SEO Tips For Local Entrepreneurs

The internet is global in nature but not all entrepreneurs have enough machinery to enter the global market. Although this may be the case, local entrepreneurs can still take advantage of the internet in order to draw in heavy traffic to their website from local clients. It is important to take note that while search engine optimization can help businesses reach the global market, it is a waste of important resources for local businesses to go for global reach.  However, with most major search engines including Google not classifying businesses according to their locations, there is still a way for local business to promote their products locally through Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Below are some tips on how local entrepreneurs can promote their business using SEO.

Include Location In Keywords

One of the most important ways to use SEO to promote your local business in your area is to include your location in your keywords. For instance, if  you are located in New York and you are selling jewelry, then your keywords should be “jewelry New York” or any similar strings. This particular keyword phrase identifies your business which is selling jewelry and it also identifies your location which is in New York. When people enter this particular phrase on the search boxes in Google or Yahoo!, your website will be generated in the search pages.

When it comes to using keywords, it is important that you check your keyword sets regularly. There are now many people running  local businesses that are the same as yours that might also be using the same keywords as yours. If this happens, you can change your keywords periodically and make it more specific to the products and services that you offer.

Include Location When Using Meta Tags

Metatags are important in search engines but if you want local coverage for your business, you should include your location whenever you are using them. Metatags are simply HTML tags that  help search engines index your site using  the keywords as well as description that you provide.  These tags are not seen by readers and its purpose is to provide data to search engines.

When you use metatags with your location, it is crucial that you also use a similar keyword on your content otherwise your posts will look very suspicious. Google easily detects such inconsistencies with the metatags as well as keywords used in the content.

Use Yahoo Local As Well As Google Places

Another way of promoting your business to your local community is to use sites such as Google Places and Yahoo Local. These sites are similar to directory sites  where entrepreneurs can put their business information so that they can maintain their online presence. Both Google Places and Yahoo Local are great options for businesses who have not yet established their websites. However, those who have websites already can gain more traffic if they put their business in these websites as many people often seek businesses through online directory listings. Aside from these websites, you can also promote your business to as many local directories as you can.  This will make your website more  visible in search engine pages.

Make Backlinks And Include Your Location In The Anchor Text

Creating backlinks is very important because it drives relevant traffic to websites. Backlinks is one of the most powerful SEO tools that will allow you to improve the traffic of your website. However, putting up your location can be challenging because the keywords as well as the location do not necessarily give a natural tone. Although this may be the case, putting your location in the anchor text is an effective way to make your business visible in search engines.

Get Involved More In Local Search Engines

Search engines  such as Yahoo!, Google and Bing can bring a lot of traffic to your site but if you want to make your business more relevant to the local scene, then you can join local search engines to promote your business in the local setting. There are different kinds of local search engines that you can join and you can search whether there is one hosting in your community.

Use Social Media

Another great way of promoting your business to the local setting is to use social media. These days, there are many social media platforms that you can use in order to promote your business. One good  platform is Facebook wherein your business can be viewed by potential clients  in your community. Other social media platform that you can use includes Twitter,  Google+ and Pinterest.  The best thing about using social media is that  there are many people using social media in order to look for things that interest them. In fact, many people use social media to find businesses that they are interested in. It has been noted that social media can drive more traffic than search engines, considering the  fact that there are many people who are using them all the time.

Ask Testimonials From Clients

Another great way to establish your business locally is to ask for reviews and testimonials from your clients. There are many review sites where your clients can channel their feedbacks to your products and services. Review sites where client feedbacks can be posted include Merchant Circle and Yelp. On the other hand, you can create your blogs where you can post client testimonials. The benefit of asking testimonials from clients is that it helps build the reputation of your brand.

Create Different Pages For Each Location Of Your Business

If you have businesses in different towns or cities, then it is important that you can optimize your SEO if you make different pages for businesses that are located in different locations. When doing so, it is important that you also use the corresponding locations in your business.

These tips will help you optimize your site to make it more visible to the local market.   You may be doing some of these important tips already and you might also be getting a lot of benefits.