As more and more people have started looking up terms like “___ services near me’, businesses are now feeling the need to turn to local search engines. And why not? After all, local search engine optimization is the highway to success.
Studies report that Over 46% of Google searches are for local services, and 88% of these searchers visit or call the local store within 24 hours. [Source]
Certainly, the local search engine market space holds huge potential for businesses, and in this post, we are talking about how your local business in Long Island can thrive using local SEO and SEM.
IMAGE: UNSPLASH
1. Set Up Your Google My Business Profile
Whether your business has a website or not, creating a GMB profile should be your first priority. A Google My Business profile allows you to be found first in the search results.
Whenever the local business profiles are available for a keyword, they are placed above all the other websites in the SERPs. This means that even if your website is doing great in the local searches, it won’t be able to outrank your competitors’ GMB profiles.
For that, you will need to set up and optimize your Google My Business account. It’s an easy process that can be completed with a few clicks.
Once your account is made, you can provide all your essential details like contact number, address & hours of operation. Apart from this, you can optimize your GMB profile by encouraging your customers to leave reviews.
Another benefit of the GMB profile is that it allows users to call or navigate your store with Google maps directly.
2. Use Local Citations
Citations refer to the mentions of your business’ name, address, and other details on relevant pages across the web. In some cases, these pages may even link to your website, offering you a backlink. The entire process will fuel your local SEO campaign.
For best results, you should work towards building local citation connections in and around your business in Long Island. But here’s a problem. It may not be an easy feat to find relevant local websites to get citations from.
In this case, you can get in touch with a qualified local digital marketing service.
3. Add Local Keywords On Your Web Pages
The keywords that you include on your website and web pages largely determine whether you will be visible to your prospects or not. This works in a simple manner. When we include relevant local keywords in our content, search engines may consider pushing our web pages up in the local SERPs for those keywords. And, when we don’t conduct keyword research and don’t include relevant keywords, our rankings cease to improve for keywords that matter.
Solution? Don’t make the mistake of neglecting local keywords. They are important for your business’ success in the local search results.
4. Go for Local Directory Listings
The World Wide Web is filled with hundreds of local directory websites that allow local businesses to list themselves. As a result, you get a backlink, and your contact information is placed on one more website.
This will help you improve your website’s search rankings and promote your business in the locally popular directories. Here are a few popular local business directories in Long Island:
- LIYellow Pages
- LongIsland.com Business Direcoty
- Connectli.com
- Ontopvisibility.com
- NYbizlist – Director of Small Businesses
- LookingUpLI.com
5. Advertise With Local Keywords
While local SEO is great for driving results in the long run, paid advertising can quickly reap the benefits for your business. With the help of a well planned and optimized paid search engine marketing campaign, your business can become visible to your prospects as soon as they do their first search.
The best part is that this process does not take the time and effort, which is generally required to outrank competitors. You launch a Bing or Google Adwords PPC campaign targeting your business’s local prospects and the results start to show.
Just make sure you have learned enough about PPC and have a level of experience managing & optimizing paid ad campaigns, or you may find yourself splurging for nothing. If you want quick and assured results, it’d be best to hire a qualified Long Island advertising agency. Such companies have dedicated professionals who are experts at handling PPC campaigns.
Wrapping Up
Optimally marketing your Long Island-based business on the web for relevant local keywords is crucial for its success. However, launching and enhancing local SEO and SEM campaigns can be tricky.
This post shared five local search tips that can help businesses in Long Island reach more prospects.
If you are interested in even more business-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
COMMENTS