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Search engine optimization (SEO) is constantly evolving like any other industry. The struggle to stay on top of the ranking takes more than a post in a month. To stay rated and relevant, you must put in the time and conduct the research.
Being easily searchable, informative and consistent is more crucial than ever for small businesses, and for that, businesses need local search engine optimization. It’s simpler than you might think to master local SEO. Here are five quick techniques to boost local SEO and make your small business rank above its rivals.
Related: Struggling in Local Search? Here’s What Your Local SEO Strategy Needs
1. Ensure the consistency of your NAP
Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP). Your local SEO approach may succeed or fail based on these three simple facts. Make sure to display this information on your website prominently.
As it will show at the bottom of every page, the footer is an excellent location for your NAP. You can also make your NAP visible on service area pages and your contact page’s body.
Consistency is key. Your essential company details must be consistent wherever potential clients may find you online.
Related: 5 Tips to Improve Your Local SEO in 5 Hours
2. Enhance the on-page content
You can demonstrate that you are the industry leader in your field for the service you offer by using the content on your site. Along with your services in your region, include specifics like street names and landmarks.
Explain to the customer why they would require your services in that particular location. Your customer’s user experience will be improved the more you sound like you belong.
Related: This Important Website Feature Is Crucial For Your Business
3. Get listed in local directories
Getting featured in local directories is a fantastic additional strategy for enhancing your local SEO. There are a lot of web directories that are specifically designed for businesses in certain regions.
Your chances of being discovered by potential clients looking for companies like yours are increased by having a listing in these directories.
4. Optimize header tags
Check out this resource on the best practices for using header tags if you haven’t already looked into the topic. By developing localized service pages, you have now gained more space to construct highly targeted header tags with local-based keywords.
Good header tags provide a general picture of the page’s overall structure and what to expect as visitors browse through the content. It would look odd if you simply loaded keywords into the header tags.
Related: How Should You Optimize for Branded Keywords?
5. Create relevant backlinks
Backlinks are one of the most significant ranking elements for any website, and it is the connections to your website made by other websites. Google views backlinks as endorsements — the higher the backlinks, the more they appear in search results.
Prioritizing quality over number is crucial while developing backlinks. Look for chances to receive backlinks from reputable websites related to your business.
Related: What Are Backlinks and Why Do You Need Them for Your SEO?
Style preference for SEO
- Use dashes with a space on either side.
- Avoid serial commas: Cabbage, tomato, and potato.
- End quote marks should be placed inside commas and periods, and there must be one space following a period.
- Single quotes should only be used around other single quotes.
- Include your personal hyperlinks and avoid placing citations or URLs in parentheses below the article.
- Sparingly use one-sentence paragraphs. The ideal paragraph length is two or three sentences.
- Subheads should have the same parallel format. They all need complete sentences if the initial heading is a full sentence. Subheads shouldn’t contain links. Just use them in your text. After the first word in a subhead, do not capitalize the following words.
- If you must use “he,” use “she” as well. Pluralizing your pronouns will help you avoid this formulation, at least occasionally.
- Never use the pronoun “they” to refer to a firm, organization, or government body.
- Maintain consistency: If you begin with the pronoun “you,” don’t change it. It’s best to avoid using “we,” “I,” “he/she,” and “you” in the same sentence. Throughout the sentence, use the same verb tense. Keep in mind that the present perfect tense shows continual, habitual action.
- Look for repetition of the same points, words, or themes.
- All numbers less than ten (apart from percentages) are written out. Numbers 10 or more are represented by numerals.
- Numbers are always used to express years. With numbers, use “greater than” rather than “over.” Instead of writing “percent,” use the % symbol.
- Verify quotes using trustworthy sources.
- Lay out any acronyms and abbreviations other people may not be familiar with on the first reference, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses.
- In names for the first reference, use the complete name. Only the last name should be used in subsequent references.
Final thoughts
For promoting your local online business, you must include local SEO. You can increase your visibility in local search results by claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing. By getting listed in local directories and adding location pages to your website, you can draw more clients to your company.
This article is from Entrepreneur.com
