Local SEO: 5 Tips for Local Business Owners

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Nowadays, any business can (and should) have their own website.

With all of the resources out there, it’s easy to get a website up and running quickly.

That’s the easy part.

But how do you really get your website seen? Especially when you’re running a local business?

The answer lies in search engine optimization.

It’s a process of driving traffic to your website organically (unpaid) from the search engines.

For your local business, it’s highly beneficial to concentrate your resources on the local community.

Here are some useful tips to go local on SEO:

Use your location in your body text, keywords, and metatags

When creating a page in your website always includes your local location along with the type of business you are running.

For example “Bike Shop Los Angeles”. Google easily detects these keywords in their algorithms making your website visible on their search engine. Use the keywords strategically especially when creating blog posts and articles.

Register in local search engines

The big search engine is Google. Be sure to register your business in the local listings. Also be sure to do the same with Bing and Yahoo. They don’t have quite the same amount of traffic but it’s still valuable to do.

Local Directories

Yellow pages has an online version which serves as a directory for local businesses. Be sure to get listed there as well as the huge amount of other directories. Just search for your industry + directory.

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and others are important in the search results. They’re also free to use and can help you build your brand. Be sure to fill out your information correctly in all of these places so get the most Google-juice possible.

Reviews and Testimonials

Ask your clients or customers to write something about their experience with your services or products. You can use popular review sites like Yelp, Angie’s List, Merchant Circle and more to get your business more popular online. These are increasingly important as people are looking online more than ever.

Bottom line – Do everything you can to make sure you’re getting the most out of the available resources to get found online. By doing just a little bit, you can see huge results!

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