Local SEO | Local Search | Business Listing
Every time you build a structures local business listing, whether, at Facebook, Google, Yelp, or anywhere else, you will be filling out a form that contains various sets of specific fields. These include the Business Name or Title, Address, Phone Number, Categories, Website URL, Description among others. It is, therefore, essential to understanding that Search Engines like Google, as the dominant player in local listing or search, has set the tone for the perfect practice, especially when it comes to the formatting of such information. They have a complete guideline for those people who want to create a local business listing, and you are supposed to follow that guidance when developing most of your citations, with a primary aim of making sure that they match to your Google My Business Listing.
Local SEO
The Local Business Listing, Local SEO and citation play a significant role in the ranking, reputation and revenue generation for your site. If you are participating in online marketing, they are requirements for all local businesses. In facts, not so long ago, local business owners had a set of offline publicity options like paying for Yellow Pages Inclusion, print marketing in the form of coupons and brochures, advertising in the local newspapers, postal mail marketing, local television or radio buys and telemarketing. All these are still reliable and viable options in most industries. However, while some offline avenues have been translated to optional, Internet Marketing is now a must for every local business. If you have followed the Local SEO for an extended period, you understand one thing, that is, Local SEO changes all the times. Therefore, when it comes to Local SEO, it is crucial than ever that you optimize your on-site as well as off-site SEO Strategies for customers or clients who may be searching for your Local Business Listing. Here are some Local SEO tactics that may help your business to rank higher in the Local Search:
Meta Description Tags and Title
The Meta Description Tags and Titles are elements of HTML, and it’s possible to customize them to reflect your web page content. When writing the title and descriptions tags, note that they are displayed in the search result. In 2016, Google improved the width of the central search result area, to 600px. This means that the typical acceptable length for the title is about 50 to 60 and the description can carry approximately 160 to 200 characters.
Local Search Citation and Online Directories
Four out of five potential customers use the Search Engines to conduct searches for Local Business Listings, according to Google. Therefore, it is crucial to get your local business listing accurately and consistently, especially in top online business directories. These directories include the Merchant Circle, Yelp, Citysearch, among others.
Google My Business Listing: Optimize
Google My Business (GMB) is a directory, but it is a biggie and deserves its section. It is very vital for a local business to claim their GMB and optimize their page. Also, Bing has a comparable page for local business listings which is referred to the Bing Place For Business.
Therefore, it is upon you to determine which platforms that will make sense when your business is listed there. It is not a perfect practice to devote hundreds of hours, trying to get a chance to be listed on every search engine, app, or index. Instead of wasting time, hit the major platforms such as Google My Business, Yelp, YP, Facebook, among others.