Local SEO Services

What is local website optimization?

man using smartphone to find local businessesMarketing for a local business is different than a national company. Not better or worse, just different.

National and local businesses may have the same goals. They may even target the same audience demographic.

But a potential customer interested in lawn mowers in Texas isn’t going to drive to Wisconsin to purchase. Or for dinner at a Wisconsin restaurant. Or order carpet from a flooring store thousands of miles away. Local franchises are in the same proverbial boat.

But every company should have an online presence, both national and local. This can leave local business owners and sales teams asking, “How can we get our website in front of local customers?”

Trust us. We’ve been asked the question A LOT.

Unfortunately, building a well-designed, easy-to-navigate website is only part of the task. The next step is website optimization, the process of creating a website optimal for search engines. Some website optimization can be accomplished during the building process by optimizing the website structure for search engines.

Website optimization is a continual process. For local businesses, the next website optimization step revolves around targeting local customers (and no, this does not mean listing local community names at the bottom of every page). Basically, the goal of local website optimization is to be found by local customers when they search.

Generally, think of this scenario; a homeowner is looking for new flooring. Instead of pulling out the traditional phone book, the homeowner goes online and searches for local flooring store. Search engines pull up a list of local flooring businesses and information (plus ads) relevant to the search. Local website optimization puts a local flooring store in that list.

Embracing local website optimization

Local website optimization is not a flippant process. Strong (and complete) efforts lead to strong results. Its also a process that should be focused on the audience and search engines; optimized website caters to both. All website content should be created with keywords and topics that potential local customers would use in their search. Simply put, when potential customers have a problem, they look for a solution online. Website optimization provides the answer to the problem, and local optimization technology ensures that content shows up in organic searches (below the ads) by a local audience. If the process sounds like its being communicated in another language, outsource local website optimization efforts to the professionals (use these guidelines for selecting the right optimization pros).

As stated previously, optimization is a continual process. Optimized content added to a website on a regular basis gains credit with both search engines and online users. To target a local audience, produce relevant content that a local audience can relate to and create a promotion plan to reach the target audience.

Establishing a strong online presence

In addition to optimization, creating a strong online presence can play a crucial role in earning key positions on search engines. Taking ownership of business profiles on local review websites (i.e. Yelp, Facebook, Google My Business, etc.) is a necessary step in the endeavor to earn a top spot on search engine pages. As with website optimization, this effort is a continual process. Fortunately (and unfortunately) for businesses, owning these pages comes with positive and negative reviews. Manage these reviews by connecting with a company with brand online management software or use these tips to deal with unhappy customers and request reviews from satisfied customers.

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