Local SEO in Great Neck Estates NY is vitally important for businesses operating within a certain geographical region. In fact, 78% of mobile searches with local intent lead to an in-store visit within 24 hours!
One of the primary components of local SEO is establishing NAP (name, address and phone number) consistency on major citation websites like Google My Business and Yelp. To do this successfully, ensure your information appears consistently across them both.
Keyword research
Include relevant keywords in your website content can make an enormous impactful difference to its local search ranking. However, beware of using too much jargon or industrial terms that won’t resonate with your target audience. To identify relevant keywords, take a look at which searches potential customers conduct and use Google Keyword Planner or simply ask customer-facing employees what keywords they search.
Maintaining your local SEO strategy requires ongoing vigilance as searchers’ habits change frequently. To prevent keyword cannibalization and increase website ranking in local search results while decreasing bounce-rate, create separate pages for every product or service offered on your website. Doing this will reduce keyword cannibalization while simultaneously decreasing the number of people leaving before reaching its end goal.
Optimization of local citations should include NAP markup – something Rank Math’s Schema Markup module makes straightforward.
On-page optimization
If you want to increase local SEO, several on-page optimization tips can be of use. These include using relevant keywords and structuring pages according to customer search intent. Incorporating location-based keywords into title tags and meta descriptions is also an effective way of increasing website visibility during local searches.
One of the most successful on-page SEO tactics is creating content that answers frequently asked questions (often voice search-related). Additionally, including these queries on your FAQ page can also prove effective.
Positive online reviews are another essential on-page SEO tactic for local businesses. Reviews help increase E-A-T and make connecting with potential clients much simpler, while responding to both positive and negative reviews using tools such as Whitespark can further facilitate this strategy.
Local citations
Local citations are mentions of your business’ name, address and phone number on other websites that help search engines verify its existence and legitimacy; they’re an integral component of local SEO. The more consistent and authoritative your NAP citations are in local searches, the higher you’ll rank in local searches – so it’s wise to target highly influential citation sources like business directories, social media channels or aggregator websites as you build them out.
Target your target audience’s trust by targeting authoritative sites they frequent – these could include industry-specific directories such as those listing dentists or plumbers, or highly authoritative domains like Yelp, Nextdoor, and AngiesList. In addition, ensure you regularly review local citations to check for accuracy; incorrect listings could damage local rankings severely – it’s worth investing time into correcting these.
Social media
Local SEO is an integral marketing strategy for businesses that operate in specific geographical regions. It helps increase organic traffic by optimizing websites to be more visible to search engines, and can position a business ahead of its competition on SERPs by placing itself within the local pack.
Moz’s 2017 Local Search Ranking Factors Study highlights link signals and social media citations as key ranking factors. Therefore, your SEO efforts should focus on building quality backlinks from relevant websites while simultaneously promoting content in strategic locations.
At its core, local SEO involves writing content for humans rather than search engine algorithms. Keyword-stuffed articles will only damage your rankings further – create high quality pieces instead that people want to read – email lists, social media followers or even your mom!