Local SEO Optimization

If your company is a new online business, then you need to focus on more than just local SEO. 

Where to start? 

First of all, do everything every good SEO specialist advises to get as many organic views as possible. 

Secondly, optimize local SEO, that is, everything that will increase your position in Google Maps. 

If your site is well optimized for local SEO and organic results, then it has a high chance of ranking high. 

Where to start? 

First you need to make sure that you have filled in all the information in the Google My Business panel. It is also necessary to pay attention to whether the information on the page corresponds to what is written in Google Moja Firma. 

This is very important. Google then thinks that since all the information is consistent and matches the information on the site, it can mark such a site as "trusted" (by design). 

Here it is also necessary to mention whether the website is user-friendly and search engine friendly, if the site users find it easy to navigate, etc. 

The next step is a strategy for getting good and favorable reviews. 

Reviews are a key factor that makes local SEO more effective. 

The last thing that has a big impact on the success of local SEO is, of course, local links. 

Try to acquire links from other businesses or organizations that are in the same geographic area as you. 

The Importance of Online Reviews and Local SEO 

No company can shut themselves off from reviews anymore. They are on the Internet and will remain so. 80% of users check reviews about a company before using its services or products. 

In this regard, they cannot be ignored. 

Feedback is actually one of the many keys to success, but.... 

...this key is golden. 

Users don't look for companies that get one or two stars in every review. 

They are looking for the best. 

Alternatively, those with the best value for money. 

What can I say - the client wants the best for himself. 

For this reason, companies should not "beg" for more and more reviews. Instead, they need to understand that getting good reviews is a few simple principles: 

• good customer service 
• fixing flaws that users complain about 
• keeping in touch with users on social media 

Unfortunately, all these rules are "an endless story", but it is important to understand that these are just continuous processes. 

What to do in case of bad reviews and reviews? 

The chance of losing a future client due to a few bad reviews is quite high. 

However, it can be leveled.How? 

Try to write off every accusation, every negative review. Make it clear that you are looking for new perspectives on solving the problem, that you listen to all customers. 

And, most importantly, that you are constantly trying to improve or change the product in order to achieve the best result. 

Where to promote your business? 

Of course you want your company to be on all major sites, whatever you do: 

• Yelp 
• Google Maps 
• Google+ 
• Facebook 
• Yellow pages 
• LinkedIn itd. 

A more important reason for creating company profiles on these portals is that a client who wants to add, for example, a good review about your company, simply will not find it and will not do so. 

However, an even more important reason is that many of these sites provide the ability to create a profile for anyone, and if the client has a little time and does it for you, you will not be able to control it. Sometimes it happens that the company does not even know anything about such a procedure. 

After you create accounts on the main sites, you can pay attention to portals that are focused specifically on your service sector. 

If you have a hotel, you should create a profile on TripAdvisor. 

If you are in the interior decorating business for weddings, then you are highly recommended to use Snapchat and Instagram. They will help you build a wide fan base and maybe even future customers. 

The best way to find sites where you have the opportunity to promote your business is to type in the search engine the most important keyword for you. Let's assume that it will be "hairdresser Olsztyn". 

Now check the first two pages of the search engine for the exact portals where you can place your ad. 

These will be sites that customers visit very often. 

Now you can say: "Why the first two pages, if the majority still looks only at the first one?". 

The answer is quite simple. It often happens that search engine results are inconsistent. Site positions change very often. That is, sites located on the second page of the search engine can move to the first and vice versa, and within a short period of time. 

Optimizing Local SEO Through Link Acquisition 

It's almost impossible to get a high local ranking without good links leading to your site. This is a dogma, and we will not dispute it. 

Some might say that he didn't do anything and still rank high for keywords in local results. Of course, this could be. 

This may have been due to a residual Google algorithm at the time, and it couldn't model the real world at the time in the way Google would have liked.

Now this algorithm is so complicated that you need to think more about marketing to potential customers, and not about how to forcibly look for holes and constantly deceive Google. Well, if someone knows how to do it and is at the top, then a point in their favor. 

You need to create a network of links that will lead to your site. 

I have a simple rule for this. 

I ask myself: what would you do (or do) to promote your business if the Internet did not exist? 

For example, you can join business groups in your city. Meet them, shake hands with them and talk to them. Let them know that you are the "tough guy" who gives discounts to those who refer your business to someone else. 

Then you are very likely to get valuable links from their pages that will point exactly to your site. Their pages will redirect customers to you, just like a whispered "kind word" in town about your business. 

How important is mobile and voice search for local SEO? 

Recently, we had several clients who wanted to get a mobile site instead of a static site, which would later be optimized for mobile users. 

It all depends on the type of your business. 

You can find the differences between these two terms in my article on choosing between a responsive, mobile and application website. 

If you are a plumber, no one will call you all the time until something breaks. It is likely that customers will use their phone because they always have it with them and will be able to quickly find your ad on the Internet using their smartphone. 

To such a company, I would say: "It's good - it's worth having a mobile site." Sometimes it's not even worth having a regular website. 

Now let's look at voice search. The growth in popularity of this method is already a foregone conclusion. Since Amazon has taken on the development of such a device, it means that people really use it. 

Voice search will definitely change the perception of local SEO results. 

Another thing that is starting to affect local SEO is Facebook itself and its initiatives in an effort to bet on friendliness for every business. 

They have a huge amount of information about people who are constantly online, so they are betting on the development of the Facebook Messenger application and a paid system for local businesses. 

Local SEO Optimization - Summary 

Finally, I would like to touch on the topic of content on websites. What I've noticed on many of the local websites is frankly... alarming. 

Suppose if someone is looking for a company to repair their stove, they don't want to read on the front page about the history of stoves or the company itself.They want to know: "can my stove be repaired", "how much will it cost", "when can a mechanic come". 

If a website answers all of these questions that customers ask, then your company has a chance to get the first call from an interested person.