In an increasingly online world, small and local businesses have to stay ahead of trends in order to compete. Ensuring that your business doesn’t get buried in the back pages of Google is challenging enough, but local SEO services involve so much more than adding a few local tags. There are three key rules to ensure that even the smallest local business can be a big success with SEO.
Content is king
It’s well known that your website content is one of the most important aspects of a good SEO strategy. Search engines like Google look for high quality content and promote sites that users will find interesting or helpful, while penalising content that seems spammy, badly written or off-topic. For local SEO, content about the surrounding area that is interesting and relevant for people nearby is crucial if you want to stand out from the crowd. For example, a small business in Bedford may make the most of the local area by promoting their impressive views of the Great River Ouse, or highlighting their recent successful event at the Bedford Corn Exchange.
Location, location, location
Writing an accurate and optimised location page with a map is an often overlooked aspect of SEO, but for local businesses, it can be one of the most important aspects of site development. This is where search engines will crawl when a user is searching for a local business, so having an accurate name, address and phone number is the most important element for the location page. Clear directions with a friendly, informal tone can also be really helpful for small businesses, particularly for new customers.
Keep a community spirit
Why do people prefer local businesses to global mega-corporations? Friendliness, high quality service and products, and supporting local employment and business. Why ignore all those unique selling points online? An active social media presence, optimised and integrated with your website, can help maintain these points. Communications strategies can be a little more informal, with photos of staff enjoying their work, testimonials from loyal customers, and playful local humour. This, combined with a comprehensive SEO strategy, is a sure-fire way to keep a high profile in your local area.
