Local SEO Tweaks That Can Boost Your Rankings

When it comes to running a business in your local area, search engine optimization (SEO) is essential.  If you aren’t sitting pretty in the top rankings on page one, it makes potential customers wonder one thing—how good are you REALLY?

With that in mind, if your business doesn’t have the search engine rankings you need, you might want to consider using some of these local SEO tweaks to give your rankings a boost.

Local SEO tweaks to your advantage today

Creating more internal website links

The first place we recommend you start for improved local SEO is more internal links. Internal links are links that take the user from one page of your website to the next. So, if you own a website where you provide various handyman services, such as drywall installation, tile laying plastering and painting, or you would find ways to link to each of your services across various pages.

Like in this example: Applying plaster takes patience and experience.  If you rush the process, you will likely end up with sub-par results.  So if you don’t have the extra time needed then painting the area will be your best option.

Internal links should be built around relevant keywords used across your website. It is a great way to ensure traffic is more evenly distributed across each page, improving your overall traffic level.

Answer the common questions found on Google

Another key to local SEO is to make sure you have the answers to the common questions locals have. If you do a search for the product or service your business offers, you will most likely find a list of commonly asked questions on Google. These questions are a great place to start to ensure you have answers to these common questions on your website.

You can accomplish this in 2 ways:

1. Creating an FAQ page that lists all these commonly asked questions in one place, with your answers to each question below.
2. Creating a blog around these questions is the best way to handle this. For example, if you run a car detailing service, and one of your most frequently asked might be: “Is it better to clean with steam or soap and water?”  So now you have an opportunity to go into more detail about why it’s better to clean with steam versus soap and water and all the benefits your car will receive because of it.   

Create local directory listings

From Google My Business to business directories in your local region, you should be creating as many of these little profiles as you can. Yelp.com, YellowPages.com, BBB.org, Manta.com, and Angi.com are all examples of business directories, also called citations.  Each one creates another link back to your website.  Which is exactly what you want—useful external links coming from relevant sources.

At the same time, though, these websites provide you a directory listing that helps people to find your business. So not only can you get an SEO benefit, you also get traffic coming directly from these sites.

Local directories are useful, but make sure you’ve got a Google My Business page. It’s the “Grand Pumba” of all citations. Technically it’s now referred to as your Google Business Profile, but it is the same thing—and it is free to create! So why not benefit from the potential it provides?

Turn your current content into new opportunities

If one of your problems is coming up with new content and ideas all the time, that’s totally relatable.  One great way to get the most out of your content is to repurpose what you already have. By taking a blog post and turning it into social media snippets, or an explainer video, you can stretch the content you already have and maximize its impact.

Do not ignore your user experience (UX) rating

In 2021, Google released a new search engine update that focuses on the quality of the user experience. Specifically, how fast is your website loading? How stable is your website—does it crash often? And how responsive is your website? Does it work well on all devices and browsers?

Working with your web developer to improve these elements of your layout, design, and back-end should be a priority. Google and other search engines will value your website higher if it meets its higher UX rating. Make this a local SEO priority!

Make the most of Google Discover

One of the best local SEO tweaks we can suggest you try out would be to use Google Discover. This is an AI-managed news aggregator that is created by Google. Essentially, it looks to pair people up with content and platforms the AI feels are relevant based on their previous activities.

Getting people to like your content on social media and on your website—such as leaving comments, sharing links, etc.—can ensure you are more likely to appear in this powerful news aggregator. You’ll need to create high-quality content that encourages engagement—a high bar to reach for.

Take your old content and improve it

As time goes on, it is inevitable that new information is discovered and your expertise in your business niche will grow. Is it time to go back to your older content and refresh it?  Are there new details you could add now that were not available back when you first wrote that content?

Going back and updating old content is a great way to refresh the traffic volume and squeeze more juice out of what you have already done.

Bottom line

Okay listen, it’s a busy world. If you don’t have time to implement all of the SEO tips listed above, that’s fine. Start with one or two that seem to be the easiest and begin there. Businesses who succeed at SEO are the ones who take action, so anything is better than nothing.  Once you see your rankings increase, you’ll know it’s worth the effort!