Thought Local SEO was only important for brick & mortar locations?
Think again – SEO applies to everyone, and comprises a number of different focus areas.
We could talk about the on-site features that need to be taken care of to ensure optimal growth.
Or we could discuss the various off-page optimization techniques that make a difference in organic score.
We could even talk about the importance of long tail keywords in generating solid traffic in the long term. And that’s only the beginning.
But today, the focus will be on features of local SEO. Everyone should be aware of local SEO ranking techniques for the simple reason that they apply to every site on the internet.
In what way do they apply? Every keyword can be a geographical specification. A long-tail keyword will often contain a city or region for which it is focused – like “best shoe store Chicago” for example.
If someone searches for “best shoe store Chicago”, the results will begin with the site that has great local search optimization.
Local search makes a huge difference for a business with a brick and mortar location, but is also useful for an e-commerce company that wants to focus on generating traffic in a specific market.
That’s why local SEO applies to everyone.
5 Key Features Make All the Difference
There are a number of important factors that will improve local search rankings. Here is a little list of some factors:
- On-Page Signals
The presence of local keywords is most important. The specific location needs to be as present as the keywords that define your business. If these keywords are not accurate, then local search traffic will suffer greatly. It’s that simple.
2. Quality of Link Signals
Link signals include a whole number of on-site features. The most important feature is the quality of the backlinking. Are you connecting with important local influencers on your site? If not, then it’s time to build a local support network between your site and others.
Another important factor are the terms you use to backlink. The anchor text should be the same as the keywords you are focusing on, or as relevant as possible. It is also good to use anchor text that is relevant to the site you are back-linking to. That way your site will share local traffic with the influencer or company you are referring to.
3. Customer Behavior
If customers are using mobile, then you need to respond to that and make your site as mobile friendly as possible.
That means keeping it simple with a scroll-down layout rather than a homepage with a list of different pages to click on.
4. Business Info Needs To Be Accurate
All the brick and mortar info about your business needs to be present on Google, business directories, and social media platforms.
When it comes to business directories, the most important is Yelp, but there are many more that need to be considered, including Yahoo Local, Tripadvisor, and Zomato (for cafes/restaurants).
5. Reviews
Not to be forgotten are the reviews of your business.
Customer satisfaction and online reputation matter in all digital endeavors, but a local SEO campaign will suffer if the reviews are not glowing.
Getting a solid rating across the business directories and Facebook will contribute a great boost to the more technical features of local SEO that are being executed.
Start Getting Local Traffic
Each page on your ecommerce site can have a different geographical focus area.
Or, if you are only targeting one local market, populate your whole site with the same geographical terms.
In either case, putting extra focus into local SEO will drive meaningful traffic within days, enabling you to reach your ideal clients with greater ease.