How To Improve Your Local SEO Strategy For 2016

Local SEO is vital for your business if you constantly deal with a large number of local customers. This is a part of Search Engine Optimization that makes it easier for people in your immediate area to find you on search engines like Google.

Improving your local SEO strategy is important because many B2C and B2B consumers depend greatly on the internet to acquire information they need to make buying decisions. What’s more, Google is not only a tech giant but a fundamental part of today’s digital economy. In fact, very few buying decisions are made without the basic reliance of Google searches these days.

If you do not know the difference between local SEO and national SEO, we recommend that you read this post before proceeding. Here are some tips to shape your local SEO campaign:

Ensure That You Provide Great Customer Experience

Oftentimes, a potential customer’s decision to make a purchase boils down to customer experience. Yes, from click to close! The good thing about customer experience is that your website shapes it readily and you have full control over it. The words and actions of your salespeople, on the other hand, are things you cannot control all day long. Hence, it is sometimes better to place huge emphasis on the former.

In the near future, nearly 90% of businesses will compete with each other based on their ability to provide stellar customer experience. It is also expected that by 2020, human interaction will not be part of more than 80% of the customer-company relationship management process. It is highly recommended that you start capitalizing on this trend now and make sure that your online marketing presence is concise and consistent.

Provide Direct Data to Help Improve Your Local SEO

If you want to gain a chance to secure a top slot with major search engines, you should provide “direct data” which basically means detailed information about your brand or company. This form of data is like granular pieces of information that will appear with business listings in search engine results pages. Let’s say that you are searching for a brunch cafe near you, each result will most likely inform you whether a take-out is available, about the pricing as well as contact information. Such upfront data improves visibility and this is important for both franchise and single location SEO.

Optimize Your Website by Enabling Voice Search Functionalities

Mobile searching is on the rise and so is the demand of voice search. There is an increasing number of people using their smartphones to locate services, products and businesses they need. These features make it easier and faster to make a search query as opposed to typing it in manually. If you want to hook these consumers, be sure to optimize your website first.

If you are keen on making this change, you should start modifying your keywords to more voice search-friendly phrases. As only a limited amount of information can be delivered in each response, user follow-up questions will become common in voice search functionalities.

Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Mobile-friendly and responsive website designs are now a necessity, as mobile device searches have far surpassed traditional laptop and desktop computer searches around the world. Mobile friendliness of websites are now a major Google ranking factor and this also means generating more revenue and making more conversions. If you want to make shopping on your mobile site a truly unique experience, making your website mobile-friendly is a great way to facilitate this. Special promotions such as mobile-only deals can also keep your customers coming back to your website.