Getting local businesses to rank well in search results now presents distinct challenges.
There are many reasons for this, Los Angeles, but one of them that is worth mentioning is how more businesses are becoming aware of the benefits of using local SEO. That means that if you are deficient in any of the most basic strategies having to do with it, the chances of your ranking near the top of the SERPs are almost zero.
Because of that, you need to attend to these aspects of local SEO that will give you a fighting chance when you launch your website.
Google My Business
You must claim your company using the Google My Business feature, Los Angeles. It’s free, and it’s easy to do. Just be sure you fill out all of the information correctly, like the full name of your business, your physical address, phone number, etc.
Google My Business Categories
You should also take some time to fill out the categories for Google My Business into which your company fits. Try not to use too many of them, and only select the ones that most closely apply to your business. If you choose the wrong categories, Google is going to penalize you by dropping you in the SERPs.
Pictures on Google My Business
You should also be sure to take and add some relevant photos to go along with your Google My Business profile. Visuals are a critical part of SEO, Los Angeles, and that’s going to be the case everywhere, not just on your social media platforms and your website.
Bing Places for Business
Although Google dominates the search engine market, there are plenty of people who still use Bing. You should take advantage of that by claiming the Bing Places for Business account for your company. Like Google My Business, it’s free, and it won’t take long.
Citations and Online Directories
The other thing that’s worth doing for SEO purposes is to claim your business through various online directories. This adds further legitimacy to your online presence.
Some of the ones you should hit are Foursquare, Apple Maps, Yellowpages, and Yahoo’s Localworks. Citations don’t have the impact on your ranking that they used to, but they still play a part. If you’re the only hardware store or restaurant that hasn’t taken this step, it’s going to reflect poorly on you.
These local SEO basics are things that every Los Angeles company needs to do if they want to stay competitive. You can handle these yourself without much trouble, but if you feel like you want help with some of the more subtle local SEO ranking factors, you may wish to hire an agency and discuss it with them.
