A local SEO audit is the first step to gaining more customers with minimal expense
A local search is a primary method customers use to find local businesses. Optimizing your business for local searches is one of the best ways to gain visibility and attract local prospects. Need some proof? According to 2018 Google data, mobile searches that contain “near me” have increased over 500% within two years. This number includes with some modifications such as “can I buy” or “to buy”. It shows that more and more people turn to local searches to find where they can buy products and services. Optimizing our business starts with a local SEO audit.
With economic times so uncertain, now is the time to step up your local business SEO strategy. Here are the tips and tricks you need to properly conduct a robust SEO audit for your local business. Let’s go!
What Is A Local SEO Audit?
Put simply, a local business SEO audit is performed to learn the strengths and weaknesses of a website. In this way, you can determine if your local SEO strategy is working and bringing in positive results. Once you know the how your deficient, you can work on that need to be improving them. Soon you will have more customers come right to your doorstep.
Now that’s all laid out, let’s go to the best part. Here are tested and proven steps on how you can conduct a local SEO audit correctly.
Manage Google My Business
If your business doesn’t have a Google My Business account yet, create one now! Or claim the location Google created for you and to verify it. Optimize your listing by providing the proper information that will help Google learn more about your business.
You must seek reviews from customers. Ask your returning customers to leave a review online. You can give them a review card to help guide them to leave a review easily. In return, you should respond to reviews. Google likes activity on the GMB and reviews are an excellent activity.
Make Sure to Have A Mobile-Friendly Website
By now, this should go without saying. Nowadays, people can easily pick up their mobile phones and go on the web to search for anything. This includes purchasing products and services. You need to ensure that you put effort into creating a mobile-friendly website that will give local prospects a positive and hassle-free navigating experience through your site. This will help convince them to buy your product or services.
Use Social Media
Take the time to share your Google My Business page as Google tends to include social elements when it comes to search engine algorithms. It will also help if you engage in your social media posts. Engaged traffic is a ranking factor. It will bring more traffic and enhance your local SEO efforts.
Keyword Targeting is an Important Local SEO Audit Task
Put the effort to find the special keywords that target your desired location. When you make content, make sure that you’re making the most of geo-targeted keywords. Include them on important SEO placements such as the URL, meta description, title, header, and throughout your article. This strategy will increase your chances of getting indexed by search engine platforms and rank higher in the search results.
Optimize Inbound Links
If you’re looking for a way to improve your brand’s domain authority, consider inbound links. Relevance and authority are two essential factors in your local SEO. If you are relevant and you have high authority, search engine platforms will treat you as a legitimate company. A high factor will bring you a high rank in the search results, more traffic and leads.
Don’t Forget to Update Citations
Two words: NAP Consistency.
Make sure that your Name, Address, and Phone number (NAP) are all correct to help search engines determine the right information about your business. It’s also crucial to check for duplicate listings and eliminate them to avoid negative consequences.
As a summary, strategically executing your local SEO is integral to help your audience find your business online. If done correctly, a local SEO audit can bring more customers that will eventually help your business grow.
The post How to Conduct a Local SEO Audit the Right Way appeared first on Elvin Web Marketing.
