68% of online experiences start by employing a search engine. Most people start their research online before deciding to purchase something in a brick-and-mortar or an online store. This makes SEO a very important factor if you’re a business owner and wish to grow your business organically. Here are a number of SEO tactics you can use to drive local traffic to your website and assist you in increasing and strengthening your profit margins. Optimizing local SEO is important especially for businesses with real-life stores that serve in specific areas. If done well, people can easily find information about your business and give you a bigger chance to get sales.

Google Is Your Friend

46% of all Google searches are local. That’s why it makes good sense to create a Google My Business account. Setting up an account will help your business rank higher in search results and get listed on Google Maps making it easier for people to find you. Google’s featured snippets are a great way to get on the first SERP. Creating your site content correctly and taking into account relevant keywords with question-based inquiries may get your site a featured snippet on Google.

Another way to get a high search ranking is by making use of backlinks. A backlink is a link from one website to another. Backlinks act as a ranking signal because when one website links to another it is perceived as credible and beneficial. It also increases your site’s visibility.

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Hire A Professional Team

Creating an account is easy. However, creating noteworthy content that’s good enough to be a featured snippet that’ll produce backlinks takes a lot of work and time. You can do this in-house, but you might want to consider hiring a local SEO professional to do the work for you, especially when you feel that SEO is not one of your own team’s strengths.

And speaking of noteworthy; recently, Austin, TX has been dominating the news as more and more people and businesses flood to what’s been described as the “country’s hotbed of tech”. Consequently, more and more businesses have come to realize that online success is much easier to achieve with an Austin SEO company. In other words, if you want expedient, long-lasting results, you will need professional assistance.

Also Read: 7 Best Keyword Research Tools For SEO In 2021

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First-Rate Customer Experience

In a July 2021 Forbes article, Jon Hill stated that customer experience is the new SEO. Inviting customers to leave a review has been very successful in letting the public know if a company is dependable and that it offers high-quality products or services in the past decade. Businesses can take this a step further and enhance the customer experience. Customers expect to be able to reach out to brands anytime anywhere. You can upgrade communication through automation such as providing answers to common questions. This way you interact with customers and satisfy their needs before they search for another company.

Make it easy for your customers to leave reviews for your products or services. A recent study by Kantar Media showed that 91% of the respondents trust what their friends and family recommend more than they do influencers and celebrities. This is followed closely by review sites. Word-of-mouth still matters in the digital age. Reviews improve your business’s visibility and enhance its reputation in local searches.

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Content, Content, Content

It is often heard in digital marketing that “content is king.” Content refers to anything that is published on a website. Content is a major factor that generates traffic to your site. Target to create content that is local-specific. Landing pages that are specific to your county or state will be advantageous. If your business has multiple locations, city-specific landing pages are an excellent way to go.

Put a focus on local events, tourist attractions, traditions, or other businesses in some of your social media posts and blog topics (if you have one). This will garner local interest in your business bringing in potential customers and also help in link building especially if you target authority websites in your locale. Consider using long-form content. The internet is profuse with fake news and misinformation. Long-form content gives you credibility and it will typically rank higher in SEO results. Include relevant and trustworthy sources. Don’t forget to update your content. If the information in it is no longer applicable, your potential clients will leave the site no matter how engaging and awesome your content is. Google puts weight on fresh content.

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Mostly Mobile

Optimize your website for mobile devices. The latest data from Global Web Index shows that 40% of adult internet users globally buy something online each week and more consumers are using mobile gadgets for purchases. As mentioned above, customer experience is the new SEO. It’s critical to keep potential clients on your site from the get-go. If your website isn’t formatted correctly for mobile, this will annoy first-time visitors and will more than likely go to the next store on the search ranking. Make your website easy to navigate so they can easily find the information they need.

Also Read: LSI Vs Long Tail Keywords: What is Their Importance in SEO?

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Utilizing Voice Search

More and more people are using Siri, Alexa, or some other form of voice assistant. In the US alone, there are almost 40 million people using smart speakers and 43% of them shop through these. It’s the perfect time for your business to optimize voice search and it’s perfect for local SEO. People using mobile gadgets do searches while on the go and often when they’re looking for something locally. Voice search will make things much easier for them as it’s quicker and they can perform searches even while moving around.

Voice SEO will be different from the usual text SEO. Keyword generation and relevance development are essential in optimizing voice search. You can maximize voice search by prioritizing questions. Most people will search orally using questions. For example, “Where is the nearest bookstore?” Prioritize “where”, “which”, “what”, “why”, and “how”. Think like a user to determine keywords they are most likely to use.

No, SEO is not dead. But it IS changing – for the better. Google has tightened its standards and what used to work before is no longer applicable. That is why a well-thought-out local SEO strategy will serve you well in growing your business.