The battle for local business dominance is being fought online. Most customers go online to locate local sources for their needs. In addition, more people rely on the internet thanks to the rapid modernization of business transactions. If you run a local business with a website but your customers find it hard to locate you, it’s time to reconsider your strategies.
Local businesses should consider their customers in relation to their competition. They need an efficient and effective way to connect to customers that is better than what competing businesses offer. Their products or services should clearly showcase their brand. They also need to watch their competitors to stay abreast of their marketing strategies and learn from their success or failures.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, refers to strategies that boost a business’s rank on search engine pages. Local SEO, a laser pointed strategy, is beneficial to local businesses because it helps small local businesses to more effectively reach their customers. One way for your company to ace its marketing efforts is to hire a local marketing expert. Digital Authority Partners guarantees that with an SEO agency that knows your city or area well, you’ll be hitting Google’s top search page in no time.
Preparing for 2022 – Local SEO Changes All Businesses Must Consider
Google is always looking for ways to improve its local services. In 2021 it released significant changes to its Google My Business (GMB) product. Customers will usually check out your GMB listing and then go to your business website. Thus, GMB is a vital part of your local company. Google’s changes to GMB include call history tracking, a focus on new reviews, SPAM cleanup, and new attributes such as accessibility seating and the “Areas served” feature.
New Shopping features in Google will affect local customers. For example, there’s a new way to track orders, added busy-ness indicators, and improved restaurant information. The Vicinity update is dubbed the most important local search algorithm change in years. Vicinity will improve the search results for the user’s immediate area. This way, local searches for any business become more powerful.
Top Local SEO Strategies in 2022
It’s time to build your local marketing strategy according to the following local SEO trends this 2022.
GMB Listing Should Be Your Priority
Your local business won’t be on Google Maps if you do not create a GMB profile or listing. Entrepreneur.com cites the importance of creating a GMB listing for every business location.
Google Maps has forever changed local searches by asking users to review businesses and express their experiences about services or products. As a result, the search engine is now the most extensive repository for photos and reviews of local businesses. Also, Google has one of the most significant Q and A listings, part of their search page results.
You must regularly check and update your GMB listing to keep up with Google’s new changes. Doing so will help you keep your online presence and well position your business to reach your customers. Here are some ways to keep your GMB listing fresh and current.
Update your business profile according to the latest Google features.
Examine Google’s latest changes and regularly update your profile. Make sure your profile information is recent and your contact information is accessible. In addition, make regular updates on all your business locations.
Maintain your listing information. Verify this across all channels.
Frequently maintain and update your listings .Apply any changes ASAP, such as business name changes, business address, phone number, and hours of operation. Also, apply changes to all channels that point to your business, such as social media pages. This practice instills customer trust in your local business.
Add high-quality images of your local business.
Make your business stand out with high-quality, original images. Use keywords or key phrases to describe these photos. You can also take advantage of some photo features like 360-degree photos to help your customers find you on the map. If your local business is food-related, you can use the photo-menu feature. You and your customers can upload food photos, classify and describe these as part of your menu.
Take advantage of Google Maps reviews features.
The review feature of Google Maps lets customers rate and review your business. Use this section to your advantage by replying to comments and thanking customers for good reviews. Take negative reviews as a challenge for improvement.
Improve Your Landing Page for Local Search
A landing page is an initial page your customers will see as soon as they visit your website. A landing page is not the same as a homepage. Most of the time, it looks like a page pop-up bearing updated business info, special offers, or new products or services.
Enhancing your website landing page is one way to improve your local position. It must welcome your customers to your site while providing information about your business that your customers need. Optimize your landing page with the following elements.
Consider your branding.
Your landing page must communicate your brand and show your business’s value to your customers. Branding goes beyond the name or logo and how you present your quality products or services.
Create useful content.
Present updated, helpful content on your landing page so your customers can view this right away. For example, a landing page could feature a new and viral post, new products or services, or your FAQ, answering questions people have about your business.
Add local photos, complete your gallery.
Feature photos of your business, your team, or your products and use these on your landing page. Doing this helps strengthen your customers’ trust in your brand and service.
Add customer reviews and testimonials.
On your landing page, you can feature short snippets of some of your best reviews. These reviews and testimonials can help reel in your customers and establish trust in your brand.
Flex your awards and industry recognitions.
Use your landing page to feature a recent award or recognition as another way to boost customer trust and invite people to try your products or services.
Final Words
Local SEO has changed. Small local companies like yours must be fully aware changes and act upon them ASAP. So don’t overlook SEO and local SEO in 2022. Your local business will better connect to your customers and rise higher than your competitors by using the latest SEO strategies.
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