A local SEO strategy has become integral to brick-and-mortar businesses across the globe. Modern consumers are increasingly turning to the internet to find local information. Whether they’re looking for options to dine out or want to find a locksmith in their area, they’ll turn to Google for answers.
It isn’t surprising that nearly half of all Google searches seek local information. Whether you’re looking to build brand awareness or skyrocket store traffic, a local SEO strategy is indispensable for every company.
Local SEO in Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix - one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. - has emerged as a hotspot of entrepreneurial endeavors. The year-round pleasant climate, low cost of living, and proximity to major cities, such as Los Angeles and Texas, make Arizona’s capital the ideal base for your business.
But the growth potential of Phoenix has been catching the attention of many business owners. If you own a local business in the city or are planning to launch a new one, it’s crucial to stand out from the crowd.
One of the most effective ways of doing that is to work with the right Phoenix SEO services to grow your online visibility. They’ll help your website rank for the most relevant and high-volume local keywords. They’ll even help you claim authoritative business listings and citations to bolster your brand reputation.
Whether you’re working with a Phoenix SEO company or hiring an in-house SEO team, make sure you utilize the following tactics while implementing your local SEO campaign:
1. Perform a Local SEO Audit
Local SEO isn’t simply about optimizing your website content with locally relevant keywords. It requires a concerted effort to position your brand as a local industry authority. And the first step of doing that is to conduct an extensive local SEO audit.
Whether you’ve already implemented a local SEO strategy, or are building one from scratch, an audit will help you:
- Spot website performance issues
- Identify the channels that are driving organic website traffic
- Monitor and improve your business directory listings
- Weed out technical SEO errors that could pull down rankings
- Harness gaps in a competitor’s local SEO strategy
You can use tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics to conduct local SEO audits for your business.
2. Create Local Content
On-page optimization for local SEO isn’t simply about adding local keywords to various web pages. If you want your website to rank for local search queries, you need to create locally relevant content that provides value to your target audience.
Let’s say you own a cafe in a Phoenix neighborhood. A clever idea for publishing local content on your website is to add useful resources for people looking to explore Phoenix. A few useful content ideas include:
- X offbeat places to visit in Phoenix
- X best things to do in Phoenix during the weekend
- Top X museums to visit in Phoenix
Each one of these topics gives you plenty of opportunities to organically integrate local keywords into your content. It eliminates the need for resorting to black hat SEO tactics, such as keyword stuffing.
Also, creating useful and engaging content helps position your business as a trusted authority in the local community.
Check out your local competitors’ websites to find out what kind of content they’re publishing. Also, you can use tools, such as AnswerThePublic, to identify topics that’ll resonate with your audience.
3. Add Location Pages
Including location pages on your website is another effective way of optimizing your content for local keywords. If your business has more than one brick-and-mortar outlet, make sure you create a dedicated page for each location. Don’t forget to embed a Google Maps link that points to the exact location of each outlet.
4. Maintain Consistent Listings
Inconsistent business information is one of the most detrimental factors that could pull down your website’s local search rankings. Evaluate your business listings in different directories, such as Yelp and Foursquare. Make sure the information in these listings matches that on your Google My Business page.
5. Don’t Ignore SEO Best Practices
Traditional SEO techniques, such as keyword research, internal linking, and backlink building, continue to be important for local businesses. Leverage guest posting to attract authoritative backlinks to your website.
Optimize the title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and subheadings on each web page. Also, make sure your website is secure, fast, mobile-responsive, and delivers a flawless user experience.
In Conclusion
A recent survey lists Phoenix as the fastest-growing city in the U.S. That emphasizes the need for local businesses in the city to gain a competitive advantage with clever SEO strategies.
Add your business to popular and relevant directories. Also, publish locally relevant content and optimize it using the right keywords. Don’t forget to add location pages to your website for each business outlet.