How do I improve my ranking in local search?

By now you must be well aware of what local SEO is and are probably wondering how to succeed in it! But before we dive into that, let’s first familiarise ourselves with its three core elements:

• Proximity: How close is your business to the searcher?
• Relevance: How relevant to the search query are your products and services?
• Prominence: What do other consumers say about your products and services?

How to do local SEO?

Without local search ranking, your business could be losing out on a significant amount of traffic. Here are the top 10 ways you can make your local SEO successful.

Website ‘localisation’

This means including the NAP (Name, Address, Phone number) details about your business naturally throughout your site. Other methods involve featuring local community events, articles, and information on your site. Your website should also be fast and mobile responsive. 

Citation Building

A citation is any place where your business’ NAPW (Name, Address, Phone number, Website URL) details appear online, typically an authoritative online directory or a listings site.

Citations are of two types: structured and unstructured. Structured citations appear when a listing is claimed while unstructured citations are a result of press and social media.

Creating & Maintaining Your Google My Business Listing

Claim your Google My Business listing, manage reviews and ratings, and make sure your listings are consistent, regularly updated and cleaned up. Good and genuine reviews send signals to search engines that your services are trusted. 

Upload your business logo, photos and videos, business timings etc. 

Add a brief description, including keywords on the special services you offer.

Add links to your website & social media profiles.

If you have an online store, specify what payment methods are available to purchase your products.

Getting quality, relevant backlinks

Naturally-obtained backlinks from authorised websites improve your website’s visibility and help search engines recognise your site as a trusted source of information.