Local online marketing optimization (SEO, local SEO, location marketing, website optimization, offsite marketing optimization) is a a critical aspect of any online marketing campaign. This quick guide will touch on the most common mistakes business owners make when it comes to optimizing their websites for local search. Read on to learn about the highly effective local online marketing tips that will help you avoid those mistakes.
Poor Calls-to-Action
One of the worst optimization mistakes you can make is to design a website without clear calls-to-action. Local search users are highly motivated to make a purchase, schedule a consultation or take another action step toward interacting with a relevant business. This means that you should make it as easy as possible for visitors to your website to take that next step.
Include quality calls-to-action on each page of your website to improve your chances of a conversion. The best calls-to-action communicate a simple message, making it easy to cut through the clutter and make that phone call, send that inquiry or buy that product in a single click or two.
Inefficient Linkbuilding
Linkbuilding is one of the most difficult aspects of local SEO for most people to understand. Local linkbuilding is simply the practice of improving your website's rankings in search results through relevant, quality LOCAL links. When a highly authoritative website links to another website, the secondary site that was linked to gains what could be considered a search “boost.”
Linkbuilding is a form of social proof, in this sense. In general, when many quality websites link to your website, it grows in terms of authority. The idea is that the highest quality sites will have more inbound links than those that are not linked to at all. You can improve your linkbuilding by writing guest posts for popular local blogs and local websites in your field of expertise and building your local online network.
Using Keyword Stuffing for Local Online Marketing
The days when you could climb to the top of a local search results page by loading a website with local keywords are long gone. (Like stuffing the city name throughout the website plus the service.) Today's search engines are highly intelligent, possessing the ability to distinguish between keyword overstuffing and genuine keyword optimization.
The key is to create locally applicable content for your website that uses relevant local keywords organically. To accomplish this, you must first understand what your users are looking for and how they are phrasing those search terms. For example, customers looking for an auto body shop in Dallas might type something such as “affordable car repair in Dallas” or “auto shop Dallas.” Using these relevant keywords throughout your website in a natural way will help build your rankings in search results, making it easier for customers to find your business online. It is simply adding another layer of designed content tailored for your local online marketing efforts.
In the above simple example, if a mobile user (with location services turned on) searches for “affordable car repair” and their location is in Dallas, the search query is automatically appended with the user's location.
Confusing Web Design
No matter how well you use local keywords, your local online marketing efforts are only as good as your website. Professional web design goes a long way when it comes to attracting customers to your website, keeping them there for long enough to move them further down the sales funnel and improving your brand's online reputation. A streamlined website is essential both for local SEO purposes and maintaining a professional image.
The good news is that even a single-page website may be enough to meet your brand's needs. Each page should be designed with a clear purpose in mind that visitors can figure out within seconds of landing on your website. Research shows that the average reader only spends 37 seconds on an article before looking elsewhere, so quality web design makes every second count.
Local website optimization to direct users to your location should have easy access to directions, contact information and other “location defined” content. Make it easy for your customer to get to your store!
Failing to Claim Your Online Presence
This is the big one.
Only 44 percent of users claim their Google My Business local listings, for example. (This is probably one of the biggest local SEO tips in this article ignore at your own peril!) Your location is your business – you need to publish it everywhere and we can help. There are over 60 local location directories that your business location should be listed in to maximize reach to local customers.
Failing to claim your social media profiles could also mean a lost chance to connect with local users searching for products and services in your area through their chosen social media platforms. Due to the highly social nature of the Internet, social media results such as a Facebook or LinkedIn page for a business often rank highly for relevant keywords.
Even with the right local SEO tips in place, local SEO can be a time consuming process. Brandgy offers comprehensive SEO support for local businesses looking to expand their reach online. Email us today to get more information on a local SEO strategy that is custom-tailored for your business and start connecting with local customers today.
