Local Search Results: Top Tips

Whether a small, medium or large business; local search is now key to your online success. Whatever industry and whatever current online strategy you may have in place; it is now increasingly important to ensure that your business appears within a localised search.

With more and more users and companies turning to Google; a search engine is now the twenty first century yellow pages and can ensure you get those all-important customers, wherever you may be located but just how do you do it? We all know that the purpose of SEO is to ensure your website is visible to a search engine and may be ranked for specific search terms but just how does Google determine where you appear within a localised search?

Whether you are a restaurant in London, a hair salon in Manchester or a cleaning service in Birmingham; Google determines the position of your local ranking by a few specific factors.

Here are our top tips that can help you ensure you conquer the local search market;

• Consistency- Remember that the main focus of Google is to provide the ultimate user experience and hence Google will only deem a site worthy if it is consistent all throughout. Ensure that all information is adequately provided including email address, opening times, descriptions and categories; it may all seem unnecessary however a complete profile will all add up.
• Keywords- As tempting as it may be, do not overstuff keywords into your title, details and descriptions. Use your primary keyword phrases but keep it as natural as possible.
• Reviews- Customer reviews are the ultimate ranking factors and can help you obtain a phenomenal level of success. Encourage reviews on your website, at the end of a sale, during a sale, via social media and other such calls to action. By providing a score rating; that will allow users to judge your products and services on a multitude of factors, Google will be able to, of a better term 'tally up' your overall business rating which will thus determine your ranking position. By encouraging your customers to provide reviews for a great service or product; your business score will improve and as naturally expected; the higher the score, the higher the ranking.

With an increasing number of online enquiries now having a localised focus; have you ensured that your overall online marketing and search engine optimisation strategy has retained a local focus? Ensure you do as much as possible to rank for that local search.