How to optimize your site for local search

Search engine optimization strategies optimize your local business website
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  If you run a storefront business or provide services in a specific local geographic area, you will need to focus your marketing efforts ahead of local traffic.

Since many marketing campaigns are more global and simply can't help you, there are a few specific steps you can take to ensure that you see the business you want to attract in front of the locals.

In addition to using targeted Facebook and Google ads, local search optimization can help you find businesses in your area while searching for business.

So what can you do to make your site better ranked locally?

Here are 13 tips for improving your local rankings:

1. List the local areas you want to rank: This will include your city, your main metropolitan area, county, province or state. Think about the neighboring towns your business can serve in addition to your own business. Then create a long tail keyword phrase for each. For example, you can optimize several phrases, including: "Yourcityhere home staging", "Yourmetoregionhere home staging", "YourCountyhere home staging", "Yourregionhere home staging", etc. instead of optimizing the "family stage."


2. Add your business address in the footer of the footer of the text: This can be used not only as a clue to show Google that you are a local business, but also to show your website visitors that they are in the right place. Showing your location and the areas available on your website are critical to localizing your business. It's also a good idea to embed dynamic Google Maps to measure and easily find customers in your location.


3. Add a link to your business on Google Maps: Check if your business is showing on Google Maps, if not, add a submission to include it. This will not only help customers find directions to your location, but also tell Google where you are.


4. Write a webpage or blog post specific to each local keyword phrase: Using keywords and geography through your website is also important for search engines to give you peace of mind in your search results. I am not a big fan of this technology because it can ruin your website, but you can create a local keyword phrase page or blog post for each page, including each service you provide to enhance these rankings. If possible, avoid adding these pages to the main navigation; however, they still need to link back to your website homepage to get an index.


5. Optimize each page to rank the keywords you target: Place keyword phrases in several locations in the wording and encoding of the site page, including:


• Meta keyword and description tag
• The file name or URL of the page. For example: best-home-staging-Abbotsford.HTML
• The title of the page within the H1 tag
• Subtitles for pages within the H2 and H3 tags
• The file name of the graphic used on the page
• Hyperlink text containing keyword phrases, ideally located in the first and last paragraph of the page
• The title tag uses the keyword phrase at the end of the page
6. Write and post new local content on a regular basis: Adding new content to your site, especially as a blog post, is important to all sites. Using your keywords to create new content in a location-based location makes it more valuable. This may be a press release about what you do in the community. You can view new local services or products. You can also create a recommended link page that shares information about other local supplemental businesses.


7. Get links to other local business sites: Ask other local companies if they can trade links. It will increase your own website rankings when they post links or recommendations to your website.


8. Take and share local photos: Be sure to shoot your business locally. When posting these images to your website or blog, name them as filenames, including your local keyword phrases. When people enter Google Photo Search and look for "Bartsford's Best Family," if you have a photo with the file name, your image will appear at the top.


9. Refer to local landmarks: If you are near any major landmarks, please refer to them on your website. For example, if someone types "bedroom lighting store" near Grand Central Station, if you have information about the site, you can search for the phrase in Google.


10. Use the Alt tag: Make sure all images used on your site contain local keyword phrase filenames and alt tags.


11. Create an XML map or site map: This makes it easier for Google to crawl all the pages of your site.


12. Manually submit your site to local and niche directories: Using local and primary directories with local lists is useful for finding local business. Yelp, Foresquare and other directories. Moz, Idol and Houzz are great starting points. Create a complete profile and make sure to add a lot of images.


13. Use the review site: Take advantage of the power of the review site. Use the Yellow Pages, Insider pages, Angie List and other big review sites to create free business accounts and encourage happy customers and regulars to write reviews about your business. Good reviews can have a lot to do with your customers and search engines.

Once you've optimized your site for local SEO, you can also use other off-site methods to improve your local search results. So take the time to review your site and add local keywords, links, content and images so you can get more local customers.

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