By Google's own admission, they make between 500-600 changes to the algorithm annually, so being aware of all of them and how they affect your site can be a full time job. If you're frustrated attempting to keep up with all the changes that transpire within the Google Local search space, you're not the only one!
In the spirit of keeping things simple here, we've distilled our list of best Local SEO practices to a mere 7. Implement these as soon as you can for best results!
7 Easy To Implement Local SEO Best Practices
Continue to build links to your website – These days it's not really the amount of links you have but the quality, and the best way to garner authoritative incoming links is to produce awesome content people are more than willing to share and link to.
GEO-target your content – Google is now on a quest to deliver local results over global whenever possible. You can help this happen by using geographic terms in your content and meta data.
Keep getting citations – No I'm not telling you to keep getting speeding tickets. I'm talking about all those local listings you can get from sites like Yelp, CitySearch, InsiderPages, etc. These still matter, but just like with links, it's more about quality and accuracy than it is about the number. Strive for the best you can find.
Solicit customer reviews – This is the highest form of social proof available, and studies are showing that the overwhelming majority (90%) consult product reviews before purchasing. Ask your existing customers; they'll usually be happy to comply.
Use Google My Business – Google's local business suite suite is an amazing tool that you need to be fully invested in. There are so many ways this helps your business, but one of the main ones is the ability to easily manage google reviews. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that reviews affect your rankings. Starting to wonder if holding your head right affects your rankings? I understand.
Create and optimize local images – Use unique local images and make sure they are geo-tagged appropriately. This reinforces that your business is in the local area.
Take advantage of social sharing – Make sure you have social media icons present on all your pages and content to provide your audience with the opportunity to share your content far and wide!
