As a retail business owner, you know that local SEO is vital to driving foot traffic and online sales.
So, how can you build a local SEO strategy that will help your business stand out from the competition?
Key Tips on Building a Local Strategy for Your Retail Business
By following these simple tips, you can give your retail business the boost it needs to attract more local customers.
1. Start With Your Website
Ensure your website is optimized for local SEO by including your business name, address, and phone number on every page. Add local keywords to your website content to help your site rank higher in search results for those keywords. And create a Google My Business listing for your business and keep it up-to-date with your latest contact information and business hours.
2. Do Keyword Research
Before optimizing your website and online listings for local search, you need to know which keywords to target. Do some keyword research to find out which terms people are searching for when they’re looking for businesses like yours in your area.
You can use a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner to get started. Just enter a few seed keywords related to your business, and the Keyword Planner will generate a list of related terms and their average monthly search volume.
3. Claim and Optimize Your Online Listings
Make sure your business is listed on all the major online directories, including Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing Places for Business. And take the time to fill out your listings completely and accurately.
In addition to your NAP (name, address, and phone number), be sure to include your business hours, category, a brief description, and some photos. The more information you can provide, the better.
4. Build Citations and Links
Local citations are mentions of your business on other websites, even if there’s no link back to your site. The more local citations you have, the more popular your business will appear in local search results.
You can get local citations by claiming your listings on online directories and local business listings. You can also build citations by getting listed in local directories, getting mentioned in local news stories, and being active on social media.
In addition to local citations, backlinks from other websites can also help improve your local search rankings. So try to get listed on relevant local websites and blogs, and reach out to other businesses in your area to see if they’d be interested in linking to your site.
5. Monitor and Track Your Progress
Once you’ve implemented all of the above strategies, it’s important to monitor your progress to see which ones are working and which need to be tweaked or improved.
You can use Google Analytics to track your website’s traffic and where your website visitors are coming from. You can also use Google My Business Insights to track your Google My Business listing’s performance, including how many views and clicks you’re getting from your listing.
You can also track your progress by monitoring your website’s search engine rankings. Use a tool like Google Search Console to see which keywords your website is ranking for, and use a keyword ranking tracker like SEMRush or Moz to see how your website’s rankings are changing over time.
Bonus Tip: Optimize Your Online Business for Voice Search
Voice search is a hot topic in the SEO world right now. More and more people are using voice search to find local businesses, and it’s only going to become more popular in the years to come.
To ensure your business shows up in voice search results, you need to optimize your website and online listings for voice search. Start by optimizing your website content for long-tail keywords, which are the type of keywords people are likely to use when speaking into a voice search device.
You should also ensure your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across all your online listings. This will help search engines match your business to voice search queries.
Conclusion
There are many ways you can use SEO to attract more local customers to your online business. By optimizing your website, online listings, and social media profiles for local search, as well as building local citations and backlinks, you can improve your local search rankings and get your business in front of more potential customers.
Local SEO Pro optimizes businesses for voice search. Aside from being an affordable SEO company, we also take pride in being the best SEO agency. We provide expert SEO services along with voice search services. Sign up today and learn how to make your business better.
