Design

The Internet affords your business a number of opportunities—but those opportunities aren’t just going to fall into your lap. You have to seize them, which means making sure your company can be discovered by search engine users—and in particular, local ones.

This means a robust local SEO presence, something that isn’t always easy to come by. Indeed, there are some common local SEO errors that can cause your efforts to come up short. In this post, we’re going to highlight some of the most common local SEO mistakes and also show you how they can be avoided.

Local SEO Errors (And How to Avoid Them)

Here are some of the local SEO errors we notice most often:

• Not including the right contact information. Every page of your website needs to have your NAP data—that stands for your company name, address, and phone number. This is how Google knows where to categorize your business, and it’s vital if you want to show up in local searches!
• Including inconsistent NAP data. A related point: Your NAP information should be presented in exactly the same way on each page of your site, as well as on all your social media pages, local citations, etc. Don’t use different phone numbers or abbreviate your business name, which can muddle the SEO impact of that NAP listing.
• Failing to claim a Google My Business account. Google My Business accounts are important local ranking opportunities—and you can sign up for one completely free of charge! There’s no reason not to create a Google My Business account and fully optimize it.
• Selecting the wrong keywords. Entire volumes can be written about keyword selection, and we won’t get into all of it here. For now, we’ll just note the importance of using resources like the Google Keyword Research tool to find the right keywords, and to strike the right balance of competition, intent, and traffic.
• Not securing local citations. Does your local Chamber of Commerce have an online directory? What about local business organizations? Any opportunity you can find to claim a directory listing or citation, do so—and remember to use your NAP information!
• Not seeking local reviews. Getting reviewed on Google is an important way to juice your rankings—so be proactive in asking your customers and clients to leave you some feedback.
• Not including your city anywhere in your content. You don’t have to shoehorn your location into every line and every paragraph on your site, but do include it where appropriate—like in your meta data, title tags, and throughout your content.
• Writing content that’s thin or lacking in value. Finally, note that great content is always at the heart of a successful SEO campaign—so if you’re not getting the rankings you’d want, it may be time to look at your site and beef if up a bit. Make sure it has plenty of substantive, valuable content that helps the reader make an informed purchasing decision.

Talk to an Expert About Local SEO

You can’t just assume that your business will be discovered by local customers—no matter how great your products and services. You’ve got to actively seek out an audience, and that means investing in local SEO.

And that’s something we can help you with! Driven2020 has worked with countless local companies, helping them connect with consumers and enjoy higher Google visibility. We’d love to talk with you about your search marketing needs. Start that conversation by reaching out to our team at your next convenience.