5 Web Optimizations for Local Businesses

Local businesses have it easy when it comes to search engine optimization.

Yes, I mean what I said.

Local businesses often have far less competition than national brands for relevant search terms. Additionally, in our experience we’ve found that so many local businesses put zero effort into local SEO.

What that means is that there is a lot of opportunity for people who are willing to learn even a little bit about search engine optimization and implement what they learn.

To say that we’ve worked with quite a few local businesses on their websites would be an understatement. Between our experience working on local websites and consulting with local businesses about ways they can optimize their websites, we’ve put together a list of things that we would focus on if we were running a local business.

This list contains those things that we think would make the biggest impact if we were running a local business. It’s the list that we would put together if were following the 80/20 rule. It’s not comprehensive, but we think it would still make a big impact.

Our Recommended SEO Optimizations for Local Businesses

1. Focus on Google Reviews (and Optimize your Google Business Profile)

Positive Google reviews makes it more likely for a local business to appear in Google’s Local Pack (those top three results in the map). And they also make it more likely that a potential customer will give your business a shot.

Getting reviews is not hard work. It simply requires a system. My dentist sends me an automated text message after every appointment asking for my experience. A local boutique sends an automated email a few days after every purchase. 

Guess what these businesses have in common? 

A lot of reviews.

And they also happen to hold one of the top spots for Google searches related to what they do.

Optimizing a Google Business Profile really only needs to be done once (and then, of course, updated as needed). It’s really as simple as making sure all of the applicable fields are completed.

2. Focus on Local PR (public relations)

Getting national exposure is nice, especially if it comes with a backlink from a high authority domain. But for most local businesses, getting recognized or featured locally is even better for their bottom lines.

In this interview with PR expert Dr. Tiffany Eurich, she told a story about how a local feature ended up driving far more inquiries than a national feature.

If we were running a local business, we’d try to build relationships with every local business that works in relevant industries. If we were dentists, we’d try to get to know every orthodontist and doctor in town. If we were wedding photographers, we’d try to get to know every wedding planner and wedding venue in town.

PR doesn’t necessarily mean paying for ads in a local magazine or getting featured on a local blog, although those things can be helpful. We definitely would focus on building as many local backlinks as possible.

It can also mean sending a thoughtful gift to someone asking them what you could do for them. Relationships are important—for all businesses, but especially for local businesses.

3. Google Advertising

If we had the budget to run Google Ads for searches related to what we do, we would. 

Businesses just starting out might not have the budget for this and that’s okay. But if you do, it can be an effective way to kickstart visibility, especially for a new business that’s not yet ranking in Google’s search results.

The other benefit of running Google Ads is that it might give you some insight into what sorts of searches people conduct as they’re getting ready to purchase a product or service.

In general, I’d be more inclined to run Google Ads if I was a local service-based business than product business. 

4. Create a Page for Every Service

Someone recently recommended I seek out a chiropractor who offers a service called dry-needling. 

So what did I do?

I searched for something along the lines of “chiropractor dry-needling.”

As you might imagine, the first results included chiropractors who had pages on their website devoted to dry-needling as a service. The pages typically included some information about dry needling like the benefits, what to expect, and how long it takes to see results.

Other service providers can take a similar approach by creating content-rich pages around their services. It makes it more likely that a page from your website will appear in Google’s search results for searches related to those services.

5. Optimize Page Structure

This might sound technical, but we’ll give you the skinny here (again, following the 80/20 rule). After you’ve created content, be sure to do the following:

• Give the page a relevant title (e.g. “Downtown Lexington Dry Needling – Jones Chiropractic Group”)
• Use keyword-rich heading tags
• Ensure the content you’ve written is truly helpful. There is no magic word count number, but we’d strive for at least 800 words.
• Include a call-to-action or contact form (if it makes sense to include one on the page)

If we were running a local business, those are the web-related things that we would focus most of our time and energy on.

As I mentioned, many local businesses put very little time and effort into optimizing their web presence. A little consistency can go a long way. Systems around content creation and gathering reviews, for instance, make consistency more attainable. It likely won’t take long to see results, and if you stay consistent, you can put considerable distance between you and your competitors in a relatively short amount of time!

Find it Quickly (In the Episode):

0:00 Intro
2:30 Website consultations
3:15 What your website can do vs what you need it to do
4:34 5 things local businesses should focus on when it comes to your website
5:16 Revisit Google Business Listing
7:40 Get reviews
10:02 Website structure
12:39 Website designer to help organize content
14:36 Page Structure
15:34 Give your page an optimized title
20:27 Local PR
22:36 Google Ads
23:07 Create content on a weekly basis

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

Krista’s Website
Google Business Listing
Youtube plugin review
Showit SEO title
WordPress SEO plugin
Heading tags
Heading hierarchy
Youtube channel
SEO course
Davey and Krista blog