Online marketing is a difficult and time-consuming process. It’s easy to get lost in the sea of information that can easily overwhelm you and make you feel like giving up. But with the right strategies, it becomes much more manageable. One such strategy is local search engine optimization (SEO). Local SEO helps businesses rank high on Google searches when people are looking for services within their area.

In a digital world where it’s getting harder and harder to compete for visibility on the internet, local search engine optimization is an essential part of any marketing plan. When done correctly, it can become an effective strategy for generating more leads and sales opportunities from nearby customers who may not have been aware of your business before. Keep reading as listed below are some of the ideas on utilizing local SEO to improve your online brand awareness.

#1 Create a Google My Business page

Google My Business (GMB) allows you to list your business on Google Maps, Google+, and even search engine result pages. This is the first step you have to take when it comes to local SEO. Most search marketers and business owners fail to recognize the importance of this little-known entity. If you currently have a Google My Business page, make sure it’s well optimized and that you complete all the necessary information for your business.

Fill out all the information on the GMB page, including photos of the location, hours of operation, phone number, website address, etc. This will allow Google to showcase the right business in the search results.

For companies with brick-and-mortar locations, they must take advantage of the GMB page. This will help you get more attention from your local customers and increase foot traffic to your physical business location.

#2 Create a Bing Places account

If you’re going to use online search as a marketing strategy, it’s also wise to make it certain that you take advantage of the other major search engines aside from Google. In this case, Bing has its own version of GMB called Bing Places for Business, where you can list your business for free. They even have a mobile app that allows visitors to search nearby businesses and customer reviews on the go.

With Bing Places, you can list your business on popular local directories like Yelp and YellowPages. This is an excellent way to expand the reach of your brand.

#3 Get listed in directories like Yahoo Local, Foursquare, and Citysearch 

It might not have come up to you that there are numerous local directories online that you can take advantage of. People use directories to find businesses in their area, so being listed on these sites will increase your chances of connecting with local customers.

When signing up, make sure to include all relevant details about your business. You can also include photos of your shop or office location. Your profile will be more visible in search results if you use the right keywords related to your industry.

#4 Include local keywords on your website

SEO experts recommend adding location-based keywords to your web copy. The idea is to use keywords that describe the physical location of your business. You can even include your actual business address in web content like blog posts and articles.

This is a simple way for Google to recognize what your business does. For example, if you own a flower shop in Palo Alto, California, make sure that you include keywords like “florist Palo Alto”, “flower shop Palo Alto” and so on. By including your actual address together with these keywords, you’re telling Google’s algorithm that your website belongs to a local business.

#5 Utilize social media

Another effective strategy for getting more visibility online is to create accounts for your business on different social media networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter, etc. You can create profiles for your business on all of the networks mentioned above and share valuable articles, offer discounts and deals to promote your business, and attract more followers.

When you have many followers on social media, it will be easier for people to find your brand online. This means that you’re exposing more people to what you do while increasing your brand awareness.

#6 Submit articles to local publications 

This is an excellent option for you to reach your target market and become visible in your field of business. If you write about relevant topics, people may be interested in what you have to say, which will enable them to learn more about your brand.

When writing the article, use keywords that describe your business and location-based keywords that relate to the article topic. This will maximize its visibility for those who are searching for information related to your niche industry.

Consider including a link back to your website at the end of each article so people can easily find you when they click on it in search results.

#7 Look into reviews

Yelp and Facebook are great places to find reviews for your business. Monitor what people are saying about you online – both good and bad reviews. The idea of social proof is not new, but it’s one of the best ways to get more visibility online. Getting positive reviews is vital for any business because it helps tremendously in terms of engaging with existing and potential customers.

If someone mentions your business on any of these sites, make sure to thank them publicly and respond promptly. By doing this, you make yourself visible on these sites – which can be beneficial in terms of improving your online brand awareness. 

For bad reviews, simply apologize and encourage the customer to contact you personally to reach another outcome. Using this strategy, you might turn the review into a positive one by showing your customer care.

#8 Connect with influencers in the area

Look for the most reputable influencers in your area that are providing valuable content to their audience. You can simply find these people by looking at posting about similar topics on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks.

You can send the products or services related to what they are interested in to show how much you value their opinion. If this is done right, they might share your brand online with their loyal followers, which can lead to a lot of positive results.

As you may have guessed from our title, this means that local SEO has become an essential tool to improve your online brand awareness. The internet is a prominent place, but people often look for the best deals within their area. That means that customers nearby might come knocking at your door rather than going somewhere else where they have to drive or wait for shipping.

With these eight tips, you should learn new ways to get more visibility and brand awareness online. While it may look like a lot of work at first glance, these strategies will become easier with practice.

So if you’re not taking advantage of local search engine optimization, your business may be missing out on a vast quantity of potential customers. What do you think? Have I convinced you to give this a try? Leave me a comment below.