When you provide a real-world product or service then your primary demographic is the people and businesses around you. Leading local search placement is imperative to snatching up online leads, people that you would otherwise never engage.

Each of us turns to Google or another favorite search engine to find the business, product or service closest while using social media profiles and reviews to gauge the viability as a prospective provider. This makes establishing your website as an authority exceedingly important. Here we’re giving you 7 techniques for improving your business website for local search results so that you can start reaping the rewards of a well-established business online.

Social Media & Video Sharing Sites

Social media and video sharing sites hold large authority all relative to the number of followers you engage and the demographic you’re targeting. Becoming established on social media is integral to success online. Having a live-streaming channel or setting up a YouTube channel for infrequent posting or streaming is one of the most interactive ways that you can engage any audience. As is the case with social pages, video sharing sites such as YouTube and DailyMotion hold massive authoritative to search engine trackers.

The more established profiles you have spanning everything from web 2.0’s to YouTube, the better you’ll rank locally. Just be sure to include the appropriate localized keywords into your channel/video description and tags. Here are just a few of the social networks which you need to have a presence on:

• Google+
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• YouTube
• DailyMotion

List Your Website on Local Business Directories

Local business directories are still one of the best ways to make sure that your local clientele finds you when they’re looking for a product or service. The more local directories you appear on, the more backlinks you have in the eyes of a search engine, which will vastly improve where you land in local search results. Be sure to be listed on the Yellow Pages and all local listing including Facebook Groups, Yelp, Google My Business and any other local site which may be relevant such as Gumtree.

Take advantage of print marketing when you can. For example, B2B marketing finds great value from brochures and expos, making inclusion almost essential in a prominent publication and appearance at events mandatory. Make your local listings media rich so that you engage your audience on multiple levels. Always include a call-to-action and use the full range of what digital advertising has to offer.

Promote Reviews

The more reviews you have the higher your search engine visibility especially when looking at local search results. Incentivized reviews or even directly asking your customers to post a review of your service with a link to your Google My Business page are all a good idea. Make sure that your landing page is highly polished, and highly targeted. Never overlook SEO on any element of your site and never miss the chance to get a review.

Reviews are also a means of marketing which directly engages your audience, something which is normally only possible on social media. Use all available channels to promote reviews, from email marketing to the design of your landing page. As they amass they create strength for your brand both in terms of your perceived presence and your placement in local search results.

Ad Campaigns & How They Help Local SEO

A sure-fire way to improve your placement within local listings is to run PPC campaigns through Google AdWords, although you will need a strategic keyword campaign. Target local search terms specifically and always split-test your campaigns. One of the best ways to begin segmenting your targeted search advertising is to target three types of keywords – brand name keywords, keywords relating directly to the product or service, and location-based keywords.

Always build a good variety and do an adequate amount of research before running a campaign. Don’t limit yourself to the major networks only when there are tons of targeted ad providers to try. Here are a few to look at:

• Bing
• 7Search
• Facebook Ads
• Twitter Ads
• Amazon Associates
• Chitika
• Yllix Media
• Adsterra
• Infolinks
• RevContent
• PropellerAds
• net

Always Optimize Your Meta Info & Optimize for Mobile

Meta tags and meta descriptions should always include your targeted keywords. Don’t just keyword stuff but rather make sure to put relevant information that your consumers will be looking for in the appropriate meta. If you want to take things a step further and truly gain an advantage in local search results then use schema markup to add ratings and other features, improving the overall quality of the way your search engine listing is displayed.

Before launching any new area of your site always check the mobile responsiveness as well. Your designers should always be working within a responsive framework. If your website is not mobile ready then now is the time to begin making changes. After all, roughly half of all 2018’s traffic came from a mobile device.

Build Local Backlinks

In addition to building your social presence and listing yourself on local business directories – all of which also serve as backlinks, you want to build referring links to as many local business landing pages as you can. Visit the pages of businesses or forums connected to your industry and do your best to engage in conversation, making valuable contributions to discussions and supplying feedback which has insight. Blog comments are a great example of building local backlinks.

If a competitor or supplier has a site where you can leave a comment, find something relevant and pitch it from a perspective that they will publish. Every backlink helps far more than you would ever expect, especially with fine tuning SEO for local search results. Another way to build high-authority links quickly is to employ professional services. A high-quality marketing professional can build engaging backlinks which draw attention and hold search authority.

The Secrets of Successful Local SEO

A successful SEO campaign requires attention to many marketing components. With a sound plan, solid exposure and a well-crafted site with enough authority and interesting content, you are guaranteed greater visibility, more natural traffic and in turn higher overall revenue. Always look at the bigger picture to determine the next best move for your site. Outreach Link Building has a concise but comprehensive guide to evaluating your site & it’s SEO. Be sure to give it a look for a reference to put your own efforts against, and as a source of advice & inspiration.

Author Bio:

Harold Camaya

She is a blogger who loves to write in different verticals. She co-authored Supercharge Organic Traffic: A popular course focusing on Organic Traffic for E-commerce. Her hobbies are traveling and reading.