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4 Essential Tips to develop an effective Local SEO plan

Essential Local SEO Tactics

To develop a local SEO strategy for your business there are some essential steps you need to take.


1. Claim your Google My Business Listing

Google’s share of the search engine market is about 75%.

There is no doubt it is the most popular search engine used worldwide.

It is therefore essential that you claim and optimize your free Google My Business (GMB) listing.

The GMB is often called the ‘Map Pack’ and it is what appears when a user searches for your company name, location, information, or relevant local keywords on Google.


The listings also appear in Google Maps.


To take advantage of your map listing and Google account, you need to include as many details about your business as possible. It is essential you include your business name, address, and phone number. This Name, Address and Phone number commonly known as your “NAP”.

You can also include other vital business information on your Google My Business listing:

  • Company Website
  • Hours of Operation
  • Product/Service Categories and Labels
  • Customer Reviews
  • Store/Location Information
  • Popular Times
  • Photos
  • Company Logo


Google provides help to complete your Google My Business listing.

Look here for more details.


2. Find Relevant Online Directories.

There are many online business directories where you can list your business.

These sites are online lists of businesses within a specific niche, location, or category. Since these websites require your address and other local business information, it makes sense that these sites would be beneficial in increasing your presence online.

It’s very important to complete these listing and directory profiles with as much of your business details as possible.

It’s essential you include your name, address, and phone number, and ensure they are exactly the same format you used in your Google listing.

3. Customer Reviews are important.

Nearly 90% of local consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations?

Therefore, online reviews are a major contributor to your successful local search engine optimization strategy.
 As local SEO tactics work to increase your visibility on search engines and map listings, the effort you put into your setup will pay off in the long term.

The star rating you attract for your business is the top factor used by consumers to judge a business.

It is crucial to generate authentic customer positive reviews.

Reviews should not be confined to just Google.

Search engine algorithms also include listing and directory sites in the search rankings.

Make sure you have a listing on other sites like Facebook and Trip Advisor as well many others.

Directory sites and Social Media sites all help create additional exposure for your online presence. These review sites also contain links back to your website.

These are called backlinks and help drive traffic to your website and improve your authority online, which works towards your local SEO goals.

4. Localized Website Content

Arguably, the biggest factor contributing to your exposure and ranking is content. 

You might often here ‘content is king’

Google has made it clear that relevant website content on your website is a major ranking factor.

Here’s a couple of important areas to focus:

  • Make sure your name, phone number, and address are easily found on your website. Include this information in the header and/or footer of your website and ensure it’s on your Contact page.
  • Create website and blog content focused on local keywords. For instance, if you were an Italian Restaurant in Warners Bay you could use the phrase ‘Italian Restaurant in Warners Bay’ page content.


However, be very careful, there is a commonly misunderstood practice called keyword stuffing, and Google will punish your site for this!


Many business owners who develop their first local SEO strategy make the mistake of stuffing too many keywords into their pages, blog posts, and online listings.


Search engines are getting much smarter and their algorithms can detect this ‘spammy’ practice.

When you are writing your content, include your relevant keywords naturally, just like you would if you were speaking.


Ensure you add your main terms to your page title, headings, meta description, and image alt tags for the best search results.


Launch Your Local SEO Strategy

You will now understand why local SEO is so important and used by businesses of different sizes all over the world.

Now it’s time to develop and execute your own SEO strategy! 

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