When most people think of local SEO, they tend to focus on their Google Business Profile, local citations, and backlinks. These elements are certainly beneficial when aiming for those “near me” results. However, on-page optimization also plays a significant role in sending signals to search engines that can influence your local rankings. On-page SEO helps you rank higher in both organic results and the Map Pack results.
Here are five on-page optimization tips to help enhance your local visibility in search:
1. Make Sure Your NAP Is Consistent
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone Number. These three pieces of information are crucial to your local SEO strategy. Make sure these details are prominently displayed on your site. The footer is a great place for your NAP since it will appear on every page. Linking it to your Google Map is even better. You can also display your NAP on service area pages and your contact page. Consistency matters—ensure this key business information is the same across all platforms where potential customers might find you online, and where Google might use it for comparison to check its accuracy. This helps crawlers and bots connect the dots between your Google Business Profile, website, and other local citations on the web.
Don’t worry about minor details such as abbreviating street names versus spelling them out entirely. What matters most is choosing one approach and sticking with it.
2. Spruce Up Your On-page Content
Your site content is a great opportunity to show both your customers and search engines that you are the authority in your area for the services you provide. Include specific details like landmarks and street names, along with the services you offer in that area. Clearly explain why the customer would need your service in that specific location. The more you sound like you belong to the area, the better the user experience. Consider what terms you would use if you were searching for your service and include them in your content. These terms could cover your local metro, city, or neighborhood.
The answers to these questions will guide the type of content and keywords you need to include. These keywords will help you target both combination searches (like “dentist in Chicago”) and GPS-based searches (such as “dentist” when in Chicago). This is where “near me” searches become relevant. Google matches the user’s location with sites that service the nearby area to provide search results.
You can optimize these keywords on general service pages or create targeted pages specifically for the service and location. For instance, if you offer teeth whitening services in Chicago and Southern Wisconsin, in addition to your main teeth whitening page, you might have individual pages for places like Chicago, Evanston, Milwaukee, and Racine. Each page should be hyper-targeted and optimized for that specific location.
3. Optimize Header Tags
Header tags are important for SEO. By creating local-based service pages, you have gained additional real estate to create targeted header tags, including local-based keywords and your services. Effective header tags give both site visitors and crawlers an idea of the page structure and what to expect in the content. Avoid keyword stuffing in header tags; keep them relevant.
4. Internal Linking
Use internal linking throughout the site to inform both your customers and search engines that you serve that local area. Add city names to your on-page content and use them as anchor links to service area pages. You can also create widgets, lists, and blocks with links to your service areas on top-level pages to boost SEO.
5. Local Business Schema
Schema markup can provide search engines with a better understanding of your site. The local business schema includes important information like addresses, reviews, hours of operation, social media accounts, geo-shapes of service areas, and departments in your code. This tells bots and crawlers all about who you are, what you do, where you are, and why others trust you without putting all the information on the page.
How Will I Know If This Is Working?
Once you have optimized everything, you’ll want to know if it’s impacting your local SEO strategy. There are several tools available to help with this.
Local Search Results Tools
You can look at the SERPs directly or use local search result tools like Local Falcon, Merkle, and BrightLocal. These tools allow you to view Google Maps, select options like desktop and mobile, and get as specific as the zip code level.
Geo-Grid Local Ranking Tools
Tools like Local Falcon and Local Viking are more visual and monitor map results in a selected area. They are useful for scheduling periodic scans to capture snapshots of your results and keep a performance history.
Google Business Profile Analytics
Directly gather information from your Google Business Profile. If optimizations are successful, you should see improvements in metrics like click-throughs to your site, calls, or requests for driving directions as your visibility increases.
When optimizing for on-page local SEO, keep it simple and relevant to your business. Provide the right information to customers, enhancing both their experience and your strategy. Even with rapid changes in local SEO, a solid on-page strategy benefits both you and your customers.
More resources:
- 15 Local SEO Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- 5 On-Page SEO Factors To Check In Underperforming Content
- A Guide to Local SEO
Featured Image: MaDedee/Shutterstock
