Search engine optimization (SEO) is constantly changing and evolving, and the strategies that will help your business to be more visible in the search results change and evolve as well. As we are now well into 2020, it’s good to reevaluate your business’s SEO strategy to ensure that you have as much visibility as you can to attract new customers and clients. 

If your business relies on local traffic, local SEO will be more important. Strategies for optimizing your business for local search are a little different. Here we will go through some tips for local SEO in 2020. 

1. Make sure your business has a Google My Business listing.

To manage your presence on Google search and Google Maps, Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that you can use. You can sign up or claim your business by doing the following:

1. Go to https://www.google.com/business/ and click “Start Now”
2. Create or select the Google account you’d like to use
3. Sign in
4. Search for your business
5. Verify your business with a code that will be mailed to you by Google

You can optimize your GMB listing by filling in all of the necessary details like working hours, business category, website link, and business description. You can also upload images of your business. The idea is to make it as useful as you can for your customers and clients.

2. List your business on websites and directories.

You will want to get more citations for your business. You can list your business on sites like Citysearch, Yellow Pages, Manta, and Yelp. There are also services like BrightLocal who will create listings on multiple sites all at once. 

Make sure you are consistent with your name, address, phone number, and basic information. You want all of your listings to be exactly the same as your GMB listing. 

You also want to make sure that you get positive reviews on any of these sites that allow reviews. You may even want to offer something for free to anyone who posts a review.

3. Optimize your website for local search.

You want to make sure you are sprinkling local keywords throughout your website. Local keywords consist of general location keywords as well as “near me” keywords. Some examples would be “restaurant near me” or “masseuse in Houston.” 

You can also amplify the local search signals on your website by providing the exact information on your GMB profile (business name, address, phone number, etc.) on each page of your website; embedding your business’s Google Map location somewhere on the homepage of your site; linking to any local sites that mention you; and linking to sites about your general location.

4. Get local backlinks.

It’s important to get local sites to link back to your site. You can do this by:

• Writing guest blog posts for local blogs
• Going on local podcasts and getting them to link to you
• Reaching out to local sites and asking for a link
• Creating valuable content that local sites will want to link to
• Collaborating with local business owners

Local SEO is important for any business that wants to attract local customers and clients. If you need some help with your SEO (local, national, or international), contact us to learn more about our search engine optimization services.