Why Is Local SEO Critical for Your Business

Why Is Local SEO Critical for Your Business

by | May 1, 2023 | Resources, SEO, SEO Best Practices

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Why Is Local SEO Critical for Your Business

As the world becomes more digital, local businesses are realizing that they need to have a strong online presence to survive. A significant part of having a strong online presence is ranking well in search engine results. Ranking well in search engine results is not an easy task, but it is possible with the right strategies. In this blog post, we will explore some recommendations for local businesses to rank in search engine results.

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Why is Local SEO Important

Local SEO is a critical part of any business’s marketing strategy. Up to 98% of people use the internet to find information about a local business. To compete in the search engine results pages (SERPs), local businesses need to get the right foundations in place. This article will outline the local SEO hierarchy of needs that local businesses should focus on to rank well in the SERPs.

Firstly, local businesses need to optimize two areas of the search results: the Google local pack/local finder or Maps and Google organic listings. Google considers relevance, distance, and prominence to rank local businesses in the local pack. Google uses countless signals for organic listings, including the “blue links.”

To help local businesses rank in the local pack, they need to focus on optimizing six areas: the Google Business Profile, reviews and ratings, quality content, internal linking, webpage, and website optimization, and inbound links. These are the foundations that local businesses need to have in place to rank well in the SERPs.

Google Business Profile

One of the most critical tactics for ranking local businesses in the local pack is creating, verifying, and optimizing a Google Business Profile. Local businesses need to choose the most relevant primary category for their business and add two to three categories that are most relevant. It’s essential to complete the Google Business Profile as thoroughly as possible and ensure that the business name, address, phone, and website (NAP+W) are accurate.

Ratings and Reviews

Ratings and reviews can impact how well a local business ranks in the local pack. Local businesses must encourage customers to leave reviews, read and reply to their reviews, and consider displaying third-party reviews to add value to the listing.

Quality Content

Quality content is one of the most important on-page ranking factors. Local businesses must ensure that their site has enough content to be helpful and valuable to visitors. They also need to have various content to rank and be found in the SERPs.

Internal Linking

Internal linking is another critical factor for local businesses. They need to ensure that their site has a logical structure, making it easy for users to navigate the site. Internal linking also helps distribute link equity throughout the site.

Webpage and Website Optimization

Webpage and website optimization are essential for local businesses to rank in the SERPs. Local businesses need to ensure that their website is mobile-friendly, has a fast loading speed, and has a secure connection.

Inbound Links

Inbound links are another critical factor for local businesses to rank well in the SERPs. Local businesses need to get high-quality inbound links from relevant and authoritative websites in their industry.

Conclusion

In conclusion, local SEO is critical for any business that wants to be found online. Local businesses need to focus on the local SEO hierarchy of needs and get the right foundations in place to have a chance to compete in the SERPs. By optimizing the Google Business Profile, reviews and ratings, quality content, internal linking, webpage, and website optimization, and inbound links, local businesses can rank well in the SERPs and attract more customers.

Search engine ranking tips

Search engine ranking tips

by | Apr 27, 2023 | Resources, SEO, SEO Best Practices, Web Designer

Website resources

Search engine ranking tips

As the world becomes more digital, local businesses are realizing that they need to have a strong online presence to survive. A significant part of having a strong online presence is ranking well in search engine results. Ranking well in search engine results is not an easy task, but it is possible with the right strategies. In this blog post, we will explore some recommendations for local businesses to rank in search engine results.

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Google Business Profile

The first step towards ranking well in search engine results is to have a Google Business Profile. A Google Business Profile is a free listing that shows up in Google Maps and Google Search. It provides essential information about the business, such as the address, phone number, hours of operation, website, and reviews.

Local businesses must sign up for Google My Business to create a Google Business Profile. Once the profile is set up, it is essential to keep it updated. This means adding new photos, responding to reviews, and keeping the business information current. When Google sees that a business is actively managing its Google Business Profile, it is more likely to rank that business higher in search engine results.

Reviews and Ratings

Reviews and ratings are crucial in determining where a business ranks in search engine results. This is because search engines like Google prioritize businesses with positive reviews and ratings. Therefore, local businesses should encourage their customers to leave reviews on their Google Business Profile.

