What’s up SEO Pro! ๐ Here’s a list of 38+ Local SEO Tips for 2021
Before we get started, everything covered here is from my FREE Local SEO template which can be found here: https://chasereiner.thrivecart.com/new-local-seo-template/
Here’s what we cover in this guide:
Main Setup
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Check and Setup Google Analytics
Make sure GA is on the website, if not, set it up.
Check and Setup Google Search Console
Make sure GSC is on the website, if not, set it up.
Check and Setup Bing Webmaster Tools
Measure traffic and performance on Bing’s search engine.
Screaming Frog Crawl Crawling software great for quick analysis of websites.
Website Contains Responsive Design
Easy to use chrome extension. If site isn’t mobile friendly, you have a big problem.
Setup SEO Plugin
Squarespace Squarespace is best for beginners if you’re not familiar with WordPress.
SSL A direct ranking factor as stated by Google.
Hosting
Fast hosting is essential.
Theme
Choose a theme thats easy to work with that you understand.
Content
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Keyword research
1 main keyword 3-5 service pages and 3-5 main related areas
Content Writer
If you aren’t writing your own content then you should hire someone.
Content first text contains LSI of both expertise and area
Every page should contain a variation of this.
Bullet point lists
Having quick bullet point lists seem to help a lot.
One image per page with optimizations
Having media on pages is massively important.
Reviews Listed
Reviews are very important for bringing in unique content and higher conversion rates.
SEO
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Title tag optimization Keyword + Modifier.
Meta description optimization
Generally the first few sentences of page with keyword inclusion.
Heading tag optimization
H1 should closely match title to follow up with expectations.
URL Structure
Simple structure is important.
Navigation Structure
The less menu items the better. Avoid a ton of links in footer.
Internal Linking
2-3 internal links to most valuable service pages.
1-2 External links to relevant pages.
NAP Consistency Name, address, and phone number should be consistent.
Check listings on all major directories. Use -site:”website.com” + Name, address, or phone number.
XML and HTML Sitemap
XML sitemap let’s robots see what’s on your site while HTML helps your users.
Remove duplicate content Internal and external duplicate content will seriously lower your results on Google.
Canonicals
A code that lets search engine know if your page is the preferred page for indexing.
404 Pages
404 status code means the page is temporarily unavailable. Either 301 or 410.
Optimize page speed
Anything above 2.5 seconds in load time will affect your website.
Schema Markup
Markup your pages with language that search engines understand.
External Platforms
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Create or Claim Google My Business Listing
Arguably the most important step of local.
Create or Claim Bing Listing
Less important but still often overlooked.
Create/Claim Yelp listing
Also, not as important as Google but still neccesary.
Add optimized description to Google My Business Listing
Content first text is unique and contains LSI of both expertise and area.
Select Google My Business Categories
Use competitor research to discover the best categories.
Create/Claim listings on other directories
Building citations can be tedious which is why I often outsource this step.
Look to generate more reviews Generate as many reviews as you can, this is the best ranking signal next to proximity for Google Maps
Respond to reviews
Aparrently you don’t get a direct ranking signal until you respond to your reviews.
[00:01:17] – Set-up google analytics
[00:02:18] – Set-up google search console
[00:04:25] – Bing webmaster tool
[00:05:00] – Screaming frog
[00:06:43] – Website contains responsive design
[00:07:22] – SEO plugins
[00:08:03] – Squarespace
[00:08:49] – SSL certificate
[00:09:28] – Hosting
[00:10:26] – Theme
[00:11:16] – Content
[00:11:25] – Keyword research
[00:12:09] – Service pages to use
[00:16:13] – Review listed
[00:17:49] – Title tag and meta description optimization
[00:18:34] – Heading tag optimization
[00:19:13] – URL structure
[00:20:33] – Internal linking
[00:21:12] – Check listings on all major directories
[00:23:48] – HTML and XML sitemap
[00:24:27] – Removing duplicate content
[00:25:13] – Canonicals
[00:26:23] – 404 Pages
[00:26:40] – Optimizing page speed
[00:26:50] – Schema markup
[00:27:34] – Create or claim google my business listing
[00:27:47] – Optimize description on google my business listing
[00:28:04] – Create/ Claim Yelp and Bing listing
[00:28:10] – Outro
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