Last Updated on October 19, 2020 by Drew Hendricks
Search engine optimization is a strategy often overlooked by small business owners. Simply setting up a website and expecting visitors to start flowing in is not going to do your business any good. You spent money on your website, so now it is time to ensure your online presence pays off with local landing pages.
While general SEO strategies can help with ranking your site in Google, you need to focus on local SEO for real results. Strategies that aim to improve your Google ranking are ideal, as reports state that 75% of all desktop searches go to Google. Follow this guide to help you understand how to improve your local SEO.
What Is Local SEO And Why Does It Matter?
Local SEO has some similarities to regular search engine optimization that you might already be familiar with. It is, however, the differences between the two that makes local SEO stand out for a small business owner.
With local SEO, strategies used for optimization focuses on getting more people to see your business in the specific area you serve, instead of targeting a broader audience who might not be nearby, who you may not be able to assist. With local SEO, you use platforms like Google My Business, along with your website, to get more recognition.
To give you a better idea, let’s consider an example. If you have a local yoga studio in Carlsbad, California, you will target “yoga,” “yoga services,” or perhaps “night yoga lessons” with a general SEO strategy.
Now, turn to local SEO, and people searching for “yoga services near me” from Carlsbad, California, would see your studio listed on their search results. You could also target keywords like “yoga studio in Carlsbad, California.”
Personalizing Local Landing Pages
You should get the idea of why local SEO is considered so important – but simply optimizing your existing properties may not always give you the best results. There are a few strategies that can help to improve the results you gain from local SEO.
A great starting point would be to consider personalizing the landing pages you use for localized results. People who land on personalized landing pages are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer – and the chances they would visit your store will increase.
Creating Localized Pages
The first thing you want to do is to create localized pages for every location your business serves. This is one of the key factors when personalizing the landing page content for your visitors. Even if you have two storefronts in a town, try to create a localized landing page for each.
Let’s say you have a shop in San Diego and another in Encinitas. While both areas are in California, you want to provide more personalized data to the client based on their location.
With this in mind, create a page for your San Diego branch and a separate page for your Encinitas branch. This also allows you to narrow down local SEO strategies and can greatly increase exposure among locals in each area.
Copy on these pages should be related to the area. Provide specific data related to the area the branch is located in; you could even mention why you decided to open up a store in the area. This helps the potential client relate to your business.
A word of caution: It is very important that you do not just duplicate your landing pages and switch out the city names. Each local landing page must be personal and provide unique value to the site visitor. Otherwise, the landing page could be considered by Google to be a doorway page. Google’s search algorithm penalizes these pages. If you are unsure whether or not your pages are unique, it’s worth a consultation with an SEO Expert. Nimbletoad’s SEO team can evaluate your page and make sure that you are headed in the correct direction.
Creating Localized Pages
The first thing you want to do is to create localized pages for every location your business serves. This is one of the key factors when personalizing the landing page content for your visitors. Even if you have two storefronts in a town, try to create a localized landing page for each.
Let’s say you have a shop in San Diego and another in Encinitas. While both areas are in California, you want to provide more personalized data to the client based on their location.
With this in mind, create a page for your San Diego branch and a separate page for your Encinitas branch. This also allows you to narrow down local SEO strategies and can greatly increase exposure among locals in each area.
Copy on these pages should be related to the area. Provide specific data related to the area the branch is located in; you could even mention why you decided to open up a store in the area. This helps the potential client relate to your business.
A word of caution: It is very important that you do not just duplicate your landing pages and switch out the city names. Each local landing page must be personal and provide unique value to the site visitor. Otherwise, the landing page could be considered by Google to be a doorway page. Google’s search algorithm penalizes these pages. If you are unsure whether or not your pages are unique, it’s worth a consultation with an SEO Expert. Nimbletoad’s SEO team can evaluate your page and make sure that you are headed in the correct direction.
Localized Meta Data
Many small business owners use generic metadata when they implement an SEO strategy on their website. Spend some extra time to create localized metadata. This will not only help your customers know they are on the right page, but it will also ensure your rankings for local results improve.
Instead of making a title tag “Our Locations” for all areas, instead add something like “Visit Our Oceanside, California Store.” This way, the customer knows that the store is in a similar area as they find themselves in at that moment.
Localized Reviews
Social proof has become a critical factor in running a business today. This means getting customers to leave comments and reviews on your website, Facebook page, Google Business profile, and other platforms.
The more positive reviews you have, the more likely someone is to visit your store after assessing your social proof (more people than you might think to look at reviews and testimonies).
When gaining reviews, try to localize them too. Add a separate listing on Google Business for every store, then make sure customers leave a review on the specific store’s listing they visited. If the customer visited your San Diego Store, they should post a review on the appropriate Google Business listing.
These should then be integrated with your website while keeping the localization in mind. Each embedded set of reviews should go onto the localized landing page that represents that specific brand of your business.
Internal Website Structure
Another important tip is to have a great structure on your website. Navigation should be easy, and there should be enough internal links to ensure people can easily find their way around your site.
Make sure it is easy for visitors to find a store that is closest to them. If a person lands on a store that is not as close to them, provide recommendations for stores in a close perimeter. The visitor will be more likely to visit your store if they don’t have to drive too far.
Conclusion
SEO strategies that focus on presenting your business in local searches help to provide a boost in website traffic, as well as visits to your store. These are several strategies that can be used. Personalizing your landing pages and local SEO for every location can yield superior results, helping to give you more recognition for your company’s physical storefronts. When these strategies are too hard, Nimbletoad’s SEO Experts are here to help. are here to help. Book a strategy call today with a member of our leadership team. searching for a local SEO agency near me might be a solution to achieve better results.
Drew is an avid photographer whose images have won many awards.In fact, all of the images on this site were taken by him.
When he is not helping Nimbletoad's clients stand out online you'll find him surfing, hiking in the mountains, or fishing off the coast for yellowtail.
He lives in Vista, located at the northern tip of San Diego, with his wife Brooke and their three dogs Nora, Oliver, and Fin.
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