SEO Strategies Every Business Owner Should use in 2018

Dear business owners,

It’s a brand new year, have you updated your SEO strategies? If you don’t think local SEO is that important, consider that 56% of all mobile searches are localized by city or other geographical markers.

To ensure your business doesn’t miss out on potential customers because they can’t find you right away, outlined below are the best ways to locally grow and connect your business.

Research Local Keywords
Stay ahead of the curve by refreshing your website’s SEO with local keywords. When a customer is on the go searching for a nearby business, if yours doesn’t pop up they’ll certainly find one of your competitors.
Use Google AdWords’ Keyword Planner to find the best local buzz words for your business. For best results, use a mix of short and long-tail keywords.

Optimize Your Meta Data
Once you’ve gathered all the latest and greatest SEO keywords, freshen up your website’s meta data. Meta data includes your tags and alternative descriptions plus the meta description seen beneath your page’s name on Google.
This process is quick and easy but can increase your Google ranking and connect you with your target audience.

Optimize Your Content for Local Keywords
Be sure that each piece of content you publish include the list of your previously selected local keywords. An Atlanta bakery would likely choose the following key words.
Atlanta GA bakery
Bakery in Atlanta GA
Atlanta wedding bakery

 

As you select your keywords, focus on quality. Google frowns upon content over stuffed with keywords. Use them in important locations, i.e. your headline, paragraphs, title tags, and in the first part of your main body of content. You will have the most success when you try for about 1% keyword ratio throughout the content. That means in a blog that contains about a thousand words, your primary keyword will be sprinkled throughout the content about 10 times along with maybe some secondary keywords. As long as the content is relevant and highly readable, this will work to your advantage.

Make all NAP Listings the same throughout (use be consistent image)
A NAP listing incudes your company’s physical address, name and phone number.

Any NAP listings need to be exactly the same if the goal is to the local search for your business to be optimal. NAP listings should be current and be sure other websites list your information correctly. Make sure you’ve checked all of the contact information, including the physical address on your website and social media profiles, as well.

Optimize Your Google My Business Page

If you haven’t already discovered Google My Business, you’ll want to list your company on this site in 2018. Google My Business is free for business owners and it’ll boost your SEO.
The first step is to verify your business by clicking here. Once there, review and update your NAP listing, business hours, etc. as needed. We also recommend adding photographs and using your local keywords in the image tags.

For optimum Google search rank, everything you write on Google My Business should include your company description and reflect your updated local SEO.Private Blog Network Links
A private blog network, or PBN, is a collection of authority websites used to build links back to your primary business site.

You may have heard that link building with PBN’s can be problematic. This is because some marketers have made a cottage industry out of building low-quality sites.

A low-quality PBN contains “spun” content, which is largely copied from existing content; Google has penalized sites for this. To avoid penalty, focus on quality and avoid copying or near copying content.Use your local keywords in your web content. Your hyperlinks should also be varied and organic; if every hyperlink is for a keyword, Google might penalize you.Conclusion
Above all, making the most of your local SEO means being consistent and persistent. Any time your company name appears online, so should your local keywords and SEO tools. The more consistent you are, the more you’ll attract customers who are likely to buy from you.