Local SEO Best Practices For Businesses

Local search, local SEO, has become the most important digital marketing focus for businesses small & large. When it comes to local search ranking success is in the details. There are three key factors to local search ranking that are the best practices you should be staying on top of in 2018. 

1) Link Building, also known as Digital PR, 

2) Controlling your business information online, 

3) Service related keywords on business listings. 

“Google really seems to have turned up the dial on local brand relevance this year. Well-known local chains are ranking more prominently than in the past. Being mentioned on other local sites (unstructured citations) and driving branded searches should be a focus in local SEO strategies moving forward.” Dan Leibson, Local SEO Guide

Consumers are searching for business information through mobile applications, maps, online directories, and now voice search and digital assistants. Local searches have skyrocketed and this is a trend which companies such as Google have put a lot of focus behind. Search ranking algorithms have quickly changed to adapt to this trend. It is more important than ever for businesses to ensure they are inline with not just SEO, but especially local SEO.

1)Link Building - Where does your information appear online? Centralizing control of your data will allow you to easily update your information across the digital ecosystem & ensure your links are posted everywhere possible. Platforms such as Main Goes Big’s Multi-Platform Synchronization will allow you to post your links everywhere it counts.

Another good link building exercise is to search online for all local authoritative websites & ensure your business information includes a link to your website & social pages. Key organizations to make sure your website is listed on:

Chamber of Commerce

Secretary of State

Local Tourist Organizations

Local Business Groups

Professional Oversight Boards

2) Controlling your business information - One of the keys to local SEO is making sure your data is consistent everywhere. Staying on top of accurate information is one thing, updating it & keeping it correct is another. I have worked at organizations where years after the ownership changed & phone number changed the Google listing changed back to the old phone number. Getting it changed back took days, and in some cases business listings can take up to 30 days to change after re-submitting corrected information. Now, with crowdsourced information weighing heavily on search results it is more difficult than ever to keep up with accurate information.

The best way to combat miss-information is to have a point person in charge of such a task. Your local manager should do regular checks to ensure accurate data, review publisher suggestions, and refresh information. I recommend doing Google and Social postings daily along with replying to reviews. Twice a week posting new photos and engaging audience participation. Monthly checking all business listings for accurate information & possible reviewing improvements to your information (such as updating professional bios, product/service information, calendars, special promotions). All of this can be easily managed by centralizing your data.

The Multi-Platform Synchronization tool allows for multiple user permissions so local managers & personal with specific tasks can manage your business information by location with oversight. This cuts down time investment of staff and gives them the power to stay on top of publisher suggestions, review monitoring, social posts, and data corrections across the largest network of partner sites.

3) Service Related Keywords - Intelligent services are answering questions about your brand every day by providing reviews, locations, people and events as structured data in search engines or as voice responses. SEO is no longer about just showing up first in a list of results, but providing the right information to consumers through rich experiences. If the data on your web pages is accurate, consistent and optimized, these intelligent services consider your website to be an authoritative source, and they will use your data to power these rich experiences.

You need your information to be easy to read — both for customers and for intelligent systems. Main Goes Big’s Multi-Platform Synchronization Directories, Locators, and Local Pages are built according to industry standards and best practices. We tag every field, from categories, to hours, to events, ensuring search engines understand all your information, so it shows up in search and powers the rich experiences provided by intelligent services.

Main Goes Big’s Multi-Platform Synchronization platform enables you to power your internal systems, website, and mobile app, along with our entire Listing Network, all from a single central source.

Save time and ensure your information is correct across channels by centralizing your data. Using the Main Goes Big Multi-Platform Synchronization to manage your local listings, your locations and people will perform better in search results and your customers will find the information they need. Search engines will trust your site and consumers will find you more easily.

Our custom-built local landing pages and integration-based partnerships with Google, Apple, Facebook, and over 100 other third-party apps, maps, and directories mean you can be sure your information is the same — everywhere.

Get an instant report ranking your digital presence through our Scan Your Online Presence tool. Regardless of if you are doing it yourself, or employing a centralized platform these three factors will be the best practices you can follow for your local search ranking. Thank you for reading!

Check out more articles on SEO business practices:

Are You Concerned About Not Seeing Your Business Listing On Google Search & Maps?

Key Factor In Digital Marketing 2018: Managing Your Business Information Online