{"id":20678,"date":"2022-05-05T14:12:34","date_gmt":"2022-05-05T13:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.improvemysearchranking.com\/?p=20678"},"modified":"2024-10-16T16:10:06","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T15:10:06","slug":"a-quick-15-point-checklist-for-local-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.improvemysearchranking.com\/a-quick-15-point-checklist-for-local-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"A quick 15-point checklist for Local SEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

A comprehensive local SEO strategy<\/a> is crucial for any local business that wants to expand its digital reach. Almost 50 percent of all Google searches have local intent<\/a>.\u00a0 Therefore, it is vital for you to have a solid presence online, and there is no better way to do that than having a robust SEO strategy in place.<\/p>\n

However, how do you ensure that your website\u2019s local SEO is good enough?<\/p>\n

The following 15-point checklist will serve as a good starting point to make sure that everything important is in order.<\/p>\n

1. Contact page<\/h2>\n

A contact page is important for most businesses \u2014 but it is incredibly important for local businesses who want more enquiries and leads.<\/p>\n

Create a contact page on your website and make sure it is easily accessible through the main navigation as well as the footer of the website. It is also recommended to link to the contact page from various other internal pages, e.g., product pages and blog posts.<\/p>\n

2. NAP<\/h2>\n

NAP is of utmost importance for local SEO. On your contact page, make sure to include the complete business name, business address, and business phone number for all your business locations.<\/p>\n

NAP consistency plays a huge role in determining how your website performs in local search rankings.<\/p>\n

3. Google Map<\/h2>\n

It is also a good practice to add a Google Map to the Contact page. This makes it easier for website visitors to find your business location.\u00a0 Higher user engagement and better user experience may send positive signals for SEO.<\/p>\n

4. Clickable phone numbers<\/h2>\n

Make sure all the phone numbers on your website are clickable. It is not uncommon for many local business websites to receive more than 50% of traffic via mobile devices. They should be able to make a call right away.<\/p>\n

5. Structure data<\/h2>\n

Make it easier for Google to find what\u2019s on the different pages on your website by implementing structured data markup<\/a>. Structured data is even more important to local businesses because of the different elements they may have, e.g., business photos, reviews and ratings, testimonials, product photos, events, phone numbers, etc.<\/p>\n

6. High-quality content<\/h2>\n

If you were to prioritize one thing, make sure it is high-quality content for your website.<\/p>\n

Content is king, and there is no substitute for that. No matter how good your site\u2019s technical SEO is, if the content isn\u2019t good enough, it can\u2019t achieve sustainable search rankings on Google\u2019s first page.<\/p>\n

As a general rule, your content should be better than the top five pages on Google\u2019s first page for any given keyword.<\/p>\n

7. Meta content optimisation<\/h2>\n

While meta descriptions may not directly affect search rankings anymore, they can still play an important role in helping with the organic click-through rate. On the other hand, meta titles can have a direct impact on search rankings.<\/p>\n

We highly recommend optimising both meta titles and meta descriptions for each page on your website.<\/p>\n

8. Long-tail keywords<\/h2>\n

Long-tail keywords generally have less search volume and competition. They may not bring a lot of traffic, but these keywords are relatively easier to rank for and usually have a higher conversion rate.<\/p>\n

When you are making your keyword and content strategy, make sure to also focus on long-tail keywords.<\/p>\n

9. Citations<\/h2>\n

NAP citations are incredibly important. You can add manual or automatic citations by using a third-party tool or service, e.g., MozLocal.<\/p>\n

10. Google My Business listing<\/h2>\n

There is immense value in having a strong Google My Business listing. It is easy to set up, takes less than an hour, and can amplify your business\u2019s reach tenfold.<\/p>\n

11. SEO-friendly URLs<\/h2>\n

If your webpage URLs look like www.yourwebsite.com\/akshdyfp_1zng.html<\/a>, then you have work to do.<\/p>\n

URLs should be SEO-friendly. In other words, they should not be a random string of characters. Instead, add keywords to your URL that aptly describes your page to search engines and website visitors, e.g., www.yourwebsite.com\/products\/gardening\/indoor-bonsai-plant-purple<\/a>.<\/p>\n

12. Internal links<\/h2>\n

Create internal links to and from important pages. Internal links make it easier for Google to find different web pages on your site.<\/p>\n

13. Technical SEO<\/h2>\n

The technical SEO foundation of your website also plays an important role in how well it eventually performs on the search engine results pages (SERPs).<\/p>\n

Technical SEO includes many different things that you need to take care of, for example:<\/p>\n