If you’re currently running a small business and have been trying to compete on a national level with your competitors, you may have run into some obstacles. Many of the businesses in your field that are targeting their SEO efforts on a national basis are big and have access to more financial resources for their marketing. One of the best ways to rise above them is to start targeting on a local level in order to get your website on the first page of the search engines.

Local SEO involves different methods which include creating local citations, making sure that your geographic addresses are up to date and getting good reviews on local directories. As well, you’ll need to ensure that you run a strong content campaign that comes complete with local relevance.

Keyword Optimization

You’ll need to acquire a new set of keywords that indicate the area you are targeting. For example, if you offer flooring in the GTA some keywords you may want to consider using include “Toronto flooring”, “GTA flooring” “floors in Toronto”, to name just a few. You would also search for longtail keywords that can help you rank quickly in the area such as “best flooring company in Toronto” or “where to buy floors in Toronto”.

Content Relevance

The content on your site may also need to be altered to reflect the keywords you are targeting. Although it’s important to include the city name in the content, you’ll need to make sure that it flows naturally within the context of the sentence and isn’t repeated too often. In fact, once or twice is enough to have Google recognize that you are operating in a local vicinity.

The keywords shouldn’t distract from the content in any way. If you are targeting the keyword “Toronto flooring”, for example, you may want to add a sentence such as “We are the leading Toronto flooring company and look forward to hearing from you”. An example of a sentence that wouldn’t read very well would be “If you’re looking for Toronto flooring, come and visit us today.”

Local SEO can be applied to any city, town or village. This type of SEO can also help you gain traction so that you’re on a better footing to compete with your competitors on a national basis. When Google sees your local credibility, you’ll have a better chance of ranking higher on a national level.

Learn more about local SEO and how it can help your business prosper by visiting qodemedia.com. You can also call us at 416-208-0157 to speak directly to a local SEO specialist.