As many company owners are aware, Google have introduced an algorithm that focuses on local when users search for products or services. Up until now, companies were competing on a global scale, trying to secure their audience and secure their piece of the market. At the end of 2014 this started to change and now companies have to focus on local to ensure that when customers search in their area, they are at the top of the ranking.
What does this mean for the business owner? The algorithm was rolled out in the United States first and recently was launched in the UK and Australia, just to name a few countries. The aim is to make online searches easier for those looking for products and services in their own area. Rather than providing users with a global match to their search, they are given local services and for companies, it's important to ensure you are at the front of the list to secure your customers and increase your revenue.
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Local SEO in 2015: 5 Things to Remember[/caption]There are five things you need to bear in mind when it comes to your local SEO campaign in 2015. The first is to create a Google + local page. This is an essential step to the process and can help you be identified easily by searches and ensure that you are seen as a local business. If you cover various locations or provide an international service, then ensure you list all the areas.
For your Google + page you will want to provide as much information about your business as possible with high quality and relevant images, address information, website and ensure you take the time to verify your address. Verifying your address is a quick and easy process carried out by Google where they post you a verification code, once received update the information to ensure that they are aware that you are who you say you are and your address is accurate.
With that step completed, you have to move onto the second step to help you achieve local SEO success. The second step of the process is to ensure that you have your company address on every single page of your website. This information must match the information you have on your verified Google + pages account. The location on each page helps the search engine identify your location when providing results to users, ensuring their best experience with accurate results.
This means that your third step is to push your location when possible. Use your location in your social media posts, your articles and your press releases. You want to ensure that search engines are aware of your location in all your online marketing and SEO campaigns.
The fourth step to achieve local SEO success is to get reviews. Google + pages and independent review sites, along with reviews on your own website can be exceptionally useful in achieving online success in terms of search engine optimization.
Remember SEO isn't all about keywords anymore, there is so much that it entails, the main focus is to provide customers with the best information for their results. The search engines are looking for reputable and authoritative companies that provide customers with valuable information and interesting data. Stuffing keywords isn't going to help your quest. In order to achieve SEO success you want as many good reviews as you can get. Appeal to your customer list, ask them to provide feedback on your pages and watch your ranking soar.
The final thing to remember in terms of local SEO is to create content that will attract links. You want other companies and sites to link to your content, increasing your target area and helping you reach a larger audience.
Guest Post By Anoop K Krishnan
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