How to Optimize Your Website for Near Me Searches
Local businesses need to optimize their websites for local results in search results. These search results reflect a major bottom-funnel intention and result in high-click-throughs. They are also more likely to convert than organic searches.
To be able to rank highly in searches for local businesses for your business, you'll need to have a complete online presence with a Google Business Profile and mobile-friendly website. You'll also need to ensure that your NAP information is identical across all profiles and websites.
Optimization on-page
On-page optimization is a crucial element of SEO. This is because it increases the overall SEO efficiency of a website and helps it rank higher in search engine result pages (SERPs). On-page optimization is complex but the good news it that you don't have to completely redesign your website to make changes. Instead, you can focus on specific elements like meta titles and descriptions, as well as the structure of your content.
For instance, if your site is focused on local search terms, such as "dentist in san francisco," you can optimize the keywords on your pages for service areas and also incorporate them into other relevant page content. This will aid Google know that you offer services within your targeted area and improve the relevance of your content for users.
Another key aspect of optimizing your on-page content is internal linking. This can be achieved by incorporating city names into your content as well as linking to pages within your service areas. You can also use widgets and lists to place multiple links on your top-level pages to boost rankings.
Also, don't forget about readability. Although this isn't a specific ranking factor, it does make your content more readable for both users and search engines. Moreover, it can reduce your bounce rate and boost conversions and revenue as well as ROI. Use bullet breaks, paragraph breaks and supporting images to make your pages easy to read and browse.
Schema Markup
Schema markup is a specific kind of code that conveys to search engines what your content is about. It can be used to describe various types of information such as products, events, and companies. This lets search engines display rich snippets of information in the SERP, which enhances the user experience as well as boosts rankings.
There are several encodings that can be used for schema markup such as microdata, JSON, and RDFa. The performance of your website can be significantly improved by selecting the correct encoder. JSON-LD tends to be preferred because it doesn't create errors when moving or rearranging items on your site. It also works with other markups, like AMP.
Adding schema markup to your location pages is a great way to optimize your website for local searches. It ensures that your business's hours, address, and contact details are properly displayed in search results. It can also help Google include your company on the Knowledge Graph which can increase the number of clicks.
Schema markup can be utilized by small-sized businesses that do not have the funds to hire an expert to manage SEO. This will allow them to stand out in the results of a search engine and attract more customers. This will also help them save money on pay-per-click (PPC). It can be time-consuming to add schema markup but it will increase your chances of being in the top search results.
Mobile-friendly website
A mobile-friendly site is among the most effective things you can do for your local SEO. Mobile devices are the most popular way that "near me searches" are conducted. A mobile-friendly website helps to ensure that your customers find the information they require quickly and easily.
Mobile-friendly websites are designed to display different versions of a page according to the device the visitor is using. They are responsive, which means that they adjust to the size of the screen, making it easy to navigate them on laptops, smartphones and tablets. They also feature larger images and text that make it easier to read.
Your visitors may abandon your site if it is not mobile friendly. Users are more likely to leave websites that don't function properly on their phones which could adversely impact your search engine rankings. It's important to test your mobile-friendly site on a variety of devices.
In addition to being mobile-friendly, your website should be fast. This means that your pages should load quickly and your content should be organized with schema markup. This enables search engines to gather precise information about your business in a format that is user-friendly. It's also recommended to provide a keypad option when filling out forms on mobile devices, so that customers can make their work easier by entering their information at the click of a finger.
Customer Reviews
Reviews from customers are an important aspect of local SEO. They provide a clear picture of what your customers think about your business. They are based on real experiences with the brand. Google algorithms take this into consideration as UGC (User Generated Content), and rank businesses according to this information. If you are looking to improve your local SEO, ensure that you have plenty of positive reviews and that you are constantly generating new ones. It is important to be able to respond to negative feedback in a professional, courteous way.
Research suggests that search engines favor businesses with plenty of positive reviews and with high reviews. This is because search engines prefer reviews more than other factors such as proximity. In fact, some studies show that incorporating Google reviews to your website can increase organic traffic by an average of 45%. Additionally, seo service near me consider online reviews to be as reliable as they trust recommendations from their friends and family.
You can add Google reviews to your online store using tools such as EmbedReviews or Kudobuzz. There are several plugins available for WordPress which let you display Google reviews on your homepage. However, ensure that you don't resort to "review gating," which is the practice of soliciting positive reviews from happy customers. This practice is in violation of Google's Contributed Content Policy and can affect your rankings.