Top 20 Tips for Local SEO in 2021
If you are a locally focused business, then you must tap into the power of local search, particularly since, as outlined over at runrex.com, after searching for a nearby product or service online, 76% of consumers visit the business within that day. However, to do that, you need to know how to implement effective local SEO, and this article will look to highlight the top 20 tips in 2021 as far as local SEO goes.
Google My Business
If you haven’t claimed your Google My Business page, then you should do it immediately, particularly since it will only take you a few minutes to do so and it is free. As is explained over at guttulus.com, claiming your Google My Business is one of the simplest and most effective ways to start improving your local SEO in 2021.
Choose the right categories within your Google My Business
It is also very important that you make sure that you have chosen the correct categories within your Google My Business. According to the subject matter experts over at runrex.com, for the best results, use as few categories as possible and make sure that they are as accurate as possible.
Don’t forget about photos
You must take photos of your location, your products, your staff, and even your customers (after you get their permission). This is because, as captured over at guttulus.com, photos help lend credibility to your business and serves as a local ranking signal, helping you rank higher for local search results.
Leverage Bing Places for Business
While Google is the most popular search engine out there, Bing still claims a decent market share (around 33% or thereabouts). Therefore, for a successful local SEO campaign in 2021, make sure you take the time to claim your Bing Places for Business account as well.
Claim online directories and citations as well
While at it, you should make sure that you have claimed popular online directories too. They include Yelp and Yellow Pages and play an important part in local SEO. While citations don’t have a great impact on rankings as they once had, they are still important and worth claiming in 2021.
Listings on review sites
In addition to the online directories covered in detail over at runrex.com, there are multiple review sites with listing you should claim. This is because it appears that reviews directly on Google carry the most weight which is why this should be a key part of your local SEO strategy in 2021.
Ensure that the majority of your reviews are positive
On top of claiming your listing on review sites, you must make sure that the majority of your reviews are positive. According to Google, high-quality reviews improve your business’ visibility, which is why the gurus over at guttulus.com are clear that this is something you should be serious about this year.
Have reviewers use your location or keywords
A useful local SEO tip worth mentioning is how important it is for your reviews to feature your keywords and location. This is important because, as explained over at runrex.com, when reviews use the city or keywords of your business, it sends signals to Google that you are a trusted local business, which improves your ranking potential significantly.
Create a Facebook Business page
As part of your local SEO strategy in 2021, you should make sure that you create a Facebook Business page. This is because many people use Facebook as a search engine. At the very list, you should create a business page for your business and update it with your website, hours, as well as a description for your business.
Social listings
You should also make sure that you claim other social listings on popular social sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, among others. You should do this even if you don’t plan on being super active on those sites. You can then pin a tweet or post inviting users to call/visit your website, or follow you on whatever social platform you are most active on.
Have a consistent NAP
NAP stands for name, address, and phone number and is an important part of local SEO. As per the experts over at guttulus.com, you should make sure that your name, address, and phone number are consistent across all the listings discussed above, including maps, social media, and review sites. Google wants to make sure that it is providing accurate information, and if your NAP isn’t consistent throughout, then your ranking potential is likely to suffer.
Optimize for mobile
Google has now rolled out its mobile-first indexing as covered over at runrex.com, which means that the search engine will be looking at your mobile site first, rather than your desktop site as it was before. This means that being on top of this in 2021 is a must, and if you are not, Google’s mobile-friendly test can help you get started.
Google Messaging
As the gurus over at guttulus.com point out, Google will push harder on Google Messaging in 2021, which is something that you need to keep an eye out for as well as making sure you are prepared for it this year. Make sure you have activated this feature on your Google My Business listing and that you regularly and actively reply to messages on Google Messaging.
Optimize for Apple Search
Apple is likely to launch its search engine this year, which could have implications on how local SEO is done. Therefore, you should make sure that you also keep an eye on this development, and get in on the action early by partnering with providers who are already distributing to Apple Maps in preparation for this.
Nextdoor
It is also projected that the rise of Nextdoor for local business visibility will hit a new high in 2021, which will, hopefully, prompt the company to start developing more agency-friendly solutions. Nextdoor, for the uninitiated, one of the most popular structure citation platforms out there right now and is one worth leveraging if you haven’t already.
Localized content
You should also make sure that you are consistently publishing content where you can organically include your key term and location as discussed over at runrex.com. For example, you should write about local events, share efforts to raise funds for a local charity, and so forth, making sure that it makes sense for your brand.
Combine on-page location with keyword optimization
Another very useful local SEO tip for 2021 is making sure that you combine on-page location with keyword optimization. According to the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com, an example of this is, instead of optimizing for “air conditioning repair”, optimize for “air conditioning repair Houston”.
Look for high-quality inbound links
If you are to smash your local SEO in 2021, then you must look for and get high-quality inbound links for your website. As discussed over at runrex.com, this is because links from sites Google trusts are good for SEO, including local SEO.
Get inbound links from locally relevant sites
It is important to diversify your inbound links. You want a range of inbound links that are relevant, authoritative, and were gained organically. As you diversify your inbound links, you should make sure that you are getting inbound links from locally relevant sites. This is because links from local news sites, community blogs, and so forth prove that your site is trusted by your neighbors.
Importance of pandemic adaptations
Adapting how you do your business as a result of the pandemic in 2021 is crucial for your local SEO efforts. This means taking maximum safety precautions, delivering at the curb or front door, facilitating online purchasing, and so forth, all of which show that you care about your customers and will drive loyalty.
These are 20 tips we hope will help you achieve the success you crave as far as local SEO is concerned in 2021, with more on this topic to be found over at the highly-rated runrex.com and guttulus.com.