10 Oct Top 4 Local SEO Strategies to Implement in 2018 & Beyond
Did you know business websites that have local backlinks from authentic sources see more traffic?
Well, if you didn’t, it still isn’t too late to reinvent or hike your search visibility. Take a look at the following top 4 local SEO strategies that are a must for business owners as well as local SEO agencies in 2018 and beyond.
1. Link Building:
Local link building exists, and it had been a secret weapon of SEO experts for quite some time now. But 2018 gives you another opportunity to understand and implement local link building strategies.
It is important to understand that general backlinks and local links differ from one another. It can be determined from the fact that even if your website niche is different from your local links, they’ll bring you more value. Now, this is something that Google’s algorithm also counts.
However, to bring the traffic to your website with local backlinks it is essential to put in some reasonable efforts. For instance, Buzz Interactive, a leading digital marketing agency, focus on the following spheres to help its clients grow fast:
- Look for opportunities to get local sponsorships.
- Contribute to charities and gain quick local links.
- Take part in local community activities and try to gain access to their sites.
- Get coverage in local media, portals and social media.
- Do some solid local advertising to grasp your target audience’s attention.
2. Image Optimization:
If you think that optimization for local SEO is just limited to text, then think again. Owing to the progressively blended nature of search results, you also get to see images on the search listings. So it’s critical to optimize your images to improve your search rankings.
When building your website, make sure all the images are search engine-friendly. There are billions of images on the web and if you are using a generic filename for your image like “image54321.jpg” it will get lost in the pile. Instead, if you use something descriptive it will be easier for your images to appear in search results.
Sure, your local SEO agency will tell you that search engines cannot read images, but what they won’t tell you is it’s up to you whether you use alt tags to describe your images and allow them to appear in relevant queries.
All you need to do is write a concise and relevant description. Don’t forget to add appropriate keywords. Write content above and below the images of your site and add appropriate keywords. The more text is related to the pictures, the better it is.
However, if you want your images to rank against local keywords, then add local keywords where possible to get blended results optimized for a certain local area. Of course, there are no shortcuts to rise to the top of search engine rankings, especially when there is a cut-throat competition in the industry. But with a smart approach that leverages your geo-location, you can certainly dominate your competition in specific key areas.
Smart business owners give themselves every chance to overcome their competitors. So give yourself an advantage by narrowing down your keyword and topic search and increasing your location-specific relevance. This is the best way to dominate big players since it will allow you to outshine them in relevance for your chosen focal points.
3. Local Business Directories:
Today, a large number of people rely on yellow pages and internet searches to get local businesses information. So, you have to be on that list for people that are looking for your business. Again, it’s a significant opportunity to get local links.
But while you do so, make sure your profile is complete. Instruct your local SEO agency to submit consistent contact details of your business and update the profile on a regular basis. The basic idea here is to hunt for local business directories relevant to your niche. With these local directories’ links, you will get more relevant and profitable traffic.
4. Reviews & Ratings:
Customer reviews and ratings are the strengths of an online business. They have a profound impact on the business and traffic. Therefore, it’s important to promote positive reviews and ratings and use the negative ones to your advantage.
According to a study, about 70% of customers give genuine reviews and ratings on business websites when asked. While about 85% of people trust these reviews and ratings when making decisions. So the more positive reviews and ratings you have on your business page, the better it is to snag more revenue.
But again, pay attention as to where you can get these reviews in order to enable link building. Mind you, getting reviews and ratings on social media business pages such as LinkedIn or Facebook and Google business pages can prove quite useful.
In short, local SEO plays a vital role, so rather ignoring it one must implement these strategies and get the best out of this practice.