Using local SEO to target customers in your area
If you follow Google guidelines to get a decent amount of traffic on your site, you know one thing for sure and that is SEO changes from time to time. Right? Since Google rolled out Pigeon update in July 2014, Penguin 4.0 during 2016 and more recent updates throughout 2018, local competition has been heating up fiercely. So, if you are on the lookout for a way to target the customers of your area, you should start focusing on your local search rankings.
Google uses the text from your website as the primary way to determine who you are and what you do. Google also use information from other sources, like social media pages, other people’s websites (that link to yours) and information provided directly to Google through their Google Places and Google Business services (this is mainly how they identify your coverage area but it’s not an exact science!)
The best possible way to improve the presence of your business locally is getting your site listed on popular business directories such as Yelp, Yell.com, Google My Business listing, Bing Places for Business page and many more. These business listing sites are featured prominently in local search engine result pages (SERPs) on major search engines and serve your end goal of attracting users’ attention and bringing in more new customers.
If you don’t already have a Google Business listing/profile then setting one up (at https://business.google.com) and becoming a verified listing (they send you a postcard with a verification code to enter) would be beneficial.
You may be surprised to find out that around 73% of online activity is related to searches for local businesses. Millions of potential customers use local search daily to find the local businesses in their area. And, what’s better than optimising your local business listing to increase the possibility of your business getting found by these potential customers through Local SEO. Don’t you think so? So, what are you waiting for? Seek the help of a professional Local SEO company today to improve the presence your business locally.