5 Tips to improve SEO in your local business

SEO or Search Engine Optimization can sometimes come across as a bit of a far-fetched concept designed to bamboozle local business owners. However, it is very much a key part of a good digital marketing strategy if you want to ensure you are getting ‘found’ by your potential customers when they are searching for your products or services.

Now we aren’t going to sugar-coat it, seo digital marketing is a huge space with so much to cover. The fact of the matter is that whilst you are still required as an owner or operator in your business, you will not suddenly become part of the highly regarded group known as search marketing experts no matter how many blogs you read or YouTube videos you watch! 

But do not despair! We have put together 5 tips that you can execute reasonably quickly that should provide much greater awareness from search engines which will complement your existing lead generation strategies.  

Number 1 – Include a local competition review in your content marketing strategy

Why reinvent the wheel? If you know your competitors in your local area and can see things they are doing well online, start to take note of this and work out ways to improve it. It’s not rocket science, it just takes a little time and patience to search and scroll through the search results and their web design. 

Not sure where to start? Try entering the product/service and then the geographic suburb. i.e ‘painting southbank’. If there are no apparent competitors in your local area, try a similar suburb close by, or alternatively, an interstate suburb at a similar geographic distance from the capital city CBD.  

Number 2 – Keyword Research and search terms

Given you have already identified your ideal customer, you should have a pretty good idea of the terms they are putting into search engines to try and find your products or services. There are a number of resources many search marketing experts will utilise to identify and expand on the keywords to improve Search Engine Optimization in order to make a site rank well such as Ahrefs, Semrush, etc. However, for a non-paid approach to quickly consider additional search terms – consider signing up to a Google Ads account and explore their Keyword Planner section.

Number 3 – Using Keywords & Tags in your content to enhance your seo marketing

Let’s face it, content is king! The more you utilise your researched keywords throughout your content the better chance of Google finding your site. For the purpose of the exercise, as you can see in this article terms such as seo marketing, have been included and placed in a bold typeface so you can see how keywords can be dispersed throughout your content. 

Number 4 – Google My Business / Google Business Profile

Not sure what it is? In very basic terms it is a quick dashboard of your business through the eyes of Google which also seconds as a validation and verification point for potential customers (so they know you are legitimate business!). Featuring things like contact details, services times, images representing your business and customer reviews – keep this listing accurate and up to date!   

Number 5 – Update local online directories to improve seo digital marketing

Relevant links from other web pages back to your site is another important aspect to search engines. This validates that your business is a subject matter expert in your industry and that you are a valid business. Local business directories will often, ‘scrape’ your details and plug them into their sites. Having a quick check to maximise these profiles and ensure the contact details are correct is critical to enhancing your online footprint and, in turn, improving your seo digital marketing.
So there it is, 5 Tips to improve SEO in your local business. If you can put aside some time to work on your business, these tips will help to improve your website search ranking making you more visible to potential customers.

If you feel you’d like a little more knowledge or assistance with your seo digital marketing, we are always happy to help – so feel free to contact us today.