Did you know that more than one-third of small businesses still lack a website? However, according to one study, nearly 60% of these small business owners want to have a website. They stop short, however, because the complicated process of building one overwhelms them. In this new article, we offer local SEO advice.

Now, having a basic website and web presence is preferable to having none. And if you already have a website for your company, you’re already ahead of a lot of others. However, if you want to drive as much traffic as possible to that site, you must adhere to local SEO guidelines.

Customers looking for a nearby solution can find your company using local SEO. That means more visibility, more customers, and more revenue for you.

But how can you improve your local SEO and become more visible on the web? This guide will walk you through eight local SEO tips that will help your business grow in 2022 and beyond.

Finding ready-to-buy locals on the web doesn’t have to be a difficult process. And, if you use the right local SEO strategy (and keep up with emerging SEO trends), your company can see more growth than you ever imagined possible.

Below are the ten first steps you can take to start boosting your local SEO today.
1.Create a Google Business Profile
If you’re new to local SEO, you’re probably wondering how to get your company listed on Google

If you only do one thing to improve your local SEO, make it a Google Business Profile listing. By doing so, you are essentially listing yourself in the internet’s yellow pages. Furthermore, this is one of the most important factors influencing local SEO.

Some other Google Business Profile SEO tips include:

Invest time in creating a great business description
List the products and services you provide
Publish frequent and engaging posts
Increase the number of reviews on your Google My Business page
Include frequently asked questions and responses.
2. Put Your Location in Strategic Parts of Your Site
It is inadequate to simply list your location on your website. To improve your SEO, strategically place your location information.

When a page lists information about your services or products make sure your location is listed in five specific places. These are some examples:

The Headers
The Body Copy
The Title Tag
The Meta Description
The Footer
3. Makesureyou’reusing the Right Keywords
When you use keywords as part of your local SEO solutions, you must use the keywords that people use when conducting searches.

Keyword research can help you discover what people are looking for. Online tools such as Ahrefs (our favourite) and Semrush can help you determine which keywords are most relevant to your industry and brand. This can also show you how much competition there is for ranking for various keywords.

Keyword research can assist you in locating keyword phrases that are frequently searched but not overly competitive to rank for. This is how you can improve your overall SEO and boost your search results.

4. Encourage Customers to Write Online Reviews
You offer a valuable service or product to your community, and as a result, you have a long list of satisfied, repeat customers. These customers are invaluable in terms of promoting your brand to others in the area, and the best way to capitalise on their loyalty to your company is to encourage them to write online reviews.

There are numerous methods for encouraging customers to write and leave reviews for your brand. You can ask customers for feedback interact with existing online reviews for your business, give them an incentive to leave a review (note: if you go this route, you are incentivizing reviews in general, not just good reviews), and use surveys.

5. Optimize Reviews on Google Maps Page
Google reviews are critical for small businesses. The higher your business ranks in local search results, the more reviews it has. Small businesses frequently struggle to obtain reviews—or, worse, receive negative feedback! You can, however, optimise your Google Maps page so that people will leave reviews for you naturally. You can even take it a step further by encouraging positive feedback through your email marketing campaigns.

6. Remove Low Quality Listings
Every industry, especially when it comes to local search, has its own set of local directories. However, if you are an active business in your industry with a functional website, there is no need to list yourself on low-quality sites. By removing low-quality listings, you can also protect your reputation and have more control over where potential customers find information about your company. For any manual cleanup of citations across multiple sites, we recommend using Whitespark Local Citation Finder.

7.Quality Links from Relevant Sites
Increasing the number of quality links from relevant sites is one of the simplest ways to boost your local business website’s ranking in local search results. The key word here is significant because Google has stated unequivocally that they intend to penalise sites that attempt to game their system. That is why, when developing link building strategies for your website, you want high-quality links from high-quality websites.

8. Optimize Your Site for Mobile
Optimizing your site for mobile is really important for having good SEO in general. In particular, it’s even more optimizing your site for mobile is critical for overall SEO success. It is especially important when it comes to local SEO.

Why is this the case? According to Google’s own statistics, roughly one-third of mobile searches are location-related. This means that many people in your area will be searching for your service on a mobile device.

When your website does not function properly on smartphones or other mobile devices, you are likely to lose a significant number of potential customers. Using an unoptimized site for mobile devices is inconvenient, impractical, and lacks confidence. If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, potential customers will likely move on to a local competitor’s website, which is mobile-friendly.

9. Optimize Your Site Images
Keeping your entries fresh is a simple tip that can dramatically improve your search engine ranking. Search engines use a variety of factors to determine how authoritative a specific website is on a given topic, one of which is how frequently you update content on your site.

10.Submit Your Website to Local Directories
Keeping your entries up to date is a simple tip that can significantly boost your search engine ranking. Search engines use a variety of factors to determine how authoritative a specific website is on a given topic, one of which is the frequency with which you update your site’s content.

You should register with global and national directories such as:

Angie’s List (now Angi)
Foursquare
Bing Maps
Look for business directories that are specific to your area as well. This will assist you in improving your search rankings and ensuring that new leads are always able to find you.

Frequently Asked Questions
The following are some of the most frequently asked questions about improving local SEO by business owners like you.

Who Needs Local SEO?
Almost every business can benefit from improving their local SEO. Part of this is due to the widespread use of Google today. Another factor is that people who look for local businesses are more likely to purchase sooner than others.

However, some businesses stand to benefit more from local SEO than others, such as:

Medical services
Lawyers’ offices
Bars and restaurants
Plumbers
Property ownership
We also know from our valued clients that local SEO benefits these home improvement businesses significantly.

How Can I Improve My Local SEO?
The first step is to implement the eight local SEO tips in this article.

Establish a Google Business Profile listing.
Place your location in strategic areas of your website.
Double-check that you’re using the correct keywords.
Encourage customers to leave online feedback.
Optimize local SEO with local content 6. Mobile-optimize your site
List your website in local directories.
Maintain your NAP information.
You should also develop a solid local SEO strategy.


How Do I Find Local SEO?
Finding the best local SEO service for your company can be difficult if you don’t know what to look for.

Here are a few pointers to help you ensure you’re only working with the best local SEO agencies.

Know how to spot over-promising
Understand their strategies and tactics
Always check reviews and references
Come in with clear goals in mind
Understand reasonable (and unreasonable) timelines
Demand full transparency
Build up your own basic SEO knowledge
Ask for a technical and search audit upfront
Look for agencies that want to learn about your business
Looking For Local SEO Experts in St. Louis? You’ve come to the Right Place!
If you want to grow your business in 2022, you must invest in local SEO. While it is possible to improve your own SEO, it may be more cost effective to hire a local SEO service. This way, you can delegate responsibility for ensuring your website’s maximum reach while you focus on what’s important: running your business. Shinescript understands the importance of local SEO marketing, so contact us for a free consultation.