Appearing on the first page of Google can make or break your business. Here are some facts as to why this is the case:
- 95% of people choose a result on the first page of Google.
- 97% of consumers use the internet to find a local business.
- 85% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- 50% of mobile users who search for a local business, visit the store the same day.
As a local service provider, there are many ways to improve your SEO performance. Here are four quick win strategies to improve your search engine ranking and visibility of your website.
Claim your Google My Business listing
Google My Business acts as an online directory of all local businesses. Businesses that have claimed and verified their business are more likely to appear within the top organic search engine results.
Some tips to optimise your Google My Business listing:
- Use high quality and appealing images, photos and videos of your business.
- Ensure your local address and phone number are correct.
- Have an up-to-date summary of your business’s services.
Encourage customers to leave a Google review
Online reviews should be treated like gold for any business, even more so for local SEO. Google Reviews are linked to your Google My Business profile and can display when someone searches for the service you provide. Building your online reputation with trusted customer reviews can attract many more clients and can provide a significant boost to your local search presence.
Don’t be scared of receiving negative reviews. Respond to them in a professional manner and aim to provide a resolution to the issues raised. Use any negative reviews to your advantage and show potential customers that you offer wonderful customer service.
On page optimisation
Think about your business – what services do you provide? What words or locations do you want associated with your business? Now think about the content of your website – the text on each page, the menus. Are these words there?
On page optimisation is an easy way to improve your local search engine rankings. Review your website and check the occurrence and placement of the words you want to be associated with. By doing this you can ensure the words people are searching for are actually present on your site.
On page optimisation can help you rank for words you are not already ranking for. This is especially true if you do not currently have much content or text on your key pages.
Local structured data markup
Google gives more prominence on local search results to websites that have local structured data markup. What is this? Structured data is a little bit of code placed onto your website that assists search engines to crawl your website and understand what each page is about.
Structured data can include things on search engines such as your business location, phone numbers and even business reviews (think gold stars under your website listing). The more relevant the structured data on your website to a potential customer’s search, the more likely Google will display your business.
Currently many businesses are still not utilising structured data. Now is a great opportunity to be more visible on Google for locational queries.
These four tips when implemented correctly will assist with online search visibility and your local SEO.
