Unknown: Knock, knock.
You: Who’s there?
Unknown: Tom from next door, silly!
You: I have a neighbor?
We know that marketing online has the ability to push your message far and wide, but make sure not to overlook, downplay, or ignore the buying power of your local market. When running an online business, it’s easy to forget that prospects are right down the street, waiting for YOU to invite them into your inner circle. Take a tip from your brick-and-mortar friends – those who have the advantage of a “built-in” local audience. Give them the attention they deserve, and they just might do the same.
But how do you do it? How can you put yourself front and center and rule your local market? Start with these five local ranking secrets that we designed to help get you on the right path.
All of these secrets revolve around one thing – improving your local rankings. When someone does a Google search (especially on their phone), most of the time they are looking for a local business – a haircut, a doctor, a tire rotation – that is nearby and can provide a timely solution. But to be at the top of their list, they need to be able to find you – fast.
Five Local Ranking Secrets for 2019
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Secret #1: Use Your Competition to Get Ahead
Imagine if you could find out exactly what Google thought was the best digital marketing solution for your local market. Well, you can. All you need to do is perform a Google search for your most important keywords, and you’ll see exactly which websites are generating the top placements in the search results.
In theory, if you were able to replicate your competitors exactly, you could generate the same results. Of course, we don’t want to just copy our competitors – we want to do better, to be better, to create a better strategy.
But – understanding why Google has chosen them for the top spots in the search results is a good first step.
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Secret #2: Power Up Your Backlinking
Linking continues to be part of the Google algorithm and a valuable strategy in 2019. Why? Because Google still looks at links as a vote of approval from other sites.
Your focus should be on the quality and relevance of your links – not the quantity. It is far more valuable to have three high-quality links than ten low-quality ones. Local businesses should consider two major themes in their link building activities: local links and industry relevant links.
Google rewards links that are especially hard to fake, such as links from news organizations and educational establishments. Links like these hold more authority in the eyes of Google and are well worth your effort.
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Secret #3: Never Ignore Your Reviews
As a local business, reviews (and your reputation) are invaluable assets. Positive reviews encourage people to do business with your company and have a massive impact on your overall ranking results. We can no longer simply depend on “word of mouth” referrals, can we?
In fact, soliciting positive local reviews is one of the most effective ways to improve your overall local ranking results.
According to the 2018 Moz Local Search Ranking Factors report, reviews are thought to have a 15% impact on how the search engines rank your site. Beyond your search ranking, reviews are often the first thing people will see when Googling your business. It’s a powerful first impression that you cannot ignore.
Secret #4: Attract Local Clients With GMB
Google My Business evolved a lot during 2018 and can now be thought of as a new social media platform focused specifically on local business.
Unlike Google’s failed attempt at social media with Google+, they are serious about making Google My Business an important part of the search landscape. Nowhere is this more apparent than on mobile search – where Google My Business posts are often highlighted at the top of the local results for a business.
So the question is… do GMB posts have an impact on local results? The answer is a resounding “Yes.”
Google is expanding what you can do with posts, allowing you to post photos, videos, promotional offers, and several call-to-action options.
Secret #5: Leverage Your Powerful GMB “Homepage”
Your Google My Business profile is critical to your local search success. In fact, Google has been quietly building out their GMB profiles so that they provide more and more valuable information, making your GMB profile as important as your website.
If you don’t have a profile – or you’re not sure if you do – check by heading over to the Google My Business page. Here, you can enter all your business information, including business name, address, number, etc.
The last thing you want to do is create a duplicate listing, so be sure to check before creating a new profile!
Whether you’re creating a new profile right now, or already have yours in place, download our full PDF below to learn how to leverage and get the most out of it.
Getting Started
These five secrets are just the beginning! We have an entire eBook dedicated to local ranking secrets (21 secrets, in fact). However, if you are just getting rolling, these five secrets are a great place to start.
Ranking locally may seem overwhelming, but bit by bit, as you follow these secrets, you will begin to see improvement. If the needle is not moving as fast as you expected, our team can give you a complimentary SEO analysis (yours to keep) to help get you started.
Click here to send us an email or you can also use the live chat in the lower right-hand corner to talk to an expert.
Until next week, happy ranking!