Businesses can encourage customers to leave reviews by asking for them after purchase or by including a request in their email signature. It is essential to respond to all reviews, whether positive or negative. Responding to reviews shows that the business is actively engaged with its customers and provides an opportunity to address any negative feedback.

Quality Content

Another key factor in ranking well in search engine results is having quality content on the business’s website. Quality content refers to information that is relevant, informative, and engaging. Local businesses should focus on creating content tailored to their target audience and providing value to them.

For example, a local restaurant could create blog posts about its history, recipes, and ingredients. A local salon could create blog posts about the latest hair and beauty trends. When businesses create quality content, they are more likely to attract website visitors, which can help improve their search engine ranking.

Internal Linking

Internal linking refers to the practice of linking to other pages on the same website. Internal linking is crucial because it helps search engines understand the structure of the website and the relationship between the pages. It also helps visitors navigate the website more easily.

Local businesses should ensure that all pages on their website are linked to each other in a logical and intuitive way. For example, a local clothing store could link from its homepage to its product pages and from its product pages to its checkout page. When businesses have a well-organized website with internal links, it can help improve their search engine ranking.

Webpage and Website Optimization

Webpage and website optimization refer to the practice of making changes to a website to improve its search engine ranking. Many website optimization techniques include keyword research, meta descriptions, and title tags.

Keyword research involves identifying the keywords that people use when searching for businesses like yours. Local businesses should ensure that their website content includes these keywords, but they should avoid keyword stuffing, which is the practice of adding too many keywords to a page.

Meta descriptions and title tags are HTML elements that provide information about a web page. Local businesses should ensure that their meta descriptions and title tags are unique and descriptive and include relevant keywords.

Inbound Links

Inbound links, or backlinks, refer to links from other websites that point to your website. Inbound links are important because they signal to search engines that other websites consider your website to be valuable.

10 best practices for SEO – Search Engine Optimization

10 best practices for SEO – Search Engine Optimization

by | Jan 31, 2023 | SEO Best Practices

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10 best practices for SEO – Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a critical aspect of any digital marketing strategy. It is a process of improving the visibility of a website on search engine result pages (SERPs). SEO is a complex task that requires a lot of dedication and effort to ensure success. 

SEO Best practices by ZanDesign

 To help you get started on the right foot, here are the top 10 best practices for SEO search engine optimization:

1. Optimize Your Page Titles and Meta Descriptions

Optimizing your page titles and meta descriptions is important to ensure that your website is found in search engine results. Page titles and meta descriptions are used by search engines to understand what your website is about and to display in search engine results. Page titles should be descriptive, and should include the most important keywords related to your topic. This will help search engines to understand the content of your page and provide the best results for users. Meta descriptions should also include important keywords, and should clearly explain what the page is about. Meta descriptions should also be concise, so that users can quickly understand what the page is about without having to read too much. Optimizing page titles and meta descriptions can help to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results, which can lead to more website traffic and better search engine rankings.

2. Use Heading Tags to Show Hierarchy

The use of heading tags helps to establish a hierarchy within content on a web page. This hierarchy is useful for both the user and search engines, as it communicates the structure of the page and helps to prioritize content for SEO.
<h1>Heading 1</h1>
<h2>Heading 2</h2>
<h3>Heading 3</h3>
<h4>Heading 4</h4>
<h5>Heading 5</h5>
<h6>Heading 6</h6>
Heading 1 is the highest level of content. It should be used for the main title of the page.
Heading 2 is used for subheadings, and typically follows Heading 1.
Heading 3 is used for sub-subheadings, and typically follows Heading 2.
Heading 4, Heading 5 and Heading 6 are used for further subheadings, and typically follow Heading 3.

Using heading tags helps to clearly communicate the structure of a page to search engine crawlers, which can help improve a page’s ranking in search engine results. It also helps to prioritize content on the page, so that the most important content is given the highest priority.

