Local SEO: How to increase your Google rankings for location searches
When it comes to performing well in local search engines, there are 5 main categories to think about:
In this article we are going to look at how you can optimise your website to help increase your search engine rankings and your overall visibility.
We’ve been working with many small businesses recently who have had a website built and assumed that automatically they would rank in Google for their services.
This is unfortunately not the case.
Optimising your website using Local SEO is just one of the tasks that needs to be completed if you have any chance of featuring in search engine results.
All websites should have an SEO plug in installed or come with the software already built in. We use Yoast which is a plug in supported by WordPress.
Keyword Research
In order to establish the right keywords for your website the first step is to think about what your customers might be typing into Google to find you.
You can also use the Google Keyword Planner tool if you have a Google Ads Account. This will ensure you are using the keywords with the highest search volume.
Where to include these keywords
Once these have been identified, they should be used in the following sections of your website:
- Website CMS SEO Plug in as mentioned above – Meta Title & Meta Description should be completed. There will be a limited to how many characters to use and this information will show up in Google results –
- Website urls (be careful changing urls if you are linking to these pages from external sites as the link will become broken. A website developer can set up re-directs if necessary)
- Website Content including Menu Descriptions and Paragraph Headers. You will have the option to use a number of different Headers – Header 1, Header 2, Header 3 etc… Be sure to include your keywords in Headers 1
- Website Image Alt Tags
- To help with local optimisation (businesses who want to target local customers) you can also create location-based pages. For us we might publish pages titled ‘Marketing Company in High Wycombe’, Marketing Company near Aylesbury’ and list our services. These pages will not sit on your website menu but behind the scenes, so do not need to be visible on your website. They will help your business feature for searches inside and outside of your location depending on which locations you want to feature on Google for
For support with optimising your website to help increase your Google rankings for Local SEO and overall presence, speak to one of our experts today!
