SEO for Local Results

I thought I would provide a little SEO advice for those of you seeking to rank better for local search results. Google has been tweaking their algorithm to make local searches display better quality results. There are a few things you really need to concentrate on if you are seeking the best local search rankings.

Business Information Needs To Match Up

To rank well for local search results it is important that you appear on the websites used by Google as citation sources. These sites include places like Judy’s Book, Yelp, Superpages, Yp.com and City Search. What Google does is it looks at these other websites and then examines things like your business name, address, phone number, location, business categories, etc. You will need to claim each of these profiles.

There are also a ton of yellowpage type sites out there. These are usually free to list your business in. Yellowpage sites usually rank well and have somewhat decent traffic.

Make Page Titles Unique

The page title is the most important tag on your website. The page title is what Google and other search engines use as the primary indicator of what your website is about. Having unique titles on each page that mention your targeted keywords and the location you are targeting is very important if you are trying to rank in your local market.

Add Your Address to Every Page

Ideally every page should have your address and phone number. This is helpful for users but it also reinforces your location to the search engines. If your business has multiple locations then you may want to create a separate page for each location or at least a single page that lists all locations. Make sure you link to these pages from as many pages as possible on the site. It would probably be a good idea to list as many location names as possible on the home page too.

Make a Video

A video doesn’t have to be a fancy multi-million dollar production. Simply explain your service and try to be charming. Mention your website a lot. Then upload your video to YouTube and every other free video site and title the video with your top keywords (e.g. “Best Plumber in Las Vegas”). Make sure your website is linked to from your profile. Then link to these video pages from your site with the keywords in the link text. You will be shocked at how easy it is for these pages to rank for your search terms.

Blog, Blog, Blog

A blog is just a simple way to add pages to your website. Blogging is also an excellent way to increase the content on your website. Just start writing and keep writing regularly. Google provides a boost to search rankings related to your regular creation of new and quality content.

Get More Links

You need links to your website to rank well. Search engines look at links from other sites as a sign of quality and trust. Here are some sources for good links:

• Better Business Bureau
• Chambers of commerce/local business groups
• Local business directories/Local newspaper site
• Friends who have sites (including your kid’s blog)
• Partners/Vendors

There are hundreds of other ways to get links like writing articles for other sites, sending out press releases, adding your business info to social media sites, etc.

Search engine optimization should never be thought of as a one time thing. Instead consider it what it is, a ongoing method to drive quality traffic to your website. You need to develop a marketing plan that situates your business for the long haul and that will include an ongoing process to constantly improve the importance, relevance and quality of your website.