize in dental implants”, in order to get faster results on a desired topic.
These are only a few of the local marketing strategies currently being utilized by your competition. If you hope to be ranked #1 at the top of local Google searches before your competition gets there instead, you’ll need to employ a wide range of proven and cutting edge local SEO strategies. The way to do that is to consult experts in search engine optimization, such as the team at Up and Social. The professionals at Up and Social are always aware of the trends in local SEO that affect your business. With such professionals on your side, you can truly gain and sustain an edge on your competition – before they get an edge on you.
