Carry out these tasks to improve your local SEO . At Web Positioning Salamanca we know that being positioned in search engines for local searches is important for most businesses. By following these optimization tips and having a good strategy you will achieve your goals. A correct investment of your time and resources will ensure a good return on your investment.
Basic optimization of your website
It is no secret that nowadays users are increasingly browsing from their mobile devices. Even Google has decided to take into account the mobile version of the site for search results. Therefore, being mobile-friendly is no longer an option but an obligation.
1. Mobile optimization
Aside from having a responsive design, there are other tasks you need to carry out. To keep your website optimized, you should avoid using pop-ups and overlays that hinder the experience of mobile users.
Test your site to see if it is mobile-friendly. The Google or Bing test are one of the best options to check if these search engines approve your site's optimization.
2. Optimize loading speed
The loading times of a site are crucial for search engines and also for users. It is estimated that:
70% of users are less likely to repeat a purchase on a site with a slow loading speed.
How to optimize loading times?
Reduce server response times to less than 300 milliseconds.
Enables Gzip compression and browser caching.
Compresses images to the correct size and format. Also, fills in alt text.
Remove unnecessary plugins and apps.
Minify HTML, JavaScript and CSS.
3. Implement AMP
Still don’t know what AMP is ? Then you are outdated when it comes to SEO and web design . Accelerated Mobile Pages is what is known as the “HTML diet”, a concept created by Google to give users a better experience. It is a current trend for displaying content on the Web.
The first thing you need to do is install and activate an AMP plugin for WordPress. Then, you need to validate your pages using Chrome's developer tools.
More tasks to improve your local SEO: Content
4. Create good content
Content is still king when it comes to SEO. Creating good posts is essential to entertain your audience, get traffic, and capture their attention. Your local SEO can improve if you dedicate the necessary time to this task.
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If your website has old content, an easy task is to start updating it. Find keywords that will help you rank your content.
89% of B2B marketers use content marketing as part of their strategy.
Content isn't just about text, use visual elements like videos and infographics that are relevant to your content. This way you can get more engagement from your audience. And, by including them, people will spend more time on your website.
Content should not be created with search engines in mind, but with the user, your potential reader, in mind. Relate your content to them and to the goal of your website. Within what you publish, use clear calls to action, so that users know what they can get from your site, apart from information.
5. Implement schema markup or microformat
Schema markup is about converting regular HTML tags into rich HTML tags. These provide information that allows search engines to index and organize your content. Failing to do this will result in you missing an opportunity to highlight important parts of your website's content.
Don’t just go with the /localbusiness…. choose a specific schema that describes your business. Check your data markup structure for errors or missing fields, you can use a Google tool for this.
Listing in local directories
6. Optimize Google My Business
Local results are increasingly gaining ground in organic search results. This means you have more and more opportunities to be in front of customers when they search.
It is essential to write correctly in Google My Business what is known in English as NAP, which is name, address and telephone number. In addition, the hours in which the business is open must also be well placed and be consistent.
Choose the appropriate category to list your business , be specific about your industry. Also, add photos of your business, if possible a 360° virtual tour. Other details to add are the payment methods you accept.
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Reviews are an important part of Google My Business, read them and respond to them. Interact with your customers. If they are negative, take your time to analyze them and talk to the customer, do not respond impulsively.
7. Optimize Yahoo Local
Yahoo is a search engine that has been pushed aside by users in cameroon telegram lead of the world in favor of Google. Still, it doesn't hurt to have a presence there, it will help your local SEO. And, for example, if you're targeting audiences in the United States or Canada, this search engine is still popular in that part of the world.
Make sure you're registered correctly, add keywords to your description, and don't forget to include photos of your business. Just like on Google, encourage customers to leave reviews, and take your time responding to those feedbacks.