Navigating Local SEO For Small Businesses

Local SEO

By Olivia Howard Coto

Are you interested in growing your small businesses online presence and seeking information on an effective marketing plan? Small business SEO may be right for you. SEO stands for search engine optimization. SEO is a business strategy to help your business stand out more in internet searches. If you want your business to have more traffic from individuals in your state, town,  or area, local SEO may be helpful. 

Local SEO is similar to SEO but helps you create more visibility in local searches.If you have a local small business, making sure your presence online is seen by those close to you  can help you attract more business.  Local SEO is very beneficial in helping you gain loyal local customers. Marketing Choices is here to help you use it too. If you would like us to help you with SEO,  you can contact us

Google My Business Optimization 

Google, or any search engine, can be a good tool for you to grow your small business. Google works by a customer searching what they want to find and getting answers. Like most social media and online platforms Google uses an algorithm to help find people’s answers. Results in the algorithm can be chosen from popularity (most clicked), relevance, and more. Effective SEO is using the right keywords, phrases, and links in your online presence in an attempt to become the most relevant answers to people’s questions on search engines. 

If you successfully implement SEO as your local business marketing strategy, your business will come up more in searches. Having your article or website appear as one of the first results when searching for anything in relation to it is a big deal! That means your content is relevant and more people will stumble upon it when searching. 

Why Local Citations Matter

Local citations is a local SEO tool. Local citations are any references to your business. This could be anything from your business name, location, website, or any other information. 

When using local citations, they may help you appear more in local search results. Since Google’s algorithm wants to present their users with the best businesses for what they are looking for, citation management is very important. The citations you use can help verify your location and help Google see that you are located in that location. 

If your business information (name, phone number, address, etc.) is seen on multiple sites, Google will recognize  your business as legitimate, leasing to more confidence in showing your business  to potential customers. Be as descriptive as you can and provide as much information as possible about your business. Local citations can even be links to your business social media accounts.

Small Business SEO Tips and Tricks  

  • Use Local citations. Reminder: Local citations are any references to your business. This could be anything from your business name, location, website, any information. 
  • If your business has multiple locations, it is best to create local pages for all of them individually. To make sure you use the right local SEOs for each. 
  • On-Page SEO is using, as well as researching, relevant keywords in your content for search engines. This practice includes internal URLS, title tags, alt tags, etc. 
  • Use relevant and consistent SEO keywords. 
  • Use backlinks. Backlinks are links that get customers from one website onto another website. 
  • Make sure to use relevant title tags in your titles and headers. 
  • Update your profile regularly. Make sure your information is up to date and includes relevant content and subject matters. Thiswill help boost your presence. 
  • Make your website known. Make your website easier to find by using local SEO location keywords and your business information. Google will show your content more. 
  • Make sure your website loads quickly. If your website page takes too long to load, you could lose potential customers. 
  • Use mobile optimization. The way your website looks on a webpage  is important. With the internet being at the touch of a phone screen, it is very important to have a good mobile presence. 
  • Try alt Tags If you have images on your site or article. Make sure to use the correct alt tags. Alt tags are text descriptions under an image. Search engines are not made to describe images or understand them,so alt tags help identify them. Using Alt tags  translates an image into text and helps identify the image for search engines to boost your SEO.
  • Be consistent with using  SEO. 

Understanding SEO is the first key to starting your internet presence. If you ever have any questions on SEO or need help you can contact us for your Marketing Choices needs.