5 Local SEO Tips (Ultimate Guide In 2020)

1. Technical SEO

Sites such as Web.Dev and Ubersuggest can provide you with fantastic insights into how your website is operating technically. Find out where your page loading speed times sit at, identify unused JavaScript, get SEO tips, and much more.

Once you run these tests, it comes to decision time. If you are not skilled in web development and coding, consider hiring a web developer. This will cost money, however, any problems will be solved, and in half the time. this will leave you with a good website that Search engines can get onboard with. After all, 40% of website visitors abandon a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load!

2. Meta Titles & Descriptions

The first step in optimisation comes in the form of Meta Titles and descriptions. Without this, your website pages and content are firing blanks. Yes, your content might include all the necessary keywords, H1 and H2 etc. However, failing to optimise the first step will make it exceptionally harder to rank your page. It is amazing how a few minor tweaks can release the chokepoint and allow traffic to flow.

Try to use words that will entice the user to click through to your post. Remember, the internet is the pinnacle of fast information and easy access to knowledge. Write to inform, help the user learn and improve even if you are trying to sell a service.

3. Claim Your Business On Google My Business & Bing Places

One of the best pieces of SEO work you can do for yours or your clients business is to setup Google My Business (GMB) and Bing Places profiles. This will allow you to really improve your websites ranking in search results for relevant keywords and branded traffic. Another benefit will be the opportunity to manage your reviews, something that is incredibly valuable to your profile and local SEO strategy. You will be able to retrieve a link that you can share with your customers which takes them directly to a leave review page.

4. Create Content Based On Local News & Events

Once you have established your business profile on Google My Business and Bing Places, it is time to start posting content. Too many clients and marketers focus on getting likes, shares and more followers on mainstream social media platforms. This often kills any interest for the exploration of lesser known platforms. It is all about looking at the bigger picture when posting to platforms such as GMB. You might not boost your ego or improve vanity metrics but you will certainly improve your position on search engines.

Customers with intent to buy or visit are undoubtedly more valuable than someone scrolling through instagram on their lunch break. Simply by using a google platform you are telling their algorithm you are here, you are active and you are ready to be found. Create content that is relevant to your industry and if possible, relevant to your local area. Perhaps your business worked with another local business on a project, or one of your team competed in a local charity event. All this is useful when it comes to building a solid Local SEO strategy.

5. Backlink Building (High Quality & Relevant)

The fifth and most difficult Local SEO tip is the long road to backlink building. When done right, the results are exceptional, when done wrong, the results are not so good.

The best place to start would be to produce some content on your website in the form of a blog. Blogging will allow you to setup categories to then create content that is targeted towards a niche area of your industry. Try to write with SEO in mind. This means writing content that includes medium and long tail keywords, particularly if you are trying to attract ready to convert traffic. Shorter term keywords are harder to rank for and are essentially less valuable due to traffic coming in at the top of the marketing funnel.