SEO techniques are used to increase the amount of traffic to your website by reaching a high rank on the results page of a search engine. 

When someone searches on Google for your service or product, you want to appear in the top 5 results on the first page (just think about the last time you scrolled through to the 12th page of Google results and went with a company there - we’re going to go out on a limb here and say you’ve never done that). 

There are many different types of SEO techniques, including improvements to your website and getting your website mentioned (and linked to) from well-respected websites in your niche. 

Unlike standard SEO, which focuses on ranking on search results across the country, local SEO makes appearing on search engine results in your specific location priority. When implemented correctly, local SEO can help you see a serious increase in local customers.

By taking a look at the following local SEO tips and tricks, you can get your business ranking higher on Google and get more local customers through your door.

To get started on Google My Business, you’ll need to claim your business. Search for your business on Google, once you’ve found your GMB page look for the “Own this business?” button on your listing. If Google has created a listing for your business, you can click this link and claim your Google My Business Page.

Don’t worry about paying any fees as this service is absolutely free. Claiming (or creating) your GMB page will enable your business to show up higher on Google’s search results and also on Google maps. If a business has a physical address you can bet Google has already created a GMB page for the business.

Already have a Google My Business claimed and set up for your business? Well then there is only one thing you have to do: verify the address, phone number, hours of operation and optimize all the business info that Google allows you to add or update.

This means providing Google with up-to-date information that is accurate and easy to understand - the more recent your updates, the better, as Google loves constant, consistent updates.

Google My Business is a great way to encourage your customers to review your services online. Try to respond sincerely to any customer reviews you get - it’ll help boost your presence online significantly.

Getting your loyal customers to write reviews for your business isn’t just something that will increase your local SEO rankings, it will also encourage more local buyers to come to you for their needs.

Reviews are incredibly powerful in the decision making process when it comes to competing against local competitors. In this example, we searched for “Auto performance shops near Indianapolis” - the current top three listings that show up all seem pretty similar, so what’s the differentiator that makes the customer choose one over the other two? The multiple 4-5 star reviews! Even though Stage 1 Tuning is listed third they may get more customer visits to their site due to the larger number of reviews compared to the top two in this search. 

Here’s some key automotive review data from the BrightLocal Google Reviews Study, 2018.

As things shift to mobile the number of people that search for things on a desktop or laptop nowadays is decreasing. In fact, 2018 saw 52.2% of all website traffic worldwide generated through mobile phones, up from 50.3 percent from the previous year (Statista, 2019). 

If your customers want to look something up, they’ll just take out their phone and do a quick search - especially if they’re on the road and looking for your location. This is why it’s so very important to have your website built and optimized for phones and tablets - you want to reach as many people in your local area as possible and having a mobile-ready website is one of the first steps.

Often overlooked by many in the industry, getting featured on online business directories commonly known in the search industry as citations are incredibly important to ranking high on local searches. Directories like Bing Business listings, Yelp, Yellow Pages, Apple Maps Connect (Yes you can get your business listed on Apple Maps) and many more are a service you can really take advantage of without much cost to your company.

Make sure that when listing your business in these directories, your profile contains at least the following basic NAP (Name, Address and Phone) information:

These data aggregation companies verify and clean the data to ensure it’s accurate, and then they sell it (lease it) to other companies that need data about local businesses. Data Aggregators are very important when it comes to getting listed on niche based directories or apps.

As part of our popular Marketing Maximizer service, we’ve seen customers get amazing results by embracing the power of Citations. Not only are they ranking higher for their important keyword phrases in local searches, but they’re also seeing increases in referrals and traffic from organic search. When people are looking for local automotive-related products and services, online directories are one of the first listings in search that may show up in keyword searches your business even if your site does not.

What really helps grab the attention of local customers is writing localized content. 

You can create localized content by writing blog posts about events that have happened in your area or around local news stories. You can also write review products you use in your business, write about projects your working on for your customer and how you helped them realize their dreams or how you can educate others on how you might perform a unique task in you business.

Not a fan of blogging? Create videos about local charities or causes that your company supports and create a sense of local community and solidarity with your website’s visitors. Anything you can do to get noticed, build awareness and get noticed by current and future customers can be a huge benefit to your local business. 

As with most things to do with Google, consistency is key. If you want to attract more local customers, you need to consistently publish new content online that’s targeted to your audience. Show off how great your service is. Promote reviews left by happy customers. Get your name out there. The people in your local area looking for your services will thank you!

With over 20 years of experience, Barry Alt combines his passion for everything automotive with his ability to strategize in the digital world to bring you a full service digital agency just for automotive professionals: Motorhead Digital. 

You can contact Barry at (585) 766-9785 or customercare@a2zeds.com.