Small business owners can find success in B2B lead generation using an array of marketing channels. When starting out, competing with established global brands with huge audience bases is ambitious at best, particularly in the terrain of local search engine optimization (SEO).
However, by adopting a local SEO strategy that helps your small business stand out in your specific geographic area, you can still solidify your deserved place in the evolving market.
To get the most out of local SEO and position your business in front of potential clients nearby who are actively searching for solutions to their problems, this short guide has all you need to know.
1. Optimize Your Website for Local Search
The most crucial step is optimizing your site for local search – making it the ‘digital storefront’ of your business.
Start by doing competitor and keyword research to identify the right location-specific keywords to thread throughout your site content, titles, headers, and metadata. Create dedicated pages for each location or service area you cover to expand your search potential.
Your site also needs to be set up correctly from a technical perspective. It must load quickly, be optimized for mobile (which is where most website traffic comes from nowadays) and offer a seamless buying experience for customers, particularly if you sell directly through your site.
Include relevant calls-to-action (CTAs) on your pages, making it easy for potential leads to download a brochure, fill out a contact form, book an appointment, or request more information.
2. Claim and Flesh Out Your Google Business Profile Listing
Your Google Business Profile – or GBP – which replaced Google My Business (GMB), is a free tool that allows you to manage how your business appears in Google Search and Maps. Claiming and optimizing this listing is vital for local SEO visibility.
Provide accurate and up-to-date info about your business, including:
- Business name, address, and phone number (NAP)
- Opening hours
- Website URLs
- Photos
- Descriptions
Regularly update your GBP profile with posts about new services, special offers, or relevant industry news to keep your listing fresh and engaging. Also invite customers to leave Google reviews. The more 5-star reviews the better your listing will be.
3. Create Relevant, Engaging Local Content
Uploading regular content to your website is vital anyway, whether it’s informational blog posts, case studies, videos, or guides. To drive home your expertise and presence in your local community, tailor this content to relevant local or industry trends, business challenges, events, or partnerships that may draw more eyes to your business.
Ensure that this supporting content is engaging, offers readers value, and can logically link through to your service pages.
4. Secure High-Quality Local Citations and Backlinks
Citations are online mentions of your business in online directories, review sites, and relevant industry publications. As you start branching out, it’s prudent to secure citations in reputable sources such as like your local Chamber of Commerce website, TrustPilot, CheckaTrade, and others. These can all signpost passive searchers to your site.
Alongside this, focus on building high-quality backlinks from other relevant local sources. This could be from reputable local partner businesses, suppliers, community event pages, or third-party guest posts in regional publications, all of which can earn your site valuable links, thus improving your domain authority.
5. Manage Your Customer Reviews
One of the many benefits of local SEO is that you can cultivate a positive impression of your business for more local customers. Positive reviews on your website and other relevant resources (such as Google mentioned earlier) can drastically improve lead generation, especially when you consider that people are more likely to buy from companies with more positive reviews than those without.
Encourage clients to leave reviews on your GBP profile and on other platforms where you may have citations pointing towards your site. Respond promptly and professionally to all reviews, both positive and negative, to show that you value feedback.
Consider these additional strategies:
- Use schema markup code to help search engines understand your content better and improve click-through rates.
- Maintain an active social media presence, sharing your content, engaging with more local customers and businesses, and promoting local events.
- Using location-specific keywords in Google Ads (PPC) campaigns to complement your organic SEO efforts.
- Stay informed of evolving local SEO trends and insights and adapt your campaign accordingly.
- Track your key metrics using free tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Search Console and other rank-tracking software to discover traffic, clicks, conversions, and other relevant data.
Next Steps
These are just some of the most important local SEO strategies to help your small business get off the ground and set yourself up for sustainable growth in your region. Remember that it’s an ongoing process that requires consistent effort and adaptation, but with diligence and commitment, you can establish your firm as a trusted local business in your sector.
To read more about local business marketing, see additional blogs here.
