Local SEO Strategies for Small Businesses
From optimising your Google Business Profile to building local back links to add to your digital marketing strategies, we’ve got you covered.
Here are 5 strategies you can implement for your small business today:
Claim Your Google Business Profile
Claiming your Google Business Profile is one of the most important steps for your local business. Why? A live Google Business Profile means you’re discoverable on Google, so when someone’s searching for a product or service your small business provides, there’s a chance you’ll be found.
If you’re yet to claim your Google Business Profile, check out this guide on how to create your GBP. It’s free, won’t take long, but the benefits you receive will be worth it.
Optimising Your Google Business Profile
Optimising your Google Business Profile is a vital part of a Local SEO strategy. What keywords does your business want to rank for? Are the keywords you want to rank for the keywords your potential customers are searching for? What about your contact information? Are your contact hours correct?
Optimising your Google Business Profile can be a little daunting, there’s a lot to do, a lot to think about, and a lot that can go wrong.
If you have an existing Google Business Profile that’s no longer a true reflection of your business, we recommend reaching out to a Local SEO specialist to take a look. Yes, that’s a little plug – but seriously, please don’t get your Google Business Profile suspended. It’ll cost you far more to recover your GMB profile.
Optimising for Mobile for Local Search
Optimising for mobile is another step to take when implementing a Local SEO strategy for your small business. With most searches now being made on mobile, and the Google 3-pack being far higher up than organic search results on mobile, it’s a step you can’t afford to go wrong.
Ensure your website is optimised for mobile and tablet devices. You can test this by loading up your website on your devices and ensuring everything works, looks good and is fast. Any problems? Contact your website developer, who should be more than happy to fix any errors.
Local Link Building
Building local links is like planting seeds in your community – it’s all about growing connections and establishing your presence in the local area. Think of it this way, the more high quality, local relevant backlinks that link out to your website, the more authority your website will gain.
Here’s a simpler approach to local link building for small business owners:
- Get listed in local directories
- Get involved in local events
- Local Public Relations (PR)
Get listed in Local Directories
Getting listed in local directories is a fantastic starting point for local businesses. The importance of local directories is that it takes all the important business information and puts them all over the internet. Remember yellow pages? Well, same sort of idea, just digitalised.
Having your key business information such as your name, phone number and address listed on web directories demonstrate to Google you’re a real business, and these local directories can play a big part of building out your overall local SEO strategy.
Get involved in Local Events
Participate in or sponsor local events or charities. These events often have websites where they can mention and link to your business. Plus, building a local link is just an advantage of doing something nice in the local community.
Local Public Relations (PR)
One of our favourite Local SEO strategies for small businesses is utilising local PR.
Doing something newsworthy? Let local newspapers know. If it’s really newsworthy, your small business may feature on their website and claim another local backlink.
Creating Local Specific Content
Building further onto our Local Link Building section, creating local specific content is a great idea to implement as part of your Local SEO strategy. Whilst you may be a small business, there is plenty to shout about.
Writing about Local Events
Don’t fancy taking part in the community events? You can always get involved by writing about them instead.
If there’s a lack of PR covering the event, why not go along and write an article about it? Share the article with the community in local groups, it’s a great way to build relationships, too.
Case Studies
Another one of our favourite Local SEO strategies for small businesses is utilising building case studies/testimonials.
Working with local businesses is fantastic, especially when they are willing to provide a case study. Ask your favourite customers if they’re willing to write a case study for your small business, or even better, a video testimonial. Video testimonials are the best form of social proof.
There are a lot of benefits to case studies, we really recommend them.
Conclusion
Local SEO requires action, strategy, and a genuine connection with your local community.
From optimising your Google Business Profile to ensuring your website is mobile-friendly, and from building meaningful local links to creating content that resonates with your local city/county/town, each step is a crucial part of a larger journey.
Now we’ve provided some local SEO strategies to get started with, it’s time to put this into action. For businesses looking for SEO services for your small business, contact us today to see how we can help.
We’re based in Caerphilly, but work with businesses within the UK!
Contact us via email: info@everydaydigital.co.uk or call 07822012492
I’m Calum, Owner of Everyday Digital.
I write about Local SEO, Google Business Profile and how businesses can get found on Google to increase their leads.
