Is Local SEO Important for My Berry Business?

August 27, 2015 webics SEO

At Berry Website Design, one of our specialisations is assisting our customers with Search Engine Optimisation, generally referred to as SEO. When researching SEO, it’s easy for a business owner to feel overwhelmed by the many elements that go into optimising websites for search engines.

When it comes to SEO, there are countless strategies and tactics that successfully bring in more website traffic and yield an increase in potential customers. But simply getting web users to your site isn’t enough. If you’re a local business of any size in Berry or another area of New South Wales, your primary focus is, of course, selling your products or services to real customers. If this is the case, your business needs to be investing in local SEO. This will be vital to your success, helping you outshine your competitors and stay ahead of the game.

Local SEO: The Why

Do you have a business or service with a physical address, serving a local area? Then local SEO is for you.

When consumers are looking for a product or service, they no longer open up a phone book for the answer. Instead, they head online, and often via mobile device. Today’s non-stop, multitasking lifestyle means many people are often on the go when searching for information. A quick Google search brings up the results that are physically closest by (and which rank high in terms of local SEO). The Internet helps these individuals locate the nearest hair salon, electrician, or restaurant. It’s clear that to make an impact on your region’s citizens, you’ll need to work with strategies that are effective for local searches.

Local SEO: The How

Emphasising local SEO is a significant way to get the most from your local market. One tactic that we like to employ at Berry Website Design is local link building.

Links to your business website from other websites are of great importance. These backlinks, particularly when coming from high authority domains, help you rank higher in searches. This means when customers go looking for your type of business, you are increasingly likely to show up on the front page of that Google search. A key element is to build your own links on other popular local listing sites. Bing Places, Yahoo Local, Foursquare, and Yelp, among others, will assist your business in boosting its SEO and getting recognised as a legitimate and established business in the Berry region. And, the more local listings you provide for your small businesses, the more trusted and reliable the links become, and the result is that search engines find you more easily. This is key to drawing in business.

What Else Should I Know?

Expanding your local SEO reach depends on several additional factors. One of these is consistency. Across different listing sites, your address, business name, and telephone number should be identical. This gives search engines a bit of help when it comes to identifying your business. You should list this vital info (sometimes known as NAP) clearly on every page of your website itself as well.

What About Keywords?

SEO is not only about links, it’s also about content. One of the major focuses of content is incorporating the right keywords. If you are a landscaper, for example, your website will naturally include keywords such as landscaping, lawn mowing, tree trimming, and other related terms. Ranking for terms is aided by their consistent appearance within your content (particularly if the content is high-quality and reliable).

Optimising for local SEO goes one step further, however. In this case, you’ll want to include additional terms alongside your keywords. For example, our company will choose to include “web design Berry” as a keyword phrase, as opposed to attempting to rank only for “web design.” Keywords are important throughout the content of your site, blog, and even in meta descriptions, IMG tags, and even the URL itself. It’s best to consult with your local SEO experts for ways to implement these keywords properly.

Still not convinced?

We’d love to talk more with you about the importance of local SEO for your Berry business. Get in touch with our knowledgeable and friendly team today.