{"id":9962,"date":"2023-06-16T13:45:54","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T13:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/local-seo-in-2023-5-simple-ways-to-dominate-local-search\/"},"modified":"2023-06-16T13:45:54","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T13:45:54","slug":"local-seo-in-2023-5-simple-ways-to-dominate-local-search","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/local-seo-in-2023-5-simple-ways-to-dominate-local-search\/","title":{"rendered":"Local SEO in 2023: 5 simple ways to dominate local search"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/local-seo-hierarchy-needs-396019\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">local SEO<\/a>, it\u2019s more important than ever that you optimize your on-site and off-site <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/guide\/what-is-seo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SEO<\/a> strategies for clients and customers searching for your local business. <\/p>\n<p>Local competition is hotter than ever, and if you\u2019re not on top of your rankings, you can bet your competitors are.<\/p>\n<p>Here are five local SEO tactics you can use to help your business rank higher for local search terms.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/local-seo-in-2023-5-simple-ways-to-dominate-local-search\/#1_Title_and_description_tags_still_matter\" >1. Title and description tags still matter<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/local-seo-in-2023-5-simple-ways-to-dominate-local-search\/#2_Google_Business_Profile_Claim_and_optimize\" >2. Google Business Profile: Claim and optimize<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/local-seo-in-2023-5-simple-ways-to-dominate-local-search\/#3_Online_reviews_matter\" >3. Online reviews matter<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/local-seo-in-2023-5-simple-ways-to-dominate-local-search\/#4_Build_out_separate_service_pages\" >4. Build out separate service pages<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/local-seo-in-2023-5-simple-ways-to-dominate-local-search\/#5_Online_directories_and_citations\" >5. Online directories and citations<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Title_and_description_tags_still_matter\"><\/span>1. Title and description tags still matter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/title-tag-length-388468\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Title<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/write-meta-description-clicks-428217\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">description<\/a> tags are HTML elements that you can customize to reflect the content of your web pages. The text of your title and description tags is\u00a0displayed\u00a0in search results. <\/p>\n<p>Think of this text as a \u201cmini-ad\u201d that you need to craft carefully.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Your title and description are your one shot at grabbing a searcher\u2019s attention and getting them to click on your links to go to your website \u2013 so put careful thought into what you put in these areas on your web pages. <\/p>\n<p>If your title and description tags are missing or Google thinks they\u2019re not good enough, Google often makes something up or \u201crewrites\u201d them.<\/p>\n<p>Both should describe the contents of the page <em>and<\/em> should include keywords so they stand out on the search result pages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The generally acceptable length for title tags is approximately 50 to 60\u00a0characters, and description tags can be\u00a0approximately 160 to 200 characters. Take advantage of this space and use it wisely.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re not sure how your title and meta description tags will look or how many characters you can get away with, try using an emulator like Yoast\u2019s SEO Plugin\u00a0for WordPress, where you can see what your title and description will look like on both a mobile device and desktop:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Writing titles and descriptions is considered an art in the SEO world. <\/p>\n<p>In a sea of competing search results, if this text isn\u2019t unique, compelling and descriptive, your click-through rate will suffer (which can hurt your rankings). <\/p>\n<p>Additionally, extra words or characters could cut off your text with ellipses (\u2026).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Now, this may not be a true tragedy. Some SEOs even encourage you to go over the recommended max character count. But I think this looks unprofessional, especially when it appears in the middle of a sentence, cutting off your thoughts mid-sentence.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>The lesson? This space is precious, and\u00a0every character counts. Here are some tips:<\/p>\n<p>Never waste space on page names\u00a0or words that\u00a0don\u2019t provide helpful information to the searcher about what your web page \u2013 or business \u2013 is about.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to stand out to local customers, include the name of the city your business is in and\/or the area your business serves (e.g., \u201cServing Iowa City and Cedar Rapids\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>Focus on using one targeted keyword and carefully place that keyword as close to the beginning of the tag as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Remember, if your business shows up in the search results, you have one shot at getting that person to click on your link. <\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t blow it by wasting characters that won\u2019t help convince a searcher your site is worth visiting.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Google_Business_Profile_Claim_and_optimize\"><\/span>2. Google Business Profile: Claim and optimize<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/manage-edit-google-business-profile-from-google-search-385111\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Business Profile<\/a>\u00a0(GBP) is one of the best local SEO strategies for local businesses that meet with customers face to face. <\/p>\n<p>If your business qualifies for a GBP listing, you need to claim <strong>and<\/strong> optimize your Google Business Profile. (It\u2019s one of the best ways to get your company to rank high on Google!)<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Google Business Profile is free, and your business can get incredible exposure if you\u2019re optimized enough to show up in Google\u2019s local three-pack:<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>To claim your Google Business Profile listing, visit\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">google.com\/business<\/a>. There\u2019s a claiming and verification process you\u2019ll need to go through.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This verification process is necessary because Google wants to confirm that your business is a legitimate, real company. The business owner should claim the GBP\u00a0listing. <\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re working with a digital marketing agency on your SEO efforts, you can grant them permission to be a manager of your Business Profile. That way,\u00a0you\u00a0remain in control of your profile if you end your relationship with the agency.<\/p>\n<p>The next step is to optimize \u2013 and continue to improve \u2013 your GBP listing by:<\/p>\n<p>Selecting categories.<\/p>\n<p>Adding business hours.<\/p>\n<p>Writing a solid description.<\/p>\n<p>Uploading photos and videos.<\/p>\n<p>Creating posts.<\/p>\n<p>Answering questions potential customers ask.<\/p>\n<p>Replying to reviews you receive and so on. <\/p>\n<p>Include any products or services you sell.