Intro

Do you have a business? If so, does your business have more than one location?

Good news! There’s a way that you can ensure that your business – all locations – can be noticed online by prospective customers and or clients! It’s called local search engine optimization (SEO)!

Believe it or not, your business, no matter how many locations it has, can translate to a successful website. As long as you follow the rules, and keep things hot and fresh, your website will succeed, and so will your business!

This quick guide will explain the following:

• Defining local SEO
• Using local SEO today, AND
• 8 strategies on implementing local SEO for your business

Define Local SEO

(Image Source: Pixabay)

Local SEO, or multiple-location SEO, is what brings traffic to a website from multiple locations. This kind of SEO helps boost visitor experience, as your website serves said visitors with what you have to offer. So, when your business has multiple locations, you’re catering to more than just one audience or group of people. This type of SEO allows your site to rank higher in search results.

says Callie Swanson, a SEO manager at State of writing.

How Local SEO Is Today

It’s no secret that local SEO is still relevant today. However, the playing field has changed over the years. In other words, search engines have now stepped up in weeding out irrelevant sites from the good and legitimate sites. Therefore, you’ll need to use local SEO responsibly.

Plus, users are expecting sites to be legitimate. In fact, people now rely on search keywords like “near me” to find a relevant site. For example, a person might be looking for a nearby grocery store. He or she might type in “grocery store near me” in the search bar. Afterwards, they might be greeted with different search results. Whichever is on top of the search results, that person will most likely look into.

As you can see, specifics will come into play when someone searches for something with the phrase “near me.” “Near me” is a powerful search phrase that will either lead to your site, or your competitors.

8 Strategies For Local SEO

(Image SourceSource: Pexels)

So, now that you know how and why local SEO is essential for your business, especially if your business has more than one location, it’s time to learn some strategies on how to make your online presence known. Here are 8 effective strategies on taking advantage of local SEO:

Be Accurate

First, accuracy is key. That means:

• Be sure that your business listing is free of any typos.
• All contact information should be accurate as well. AND,
• Have appropriate images or videos to support your listing.

Create Specific Pages For Each Location

Consider making web pages that are specific to each location in your business. In other words, if one location has a webpage, then so should your other locations. Although you can still have a master landing page, it’s still important to have corresponding pages for your other locations. For example, if your business is made up of different locations, say, states… If you have a headquarters in Tennessee, and you have other locations in Kentucky, Virginia, and Texas, then you’ll need to make webpages for the Kentucky, Virginia, and Texas locations, while making the Tennessee location the master landing page. You can also use location-specific keywords on your site’s pages.

Think Budget And Popularity

(Source: Pixabay)

Budget and popularity are just as important, when it comes to local SEO. How is that?

• Budget is important, because you don’t want to waste money trying to get into an industry that doesn’t fit your business.
• Popularity is also important, especially when it comes to social media. The Pew Research Center reported in 2021 that 7 out of 10 Americans use social media for news, sharing information, and entertainment.

Research The Right Competitors

Signal Insights cites this as one of the biggest blows to a company, suggesting that marketing teams aren’t looking at the “right” competition. Since your initiative is about implementing good local SEO, you’ll need to look at your competitors in a more adequate way.

Instead of looking at just one of your competitors, look at many of them. Instead of looking at weaker competition, look at competition that’s ahead of the curb.

Plus, prioritize your “battle” approach by looking at the digital footprint and sales potential for each location that competitors might have.

Utilize Local Directories

Local directories are another way to help your business gain the desired results from local SEO. Such directories allow you to get online exposure for your business. It’s important to ensure that you use directories for all of your locations, not just one.

Consider using local directories like:

• Foursquare
• Glassdoor
• Yelp

“Virtual Offices” Don’t Count

(Source: Google My Business)

Although many places are going digital, it’s not appropriate to list your virtual office as a physical location. In fact, Google My Business warns against listing a virtual office for the sake of local SEO. Otherwise, the search engine will penalize your account and ruin your chances of getting your business noticed.

Location-Specific Link Building

Link building can help you garner plenty of SEO for your website. This is especially essential, whenever your business has more than one location. Basically, link building is when other websites can link back to your own through hyperlinks, backlinks, external links, and so on.

With that said, make sure that your links are high-quality, since search engines like Google are always patrolling for bad links. That means shying away from:

• Buying or selling links
• Excessive forum/online posts with your link
• Link exchanges, etc.

Instead, consider these adequate and natural methods for link building:

• Articles and guest posts with few brand keywords or geographical phrases
• Niche directories
• Posting on related and relevant blogs and forums (but sparingly), etc.

Establish A Google My Business Profile

Finally, Google My Business (GMB) is very important, when it comes to having a business with multiple locations. Suppose a customer wants to find your business online using Google. Fortunately, Google allows you to create a free Google My Business profile. Once you create a profile, your business will be properly displayed on Google and Google Maps.

When creating a profile, you can list the following:

• Your business address
• Hours of operation
• Website, etc.

You can also request ownership of your business through, so that your website can be displayed accordingly.

Sites like Ranktracker can help you track valuable keywords that help you place your Google My Business profile out there when advertising your multiple-location business.

Conclusion

(Image Source: Pexels)

Ultimately, local SEO is here to stay. And, businesses can benefit from local SEO by utilizing the strategies discussed in this quick guide, and by keeping in mind that the search engine landscape is always changing.

So, don’t be afraid to bring your business into the online spotlight by utilizing local SEO!

About Author

Sara Sparrow is a writer and editor at Pay for college papers and Dissertation services. She is also a contributing writer for Write my paper. As a content writer, she writes articles about SEO, coding, and computer science.