To have a good local SEO unfortunately it is not enough to want it. Indeed it can be extremely difficult to position yourself on competitive keywords, especially at the scale of a country or a big city. But with an effective local SEO strategy, you can claim to appear on the first page of Google for a user search corresponding to the area of expertise of your company.
Being known by Google
To be well seen by Google, it is essential to create a business listing via Google My Business. In this form, you can display the name of your company as well as a description, its opening hours, the address and phone number and a link to your website. You can also share photos that will appear during Google searches. This card can also receive customer reviews.
Note: This step is crucial, create this form does not exempt you from making you known elsewhere, especially on local and regional directories (Yellow Pages, Yelp, Tripadvisor, etc …). pay attention to ensure that your information is consistent across platforms and update it regularly.
Encourage your customers to give their reviews
Stand out with consumer reviews
73% of consumers trust a local business if they have read positive reviews about it. What’s more, Google takes into account the rating of companies and favors those that are well-rated and whose reviews are numerous and positive to position them among the first results of research. More reviews will be numerous and praised on different platforms and the more you will shine in the eyes of your customers, but also Google.
What to do in case of a negative review?
Do not panic and feel free to answer, being courteous and professional, of course. Make a short and sincere response, provide useful information to resolve this dissatisfaction and if necessary invite the customer to contact you.
Responding, and even more, to suggest a solution will show that you are truly interested in your customers and will thus bring a more positive note to negative comments.
Promote local links
Work your network of ‘partners’
By providing your financial, material or human support to associations, local sports clubs or events in your geographical area, you can in exchange ask to show a link of your company via their website or on their social networks. Remember also to show on your site other companies ‘partners’ who, in exchange, publish a link to your site.
Let’s not forget that, external links pointing to your site can boost its ranking in Google search results in a remarkable way.
Think about local press
The local press, both in print and online, promote local events and often mentions their support. To talk about you, you can also contact them directly when you have a piece of strong news. If the news seems relevant, they will not hesitate to write content, give the link to your site and sometimes even to share on social networks.
Many tips exist to gain visibility on the Internet, locally or nationally or even internationally. In addition to the tips given above, you will, of course, think about SEO optimization of your site, to create accounts on social networks and to keep a blog. If You do not know how to do it or have no time for it, Don’t hesitate to call on a specialist to set up an SEO policy adapted to your company, it is the best solution to boost your Local SEO.
