Biggest Local SEO Ranking Signals (and How to Optimize for Them)

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Local SEO ranking signals aren’t much different than traditional SEO ranking signals, with a few exceptions. Getting noticed locally is important if your entire business relies on your community. That means you need to take SEO ranking signals seriously so the right customers can find you! Luckily, it’s pretty straightforward to optimize your website and Google presence for local SEO. Keep reading for a guide to the biggest local SEO ranking signals and tips for optimization that really work!

Claim Your Google Business Page

Google offers business pages for local businesses, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t claim your own business. Having a claimed page gives you more features that boost your SEO ranking, and setting up your account is free! When claiming your business page, be sure to write a unique description and choose specific categories. It also helps to add photos when applicable. Don’t just set up your Google Business Page and forget about it! You should update the page regularly to make sure it has the newest information. You can read more information about the best tips for using the most out of your GMB listing.

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Encourage Reviews

Your Google Business Page allows people to leave reviews for your business. This is the biggest ranking factor, and it’s the one you should take the most seriously. Reviews can literally make or break your business, so encourage your best customers to write Google reviews! Once you reach five reviews, they’ll be visible in search results.

Links

Like organic SEO, having your website linked to by well-ranking websites can boost your own local ranking. You can use tools to manage your SEO efforts to help maintain your website links, but there are smaller steps you can take as well. Reach out to local bloggers or newspapers to see about being featured on their website. Build your social media presence to encourage others to link to your business page. Ultimately, the best way to get more links is to have linkable content. Create great content and the links will follow.

Use On-Page Keywords

Keywords are a great way to let Google know just what your website is about. If you’re running a local business, you need to target local-specific keywords. Focusing on keywords at the page level should give you a boost. Use keywords in your website URL, page/post names, and H2 tags to ensure Google can crawl your content for the most relevant keywords.

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Longer Content

Google rewards websites with longer (and better!) content. That means making sure you take your content seriously when writing blog posts or new pages. Know when it’s appropriate to include lengthy, in-depth content and when it isn’t. Your about page should probably be short and sweet, for instance, while how-to guides should be at least 800+ words. The longer your content is, the more likely Google will recognize it as high-quality and informative. This also has an unexpected benefit of boosting your links, since more people are likely to link to high-quality content. If you don’t already have a blog for your local business, what are you waiting for? Content marketing is the best way to keep your website performing well on search engines!

Optimize for Local Rankings

Owning a local business in the digital age is about more than word of mouth advertising. You need to be noticed online if you want to see your business grow, and the best way to do that is to optimize your website. There are different on-page techniques like keyword and link building that increase your ranking as well as Google Business tools. Both of these together will make sure new customers can quickly and easily find your business!

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