Local SEO Basics

Local SEO best practices

The World Wide Web, is just that – worldwide. There is no doubt that it is fascinating to see how far reaching the internet has become and how it has united the world in a strange way. And for those who can ship products around the world, the web can be the perfect place. But the global concept does not work for every business. Local businesses need to be able to use the web for meeting their business needs as well. And when I am looking for a painter, I do not need one from the other side of the world, I need one who can come to my neighborhood and paint my house. I will conduct a local search for a painting contractor.

Using local SEO means that I am trying to get the name of a local business in front of those who may need the services, or those who are in the general vicinity. It means that I will use the best SEO practices to market services or products to those who will need it in a certain region. The end result is that local SEO will help potential clients find an exterior painting specialist by searching locally.

Choosing Proper Keywords

As part of an existent SEO campaign you will want to expand to including the use of local keywords. “Painting contractor” will give you a very broad (worldwide) range of results. Local keywords which will help target local customers might be “painting contractor New Jersey,” or “exterior painting Essex County.” After selecting local keywords remember to include these in the content on the site.

Localized SEO

local SEO

One way to optimize local SEO is to use map programs in the major search engines. For instance, Google Maps allows you to register your site for free and then it will be seen in the localized results more often. Also remember to always put the physical address on every page of the website. This should include the city, state and zipcode for the area. This is precisely the type of information that will get indexed by search engine spiders.

There are more local business directories appearing on the web. These specialize in listing businesses that are located in specific geographical areas. Make sure that you have registered your business with these online directories. The listing will include a hyperlink to your business site.

One of the main things to remember when working on a business website is that you are trying to make it easy for customers to find your business. A regular SEO campaign is important and may work well. However, if you want to reach local customers a local SEO marketing campaign is necessary.