Top 7 Local SEO Strategies for Small Businesses
You own a hair salon in Santa Clarita, California. You’re amazing at what you do, but most likely people from out of state wouldn’t drive all the way to Santa Clarita to come to your salon. You have a local business. You want to reach people within walking and driving distance from you. Here are the top 7 local SEO strategies for small businesses to attract local customers:
Optimize your Google Business Profile
When you’re searching for the best burgers to eat near your current location in Valencia, California, what do you usually do? You pull out your smartphone and use Yelp or Google to find the best burgers near you. Right? Make sure your Google Business Profile is complete and has all the accurate information like your business hours, address, phone number, and services offered. This will not only help you come up in local searches but even put you on the map—Google maps that is!
2. Use Local Keywords
To make sure you come up in search, use local keywords in your marketing like your city and neighboring cities. That way when people search for “best lattes in Valencia”, your business will come up. Even if you’re not exactly in Valencia, but nearby, you may come up in search! Some ways you can use local keywords in your marketing include:
Incorporating your location in your website copy
Using location tagging on social media
Inserting hashtags of your city (and neighboring cities) on social media
Writing blog posts that include mentions of your city/location
3. Capitalize on Customer Reviews
Ask satisfied customers to leave you raving Google reviews. And respond to them! The more engagement there is on your reviews, the more you’ll rank. Even if you get a couple of not so positive reviews, respond to them. Show your care and professionalism. This is how you build credibility and enhance your local rankings.
4. Build Local Backlinks
You can use local links to indicate relevance and authority in your specific area to boost your search visibility by:
Getting listed in local directories
Collaborating with local businesses
Reaching out to local blogs
Joining local chambers of commerce and industry associations
Publishing local content and guest posts
Leveraging testimonials and reviews for local businesses
5. Have Consistent NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number)
You want to help people to find you as easily as possible. If you have different addresses on different platforms, potential customers may not frequent your Newhall Brewery because they don’t want to waste their time. So, take a look at all your content and make sure your business name, address, and phone number are all consistent and accurate on your:
Website
Google Business Profile
Yelp Profile
Social Media accounts
6. Create Location-Specific Content
Have fun with your content! Create social media posts that are location specific. If you own a fitness studio in Valencia, you can create reels showcasing that new taqueria to your right, and the pet store to your left. That way you’re helping your fellow business owners which will in turn, help bring customers to you!
Use your location in your website copy and blog posts. If it’s not your main website that comes up in search, it could be that one viral blog post that does. Capitalize on all your content. And make them location specific.
7. Leverage Local Schema Markup
Schema markup is a code added to your website’s HTML that helps search engines better understand the content of your site. It provides search engines with detailed information about your business. And you can leverage localizing your schema markup by:
Adding Basic Business Info (NAP)
Including Opening Hours
Adding Geolocation Data
Implementing schema for ratings and reviews
Highlighting local events
And there’s many more. It can sound intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. You can hire professionals to take care of this technical work for you. So you can focus on your hair art, or sculpting bodies, or making the best pumpkin spiced lattes in town.
If you want professional help with your local SEO to boost your business, reach out to us at Red Letter Digital for a complimentary consult!
