While it's clear that small businesses don't have the marketing budgets of the big chains, there are still plenty of local SEO tactics and strategies that small businesses can implement that are sure to have a significant impact on their SEO. In some cases, these strategies may even allow them to compete with major national brands.
There are several variables at work here, but the following are the most crucial:
Flexibility: Smaller businesses can be more agile, make decisions faster, and implement sweeping updates to their online visibility without going through multiple departments for approval.
Personality: Today, consumers often side with small local businesses. They are not as focused on doing business with more established franchise businesses but are ultimately faceless.
Approach: Major brands have a plethora of moving parts and with them comes a flood of different metrics to analyze and gather insights from. Meanwhile, small businesses with a laser focus on local SEO tactics can often show up in searches due to their ability to excel in a few key areas.
What do I mean when I say that local SEO methods are the focus? In this article, I'll cover 10 of the most effective ways local businesses can improve their online search performance without breaking the bank.
1. Ask for reviews whenever you can
The quantity, quality, and speed of online reviews play a bigger role than ever in determining how your business ranks in Google Local Pack and Google Maps search results.
So this means it needs revisions. If you don't have the budget for a review management system or an agency to handle the process, don't worry! The key to generating new reviews is simply asking for them, wherever and whenever possible.
You can create a short link, using a tool like bit.ly, and place it anywhere: cash receipts, invoices, email footers, an in-store kiosk, business cards, in-store signage, etc. And Then there's the time-tested option of asking in person after a transaction. You may have noticed that most of these are free and only require updating existing assets.
Regardless of how you do it, the important thing is to keep asking and never let the fear of negative feedback stop you.
2. Respond to reviews whenever you can
One of the things that makes a customer more likely to leave a review for you is seeing your responses to other reviewers. It makes sense that they'd be more likely to review your business if they know they'll get a "thank you."
Be sure to respond to all reviews if you have time, and if not, focus on reviewers asking questions or leaving a lot of detail. Consider the effort the customer will have put into leaving the review and try to match that in your response.
3. Get accurate and consistent business data
While it doesn't play as big a role in local rankings as it once did, the industry agrees that a clean and consistent business profile is still a ranking factor for local search.
Managing business listings for a small business is incredibly convenient because, more than anything, it simply takes time rather than skill. You can hire an agency to handle it for you or use one of the many citation management services available. Optimizing your business listing profile is a critical task that all local small businesses must undertake.
4. Get local links by donating to your community
Donating to charity is probably the most expensive tactic on this list, but it more than makes up for it in terms of its importance to local SEO. Links are the backbone of search engine algorithms, so investing in them is vital.
But when I say "invest," I don't just mean "buy links." Buying links is a well-known tactic that Google strongly discourages. They spend huge amounts of resources investigating and subsequently ignoring instances of paid links.
This makes link generation difficult for all types of businesses. However, it is a bit easier for small local businesses because they are not that interested in high DA websites. What is most important when classifying these types of businesses is how "local" the connections are.
For example, a nofollow link from a community-led sports group won't make a difference to Amazon. However, this type of location is essential to establish and demonstrate a relationship of trust between two local businesses in the same area.
So set aside a small budget to sponsor local sports teams, events, and volunteer at charities and ask them to link to their site. Really caring about your local community is the best thing you can do for your business website link profile as it will improve your organic and local rankings.
5. Upload quality images to your Google business profile
If you are a small business, you will certainly be familiar with the Google Business Profile (GBP). The most important aspect of local rankings is GBP optimization (this should come as no surprise considering your GBP listing is what ranks in local search results).
There are a few convenient ways to easily optimize this list, which I'll discuss below, but this is an area worth investing more in if you can afford it. GBP, as a Google tool, is constantly evolving, so partnering with a GBP professional to keep your listing up to date is a smart buy for any local business.
By having multiple photos of your business on your listing, you will be able to better engage with a user when they are trying to find a business to visit. So uploading more photos to your GBP is essential. Almost every cell phone on the market comes with a high-quality camera, so it should be easy to take high-quality photos of your business or services for your GBP.
6. Ask and answer questions on the Google Q&A Company Profile
Google Q&A isn't a new feature at all, but it's understandable if you haven't seen it in search. It's a feature underutilized by criminals, even if it gives businesses another chance to engage with their customers.
The key is not to sit back and wait for people to ask questions about your business or encourage them to do so. The trick is to use the questions and answers yourself, asking and answering the most frequently asked questions to create a kind of off-site FAQ for your business.
7. Verify the correct Google Company Profile category
You may have chosen a primary and secondary business category when setting up your Google business profile. However, Google is adding more and more niche categories to the available list.
This presents a cost-effective opportunity to optimize your GBP listing for greater relevance to local searches. All you need to do is change your subcategory, see if the change significantly affects performance by looking at your GBP Insights data, and keep it if it has a positive impact.
8. Include your name, address and phone number prominently on your website
Moving away from external elements like GBP and reviews, let's talk a little about what you can do on your local business website to improve search results.
First, your NAP (name, address, phone number) must be prominently added to your website on key pages. This is important so that the visitor can easily validate the location of the business, but also because (provided it matches the business details you have listed in GBP), it is a sign that the website is accurate.
Businesses that serve an emergency need, such as plumbers, pesticides, or locksmiths, should make their phone number one of the most visible and conspicuous elements on their website, as this is the information panicked visitors want to find. immediately.
9. Add the FAQ template to your website
One of the newest interactive elements breaking organic SERPs is FAQs. Businesses with the FAQ schema markup will find the opportunity to answer questions and generate interest in their own organic results. Competitors without this feature may not capture the researcher's attention.
It doesn't have to get too technical, but if you're nervous about messing with your website code, don't worry: it's relatively simple to add a pattern to the FAQ on your site, so your web developer shouldn't be charged. a big problem for this job.
10. Find help and inspiration in the Google Business Profile Help Community
My last piece of advice is completely free: join the Google Business Profile Help Community and search there every day for tips, tricks and answers to your GBP questions.
Answers come from established product experts and, for the most part, experienced Googlers, so your questions are in good hands.
And while you're bookmarking helpful sites, join the Local Search Forum, the Internet's premier resource for free local search information and discussions.
I hope I have shown above that improving your small business SEO is not as expensive as you might have thought. Good luck increasing your ranking and generating more business!
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