One of the most significant benefits of how Google creates its search rankings is that it allows local businesses to compete on an even playing field. By that, we do not mean a local cafe can compete with Starbucks on the global stage, but it most certainly can in its local catchment area.
The reason for this is that Google will take into account the location of the person searching for a search term such as “local coffee shop”. Taking that a stage further, if the search includes a local town, district. or area, once again the small, local cafe business has the opportunity to be at the top of the rankings, ahead of the corporate giants, but with the caveat that it must have its SEO for local searches all in place.
This would usually mean approaching a local SEO agency and giving them the task of boosting your website’s rankings, however, you need to know exactly what it is you are asking them to do. So, here are seven of the most important elements of ranking a website for a local business, which you must ensure your SEO agency implements.
Backlinking: Backlinks influence a website’s rankings enormously so it stands to reason that you will want a comprehensive backlink strategy in place. The key here is remembering the quality of the backlinks impact rankings more than the number of backlinks, so ensure that established, authoritative websites are prioritised.
On-Site Optimisations: Top rankings start at home, or more specifically, your own website. There are a plethora of on-site optimisations that can boost your SEO and subsequently your rankings so a plan to have everything from your content to your website’s metadata in place, accurate, and optimised for keywords, is essential.