3. Use Internal Links to Promote Your Content

Internal links are links that connect two pages within the same website. They are used to promote content and create a navigational hierarchy within the website. Internal links help search engine crawlers find content on a website and index it for search engine rankings. They are also useful for direct users to specific pages on a website. Using internal links to promote content for SEO is important because it creates an internal network of links that help search engine crawlers understand the structure of a website. Additionally, it helps users easily find related content and encourages them to stay on the website longer, which can lead to more page views. This can have a positive effect on the website’s overall SEO ranking. When creating internal links, it is important to use keywords in the anchor text. This helps search engine crawlers understand what each page is about and can improve rankings. Additionally, the links should be relevant to the content they are linking to and should be placed strategically throughout the page. Using internal links to promote content for SEO is an effective way to improve a website’s ranking and encourage user engagement. When done right, it can create a positive SEO ranking and improve the overall user experience.

4. Optimize Your Site for Mobile Users

Optimizing your site for mobile users for SEO involves making sure that your website is optimized for all types of devices, including smartphones and tablets. This includes making sure that the content on your website is responsive so that it looks good on all devices, as well as making sure that the page load time is fast. Additionally, you should make sure that your website is optimized for voice search by using structured data and using keywords that are more likely to be used in voice searches. Finally, you should make sure that your website is optimized for local SEO by using location-specific keywords and making sure that the site is properly indexed for local searches.

5. Create Quality Content

Creating quality content for SEO is essential for achieving good search engine rankings. Quality content should provide users with relevant, accurate, and useful information about the topic at hand. It should be well-written and optimized for search engine algorithms. Quality content should also include relevant keywords, internal and external links, and multimedia to enhance the user experience. Quality content should be regularly updated to keep up with changing trends, and should be optimized for mobile devices and presented in an easy-to-understand format. Quality content should also be optimized for voice search, as more people are using voice search to find information online. Finally, quality content should be shareable, to increase its visibility and drive more traffic to your website.

6. Use Strategic Keywords

Strategic keywords are the words or phrases that people use when searching for a product or service. They are usually single words, but can also be longer phrases. They are strategically chosen to help optimize your website for organic search engine optimization (SEO) and help increase your visibility in search engine results pages (SERPs). When used correctly, strategic keywords can help your website rank higher and increase your website’s traffic. Strategic keywords should be chosen based on their relevance to your website and the products or services you offer, as well as their search volume. The higher the search volume, the more potential customers you could have. Additionally, strategic keywords should also be used in titles, meta descriptions, image alt tags, and other areas of your website in order to increase the visibility of your website in SERPs.

7. Submit Your Site to Search Engines

Submitting your site to search engines is an important step in optimizing your website for SEO. By submitting your website to search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, you are giving the search engine permission to crawl and index your website, making it more likely to appear in search engine results. Submitting your site also helps the search engines understand what your website is about so they can properly categorize it and display it in relevant search results.

8. Use Structured Data

Structured data is a way of organizing data that allows search engines to better understand it. It helps search engines to better understand a website’s content and can help to boost its visibility within search engine results pages (SERPs). Structured data can be used to mark up content with HTML, RDFa, or microdata to provide additional information about the content to search engines. Structured data can help search engines to categorize content more accurately, display more relevant results, and increase the visibility of content within search engine results. This can lead to an increase in organic traffic and higher rankings in SERPs.

9. Optimize Your Site for Local Search

Optimizing your site for local search for SEO involves making sure your website contains all the necessary information to be easily found by local searchers. This includes optimizing your website for local keywords, such as the name of your city, region, or state. You should also include your business’s name, address, and phone number in all of your webpages, as well as in the metadata and code. Additionally, you should make sure that your website is properly optimized for mobile users, as many local searches are conducted from mobile devices. Finally, you should create local landing pages for each of the areas you serve, as this will help you more effectively target local searchers.

10. Get Quality Backlinks

Getting quality backlinks for SEO purposes is an important part of any successful search engine optimization campaign. Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. They can be acquired through various methods such as content creation, guest blogging, and directory submissions. Quality backlinks are those that come from authoritative and relevant websites, and they help to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results. Quality backlinks can also increase the trustworthiness of your website, helping it to rank better in the SERPs.