“The Devil’s In The Detail”
No phrase says it better when it comes to local SEO. With Google holding 67.6% of the US search engine market share, it’s no wonder that brand managers are constantly looking at their digital properties to figure out smarter ways to climb to the top of the ranks and reach hyperlocal mobile customers. In general, there are two particular tactical areas to note if you your local pages to be #1 in organic search.
Marking Up Points Of Value
Over time, Google’s search results have moved from allowing some baseline information in order to rank ( such as name, address and phone number), to requiring more depth and value from brands. In 2010, Google worked with Yahoo and Bing to roll out a markup format that would build visibility across organic search called Schema.org Markup. Incorporating Schema into your local pages allows Google and these other engines to understand the value behind your content. Marking up these value points with Schema, from your sales and promotions, local photos or even employee spotlights, can dramatically help you outrank the local competition.
Incorporating Tags and Body Content
In both XTML and HTML, tagging and adding mechanical value is a distinguishing factor for brands battling with their competitors in the local arena. From metatags to H1 tags, these tactical areas of optimization allow you to place emphasis on what makes your brick and mortar locations valuable. Your on-page body content also helps drive that value through crawlable keywords that Google will index and read on your local pages.
Unfortunately, marketers in every vertical experience different challenges in making their local presence known. But regardless of the local audience or industry you market to, there is a huge opportunity to take with tactical local SEO measures to reach your hyperlocal searchers.
Download our Local Page SEO for Google Checklist to get started on this before peak purchasing season season kicks into gear. Send us your results and we’ll give you a local SEO analysis and next steps for your brand!
Social Media Specialist at Brandify. Home is where the Wifi is.
