There is little debate over the fact that investing in SEO and directing resources to improve local SEO rankings is something that pays off. According to sources, the majority of B2B and B2C organizations generate the majority of their business leads via SEO as opposed to other means.
At the same time, the changing landscape of the global SEO industry makes it important for SEO marketers to remain informed with regard to industry developments. Most recently, Google’s June 2019 broad core algorithm update has caused quite a stir within SEO circles the world over.
Where the June 2019 update is said to have benefited numerous companies, it has also affected the SEO rankings of businesses large and small negatively, as stated by one article online. The problem, however, is that information and data regarding the full effect of the update has had is limited.
SEO Success for B2C Websites in 2019
The current assumption is that Google now takes into account a little more than the three previous priorities, namely:
- Expertise
- Authoritativeness
- Trustworthiness
The fact that numerous websites that have consistently proven to be high authority sites in the past are noted to have fallen in rank is indicative of this. So what does it take to ensure local SEO success for a B2C website in 2019?
Relevant Google my Business Profile
GMB profiles can be powerful tools when it comes to generating on-site traffic and customer interest. It is important to create a GMB profile that covers parameters that are relevant to those looking for your services.
The information to include in order to make a strong profile is your specific area of business, an accurate description of what you do or provide, practice or business locations and other relevant details.
Location Specific Pages
Location and mentioning the same seems to be an extremely important factor in local SEO. If you’re a single location business, mentioning your address on your landing page as well as on footer of other pages is advisable.
If you’re a multi-location business, having location specific pages for each of your local pages improves how you rank overall.
Smart Use of Keywords
Keywords are coming back in a big way and it is important to be smart about your use of keywords. Offer information about your business and location via the keywords you use in order to improve how you rank.
Local Reviews
When it comes to local SEO, local reviews are a powerful way to boost your local SEO rankings. According to an article published by Forbes, it is not just customers and clients that respond well to positive reviews. Google also considers them relevant; something that has not changed despite the recent update.
Encourage customers to review your services and products and make sure reviews are posted and updated frequently.
Site Design, Speed Optimization and Mobile Access
Generating traffic is one thing but part of local SEO and any SEO for that matter is ensuring visiting customers remain on the site for longer. How you design your site plays a part here as customers are more likely to spend extended time on user-friendly sites.
Site access is another important factor and speed optimization is something that can improve this. Finally, if you really want to improve results of your local SEO marketing this year, make sure your site is mobile-friendly and has other features such as voice activation compatibility.
Citation Pages and Social Media Platforms
Citation pages include third party websites on which you post content and other material. Apart from the blogs and content on your home site, external pages with material linking back to you are extremely helpful.
It is also important to increase both your presence and activity on major social media platforms. Facebook and Twitter are bare essentials. Depending on your industry and type of products/services, Instagram and Pinterest may also be worth considering.
Remember, like with your blogs and other content, relevance is extremely important whether you’re writing an article for an external site or simply updating your social media feed. Location specific keywords, hash tags and content are also encouraged here.
Blog Content
One of the most important parts of your local SEO efforts is the actual content you publish on blogs you put up on your site. Your blog content keeps customers engaged and can be an important source of information on your products and services.
Some of the things you can cover in your blogs include business announcements such as information on packages, products and specials you may be offering. You can even offer clients and customers advice relating to your business.
If you provide organic herbal medicine, you may put up material explaining clients about what they need to do before they start treatment using your products.
Blogs that are engaging and contain relevant information definitely improve your overall local SEO rankings.
Don’t Bare-knuckle It
Where you may be a company or business equipped with in-house local SEO marketing resources, there’s no shame if you aren’t. Many companies outsource their local SEO marketing to companies offering local SEO services.
If your in-house resources are lacking, working with the right company can be cheaper and a lot more effective than managing your local SEO marketing on your own. Specialized companies offer you skills, focused service packages, tangible results and of course, cutting edge local SEO marketing techniques.
In Conclusion
As we stated earlier, the world of SEO is a dynamic landscape, one that changes with trends, updates and market influence. Apart from following the pointers above, what’s important is staying updated with what is going on and make sure your online presence is relevant, powerful and fulfils basic SEO parameters.
Doing so in combination with the pointers above will most certainly ensure that your local SEO marketing for 2019 is effective and generates the kind of response you desire.
