How To Do Local SEO

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Local SEO is imperative for every business that is trying to promote their brand online. Here is a helpful tutorial on how to do local SEO for your website. Be warned, this requires a lot of patience and it involves a lot of time. Only if you have both embark on the local SEO tasks for your website.

 

 

Step 1 – Take Advantage of Rich Snippets

 

When your business gets listed for local searches, Google includes additional pieces of information about your business to make the search more meaningful for the users. The rich snippets will include your physical address, your contact information, working hours and so on. Make use of resources such as Schema.org, Microdata Markup, which will help Google in finding the information required for its rich snippets fast. Google recommends Microdata, which uses very simple attributes that help search engines recognize the nature of the information present your website faster.

 

Along with this, make sure that you are geo tagging your images, a very powerful local SEO listing technique. Moreover, this will increase your click through rate. Geo sitemap is yet another useful factor that you should consider when you are doing local SEO for your website. All these will help you get the best out of Google rich snippets in local listings.

 

Step-2 – Benefit From Google+ Local Listing

 

It is no secret that Google is the most widely used search engine. When people want to make a search for local businesses, they first to go Google. You should therefore benefit from Google places listing and Google business listing. Get your website listed in Google+ Local. 

 

 

If you are wondering how to go about getting your website listed in Google Places or how to submit your website to Google Places, just read on. First, check whether your business has already been listed in Google+ Local. In case, your business should be listed then you need to claim your business by following the simple claiming process.

 

Getting your website listed in Google Places is a very simple process and it will consume just a few minutes of your time. Visit http://www.google.com/local/add/ accept the terms and conditions but make sure that you review the terms and conditions before you accept. You will be asked to provide few basic information about your business.

 

Once you have provided all the required information, you need to make sure to verify your business through the mail. You can also choose to verify your business later and continue with the rest of the steps.

 

Provide information about your business listing. You will also get a chance to review various offers from Google including Adwords.

 

On the left sidebar there will be totally four options namely ‘Places for Business’, Listings tab, Offers and Adwords Express. Click on each option and fill in the required information. For the edits to show up, you will first need to verify your business.

 

The next step is combining Google places and your Local Google+ Page. You will be able to do this from your Google Places dashboard. You should have verified your Google+ Business page first to see the Google+ Business page management tab in Google Places dashboard.

 

Verify your Google+ local page, this will integrate your Google places listing for your business with your Google+ Local. Once this merging takes places, you will just have one local page with Google+ Local and Google Places and all the options required to manage both.

 

If you are wondering why you need both Google Places and Google+ Local, by merging both, you will save yourself from unnecessary confusions and management of both gets easier.

 

Step 3 – Use Citations

 

Citations are nothing but listings from other web directories for local businesses. Here again, you need to provide all your business related information including your address and contact info. Make sure that all your listings are uniform; maintain consistency to enjoy the fullest benefits. Have all your listings verified without fail wherever required and possible.

 

Step 4 - Get Customer Testimonials

 

Request your customers to write a review in Google+ Local, CitySearch and other such popular directories. Try to bring variety here when it comes to the list of directories in which you get your testimonials. Integrate these testimonials to your website’s testimonials page.

 

Step-5 – Make the Best Use of Social Media

 

Make use of as many social media channels as possible including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Yelp, etc., to promote your business as it greatly helps your local SEO efforts. 

 

 

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