You may think you know your fair share of best Search Engine Optimization practices but what you might not know is that Local SEO differs some from General SEO. How different could it be? Well there are some elements that they share and some they don’t, but when it comes to the success of your business this can actually mean a whole lot. First and foremost it is important to know your audience and with this comes knowing that the kind of SEO you need is based on the type and size of your business. A multi-practitioner business like a doctor or lawyer needs a different marketing strategy than a home-based or single location business, a major difference between general SEO and local SEO is how you target your customers. Knowing your audience and demographic is key in any good marketing campaign. However, when it comes to local SEO add geography to the afformentioned list, when targeting keywords. It’s a huge missed opportunity if a potential client in your vicinity performs a search and your business does not show up. (Source)
SOME TIPS TO HELP BOOST YOUR LOCAL SEO INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO:
LINKS
One of the top ranking factors according to Google is what you hyperlink in your content with. Hyperlinking your content to relevant and or high authority pages is imperative, especially when it comes to local SEO. An example of this would be hyperlinking the town of where your business is located from Google Maps where you mention the location of your business.
BLOGS
Writing blogs about your business is great but be sure to include tips and elements that would apply to your demographic, the season and relevant to your location. Having content on your site relevant to seasonal trends and events in your area will in turn help your rankings on the local level.
WEBPAGES
So you have a website built with all the bells and whistles. Now what? Keep in mind the content on these webpages also helps drive local SEO. Having your name, address and phone number on your homepage, about page and contact page with a Google Maps image will help optimize your site for discovery on search engines.