<\/p>\n<p>Google Business Profiles\/Knowledge Panels are full of information about your business, so make sure you fully populate every relevant section to complete your Google Business Profile.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- START INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<div class=\"nl-inline-form border py-2 px-1 my-2\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-3 col-xl-4 pe-md-0 pb-2 pb-lg-0\">\n<p class=\"inline-form-text text-center mb-0\">Get the daily newsletter search marketers rely on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-7 col-xl-6  pe-lg-0\">\n<div class=\"form-nl-inline\">\n<div class=\"row g-0\">\n<div class=\"form-group col-12 col-lg-8 mb-0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-4 col-xl-4 mb-0\">\n<div class=\"d-none\">\n<p>Processing\u2026Please wait.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<button class=\"btn btn-dark inlineButton w-100 rounded-0 font-weight-bold\">SUBSCRIBE<\/button>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-lg-2 col-xl-2 ps-1\">\n<p class=\"text-center mb-0\"><a class=\"nl-terms\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/termsofuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">See terms.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END INLINE FORM --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Online_reviews_matter\"><\/span>3. Online reviews matter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Up to 84% of people trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations, according to BrightLocal&#8217;s 2023 Local Consumer Review Survey,.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/get-reviews-local-seo-383712\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Online reviews<\/a> are like gold to a business \u2013 especially when they are 5-star reviews. Generally, you want at least ten 5-star reviews on your Google Business Profile. But your goal is not to stop there. <\/p>\n<p>You want to continually ask your happy customers to leave reviews. Why? Online reviews are a known ranking factor \u2013 so getting great reviews should be one of your top priorities!<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHigh-quality, positive reviews from your customers can improve your business visibility and increase the likelihood that a shopper will visit your location,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/support.google.com\/business\/answer\/7091#zippy=%2Cmanage-respond-to-reviews:~:text=High-quality%2C%20positive%20reviews%20from%20your%20customers%20can%20improve%20your%20business%20visibility%20and%20increase%20the%20likelihood%20that%20a%20shopper%20will%20visit%20your%20location.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Google states<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Two places where you should focus on getting reviews are\u00a0your Facebook page and your Google Business Profile. These are big ones. <\/p>\n<p>Many people turn to social media to see what their friends and family think about a business, so having good feedback on your business\u2019 Facebook page can help draw\u00a0prospective customers. <\/p>\n<p>Getting positive reviews on your Google Business Profile is crucial because these reviews show up on Google when someone searches for your business.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Whenever a review is left about your business, positive or negative, be sure to respond to it. That shows other people reading the reviews that you, the business owner, care what your customers think.<\/p>\n<p>You can use several reputation marketing software and tool options to track, manage and proactively try to get reviews. Here are some to check out:<\/p>\n<p>GatherUp<\/p>\n<p>TrustPilot<\/p>\n<p>Vendasta<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Build_out_separate_service_pages\"><\/span>4. Build out separate service pages<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you run a service-based business, one of the best things you can do is build out individual pages for <strong>each service <\/strong>you offer instead of just putting a list of your services on one page.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Creating <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/create-service-pages-rank-convert-395583\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">service pages<\/a> allows you to optimize for the location you\u2019re targeting and for keywords associated with the specific service you offer in a much more targeted way.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>Instead of a line list or only having a short paragraph on a \u201cServices\u201d page, you have an entire page to talk about each service that you offer which means you have more content and ways to optimize the text to serve better your readers <strong>and<\/strong> Google (for SEO purposes).<\/p>\n<p>So spend some time creating individual pages for each service that you offer \u2013 even if you only have time to create the pages one at a time. It will be worth it in the end. I promise!<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_Online_directories_and_citations\"><\/span>5. Online directories and citations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s important that you get your business listed correctly and consistently on top online business directories (a.k.a.; citations), like Yelp, Facebook, Merchant Circle, Citysearch and others. <\/p>\n<p>Why? Because online directories often show up high in organic search results. <\/p>\n<p>If your business isn\u2019t listed on these directories, when a potential customer clicks on those links in search results, they won\u2019t find your business\u2019 information.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<\/div>\n<p>You will also want to try and find high-quality<em> local<\/em> directories to get your business listed. <\/p>\n<p>Check with your local newspaper\u2019s website and your Chamber of Commerce to see if they have a local business directory you can get listed on. <\/p>\n<p>You can also search for keywords like \u201c[your city] directory\u201d to find other local citation sites or directories.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s also essential to get your business\u2019s name, address and phone number (NAP) on the major citation data aggregators like\u00a0Foursquare, Data Axle and Neustar Localeze. <\/p>\n<p>Data aggregators take your company\u2019s information and distribute it to hundreds of other online directories!<\/p>\n<p>Always ensure your company\u2019s NAP is consistent on as many of these directories and citation sites as possible.<\/p>\n<p>These five local SEO strategies are just the tip of the iceberg regarding local SEO. Implementing the five local search tactics above will give you a head start on your competition. Get started today!<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/local-seo-dominate-local-search-this-year-428339\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Local SEO in 2023: 5 simple ways to dominate local search<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to\u00a0local SEO, it\u2019s more important than ever that you optimize your on-site and off-site SEO strategies for clients and customers searching for your local business. Local competition is hotter than ever, and if you\u2019re not on top of your rankings, you can bet your competitors are. Here are five local SEO tactics you can use to help your business rank higher for local search terms. 1. Title and description tags still matter Title and description tags are HTML elements that you can customize [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9962\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}