Local SEO Mistakes to Avoid

The concept of SEO marketing can be intimidating for many small and medium-sized businesses, as owners are overwhelmed by it (search engine optimization). However, because many of these businesses primarily serve their local communities, they can narrow their scope and concentrate their SEO efforts on attracting local customers. While focusing on local customers and ranking well in local search results can alleviate some of the stress, effective local SEO still necessitates some SEO expertise.

It is critical to understand what to do when it comes to local SEO and what not to do to avoid making mistakes that could harm your rankings and reduce traffic to your website. In this guide, we will discuss the most common mistakes your company should avoid to succeed with local SEO.

What is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a type of search engine optimization marketing that focuses on increasing online visibility, rankings in localized search engine results pages (SERPs), and traffic within a business's service area. Rather than focusing on ranking for generic keywords and phrases on a national or global scale, local SEO efforts concentrate on ranking for geo-specific keywords in local areas where competition is much lower.

Local SEO, like all SEO, begins with a well-designed and well-optimized website. Your website should be user-friendly, mobile-friendly, and include valuable content that is geo-optimized. Another important aspect of local SEO is claiming or creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile listing. Google Business Profile listings are completely free and appear both in relevant organic local search results and on Google Maps. Choosing the appropriate business category, optimizing your business description, and including photos in your listing will all help it perform well.

Off-page SEO strategies such as creating listings in local directories, generating and responding to customer reviews, and building backlinks can also help improve the effectiveness of your local SEO campaign.

Avoiding Local SEO Mistakes

Avoiding the following blunders will help you make the most of your local SEO efforts.

1. Using Broad Keywords

Continue with Innovative SEO Marketing. Identifying and targeting the right keywords for your business is one of the most important aspects of SEO. People search for keywords, so targeting the right ones will help you rank higher in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and drive more traffic. However, targeting broad keywords is ineffective for a local business.

Local businesses benefit more from geo-targeted keywords. For example, a local attorney targeting the keyword "divorce attorney" is likely to get lost among the many other attorneys targeting the same keyword across Australia. By focusing on the keyword "divorce attorney in Brisbane," they narrow the scope and increase their chances of ranking higher in local searches. Remember that geo-based keywords are often less competitive than generic keywords, giving you a much better chance of ranking higher in more relevant searches.

2. There is no Google Business Profile Listing

Boost your Google Business Profile Listing. As previously stated, Google Business Profile (formerly known as Google My Business) listings are a critical component of local SEO. A Google Business Profile listing that is well-optimized will help you rank higher in organic search results and on Google Maps. Ensure that your company creates or claims a Google Business Profile and fills it out with your company name, address, phone number, website URL, customer reviews, photos, and any other pertinent information.

If you do not create, claim, or optimize your Google Business Profile listing, it will not rank well in local search results or on Google Maps, reducing your online visibility in your area.

3. Website that is Not Well Optimized

A well-optimized website is the foundation of good SEO. If your website is not properly optimized, it will be much more difficult to rank in relevant local searches.

It is critical to optimize your website with geo-targeted keywords, including on-page content, blogs, and images. Technical SEO aspects of your website that are not visible on the page, such as page titles and descriptions, should also be well-optimized. Consider working with an SEO professional if your company requires assistance with the more technical aspects of optimizing your website.

4. Inadequate Mobile Optimization

More local online searches are conducted on smartphones and mobile devices than on laptop and desktop computers. As a result, it is critical that your website is properly optimized to display and function properly on mobile devices. Google favours mobile-optimized websites, which means that non-mobile-optimized websites are unlikely to rank well. Even if a mobile user finds your website, they will most likely abandon it in favour of a competitor if it does not display or function properly.

A reputable web design professional can assist you if you are unsure how to make your website more mobile-friendly.

5. Poor or Insufficiently Optimized Content

Your website's content, which includes on-page text and blogs, is critical to your rankings. Google considers the quality and value of content on web pages and blogs when ranking them. Websites with high-quality, well-optimized content outperform those with low-quality, unoptimised content.

When creating content for your blog and web pages, make sure to write quality, keyword-focused content that your audience will find useful. Avoid writing thin or irrelevant content, and while keyword optimization is important, avoid keyword stuffing. If you have a blog on your website, writing new blogs on a regular basis will help your rankings because Google prefers websites that generate new content.

6. Negative Customer Reviews Are Ignored

Why are Customer Reviews Important? Generating customer reviews should never be an afterthought; rather, it should be a top priority. This is due to the fact that people read customer reviews before making a purchasing decision and place a lot of trust in them. Customer reviews also show Google that your business is trustworthy and can help improve your organic rankings.

Ensure that your company works to generate customer reviews on your website, Google, social media profiles, and other websites such as Yelp. You should also take an active role in responding to customer reviews, particularly negative ones. Responding to negative reviews shows potential customers that you care about resolving their concerns, whereas ignoring them legitimizes negative reviews.

7. There are No Directory Profiles

Online directories such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, Google Business Profile, Bing Places, and others can help increase your business's online visibility and generate more traffic by providing your target audience with multiple ways to reach your website. Submitting your company to a directory also aids in the development of backlinks to your website, which aids in the improvement of rankings.

Local businesses can be listed on larger directories such as the ones listed above, and there are also local and industry-specific directories to which you can subscribe. Make sure your contact information and website URL are included in all of your directory listings.

8. There are No Backlinks

Building backlinks to your website is a common practice that can have an impact on your rankings. Websites with quality backlinks rank higher because it tells Google that your website is valuable enough that others want to link to it. The main reason why backlink building is overlooked is that it can be difficult. Backlinks can be built through directories and social media accounts, but this is insufficient.

Writing guest blog posts and content for other websites that are relevant to your industry or local area is one of the most effective ways to build quality backlinks. Creating quality, well-optimized content for your own website also helps, as quality content is naturally linked to other sites.

9. There is No Contact Information and the NAPW (Name of the Business, Address, Phone Number, and Website URL) is Inconsistent

Attracting more traffic to your website is great, but your potential customers need to know how to contact you to convert. Ensure all your contact information is easily accessible on your website, such as side navigation menus and dedicated Contact pages. Include your address, phone number, and contact forms in your contact information. You can also show your location by embedding Google maps on your contact page.

Not only should the accurate contact information be prominently displayed on your website, but you should also have consistent and accurate contact information across all of your off-site channels. Your NAPW data (Name of business, Address, Phone number, and Website URL) must be consistent and accurate across all social media channels, directory listings, and anywhere else online where your business information is available. If any of these contact details change, make sure to update the information on all off-site channels as well as your website.

10. Listings that are Duplicates

Businesses may have duplicate listings within a directory if a second listing is created by mistake or if information changes and a new listing is created instead of updating the previous listing. Multiple listings can be confusing for both users looking for your business and Google, especially if the listings contain inconsistent NAPW information.

Remove one of the duplicate listings within a single directory and ensure that the NAPW information on the other is accurate and consistent across all of your online channels. Duplicate listings can be avoided by creating accurate listings the first time and updating all of your listings whenever your contact information changes.

BizzDesign Offers Local SEO Services

An effective local SEO campaign can boost online visibility and website traffic for businesses that serve the local community, which will benefit their bottom line. Avoiding the mistakes discussed above will give your local SEO campaign a much better chance of success.

Contact our professionals at BizzDesign if you prefer to work with a digital marketing agency that specializes in SEO. We offer local SEO services that have been shown to help small and medium-sized local businesses increase their online visibility and rank higher in local search results.

Call us at 04 0980 1950 to learn more about our local SEO services and how we can assist your company.