Get tips on how to attract top, local prospects by improving your local SEO strategy.
When we work with Orlando small businesses at UpFront CPA, one of the top complaints we hear is you’re not getting enough leads or new customers. Or worse, you’re paying for ads and posting content, and you’re not getting the right local customers.
Well, there is a solution. Focusing on local search engine optimization (SEO)increases your chances of showing up in an internet search by customers in your area. When customers look for stores or services, they are likely to include the words “near me.” This makes it essential to prioritize local SEO strategies.
There are numerous ways to do this. Our team has put together the following list of tips to help you increase your local leads (and we even found some examples of small businesses that are doing it well!).
While you might be familiar with the traditional SEO strategies, there is a difference when focusing on local SEO. This determines where you show up in a Google search when someone looks for a business “near me,” or looks for a specific city or zip code.
Google has an algorithm for local searches that takes into account how close your business is to the person’s search query, how relevant your business is, and how well-known and how much online credibility your business has.
We’ll help you crack the code to show up high in local searches!
We know you do good work, and you know it, too. But, you need to show your prospects, as well. The best way to do this is by getting your customers to submit Google reviews. This not only demonstrates your awesome work but also improves your SEO. Google uses your reviews to determine how relevant your business is for local searches. The better reviews you have, the better your chances are of showing up higher in the search results. So it’s essential to capitalize on customer-generated reviews to improve your search ranking.
Some companies do this extremely well. Check out the review pages on Moderno Construction Management and Metro Duct Cleaners. These robust pages are paying off for these companies! However, it takes a dedicated process to obtain these reviews and keep getting them (notice how current their testimonials are).
Make it a point to ask customers to leave a review for you and send out an email request to ensure you’re getting the recognition you deserve.
When creating your website, make sure you have a separate locations page for every city in the area you service. That way, when someone searches for “CPA in Orlando”, for example, you show up. Creating a separate page gives you more authority with Google as you can create a page title, metadata description, and other SEO-friendly elements that help you rank higher in a local search.
When you create these pages, you also need to speak to the location. Customize the content so it’s specific to that area. Check out this example from Country Creek Builders. They include “Prior Lake” in their headers and even have a photo of the city to localize the page. NewSpaces also does a great job of using the city name “Edina” to customize the locations page.
When writing the content on your website, be sure to include key locations in the headers and throughout the service pages.
A few great examples of companies doing this well are Ground Tech, Preferred 1 Concrete MN, and Fredrickson Masonry.
Also, check out how The Duplex Doctors list out the neighborhoods they work with. They do a great job of mentioning the areas they focus on and then help prospective buyers and sellers with content focused on those neighborhoods.
One of the most crucial – and hardest – ways to improve your local SEO is to have other companies link to your business. These backlinks are highly prioritized by Google when determining how credible your business is and where you should rank in results.
You can start by looking at businesses that it would make sense for you to partner with. For example, at UpFront CPA, we work with roofing and siding contractors, so it would be logical for us to work with a local roofing company to see if they could link to us in a blog, and we would do the same for them. That way we both get a backlink.
When creating content on your website or writing blogs, focus on local content. For example, we could do a blog on the “Top 5 CPA Firms in Orlando.” We would include ourselves, and then include a link to our Orlando locations page.
Bettencourt Construction has a great example in their blogs, including this one on “The Top Remodeling Companies in St. Petersburg, FL.”
Another company that does a great job is Christian Brothers Construction. They create content specific to the locations they serve, including this blog on the “7 Best Eagan, MN Foundation Repair Companies.”
Tomy B. Salon in New York also has a great example by focusing this blog on Long Island. They get bonus points for saying “Long Island Hair Salon” to make it SEO-friendly.
You should also include locations in your remarketing efforts. Think about when you see an ad or an email. If it mentions your local area, are you more likely to click on it or open it rather than a generic message? Probably, right? There’s something about seeing “Orlando” pop up in an email or ad – even if we know it’s a marketing message – that makes it feel more personal and more enticing to engage with.
When targeting people who have already gone to your site, engaged with your ads, or even previous customers, try to customize your messaging to your local area to try to boost your engagement.
We know that it can be challenging to try to boost your Google ranking. And we know – Google changes its algorithm ALL the time. But, using these tips should help you better target your local customers and help you improve your search results for searches “near me.”
For more tips on how to increase your profits at your small business, and to have our experts handle all of your accounting needs, contact our team at UpFront CPA today!
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