Optimizing for Local Search
February 28, 2014
In recent years, there has been an explosion of smartphones in the marketplace. The technology is now widely available in all corners of the world at affordable prices, creating a network of over a billion users. These users perform multiple mobile searches every second of every day, making this a great opportunity for marketers. Of all mobile searches performed, approximately 40 percent have local intent with 84 percent of users taking action after performing such a search. For this reason, businesses should evolve their current search engine optimization strategies to include local search.
To create the best possible local search engine optimization strategy for your mobile websites in Scottsdale or wherever your business may be located, consider the following tips:
- On-Page Search Engine Optimization. The content on your mobile website in Scottsdale should have location targeted pages to ensure that you reach your intended audience. To do so, place the names of all locations your business is interested in targeting in the title tags and descriptions, and also sprinkle the locations in the content throughout your website to improve SEO keyword rankings in Scottsdale and other cities.
- Google+ Local Profile. When it comes to local search on smartphones, those small businesses with a Google Places for Business or Google+ Local listing tend to be ranked first. While it is important to be ranked highly on traditional search, it is even more so on mobile due to the size of smartphone screens. If you are not listed in the top rankings, users will have to scroll multiple times down their screen to locate your mobile websites in Scottsdale, meaning your business will likely fall to competitors. In order to get an edge on the competition, create a verified profile and keep it up-to-date. Also be sure to include pictures and links to your traditional and mobile websites in Scottsdale to your profile page.
- Citations. Citations, which include name, address and phone number, are highly valued in local search engine optimization. To earn the best possible SEO keyword rankings in Scottsdale or another city, make sure that your citations are consistent in all places throughout the web, such as a Google+ Local profile and other listing sites as well as your mobile websites in Scottsdale.
- Structured Data. To get the most from local search, there are specific guidelines you should follow in regards to structured data. Markup your address and phone number in Schema or hCard markup and add a KML File for Google Maps. Properly structured data allows for the creation of rich snippets, which greatly improves SEO keyword rankings in Scottsdale.
- Social Media and Apps. An ever growing percentage of smartphone users interact multiple times per day with social media sites. Approximately 25 percent of local search is actually conducted on the social media app, Facebook, making it the second most popular app for local search. For this reason, it is essential that your business develop not only mobile websites in Scottsdale, but also a strong social media presence. Claim and update your profiles on social sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, and also consider developing custom mobile app design in Scottsdale to better reach your audience.
- Review Sites. In today’s online world, business review sites are thriving. Consumers greatly trust in word of mouth, therefore, you should create profiles on review sites, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor and Foursquare. In addition to social media and mobile websites in Scottsdale, review site profiles will help your business to create a strong presence throughout the web, improving the results of your search engine optimization efforts.
- Keyword Research. It is important to note that mobile SEO keyword rankings in Scottsdale and other cities often differ from traditional desktop search engine optimization. For this reason, it is important that you work with a company specializing in both traditional and mobile search engine optimization to ensure that you are choosing the proper keywords to reach your audience on your mobile websites in Scottsdale.
Taking the above into consideration will help you to best implement local search into your current search engine optimization strategy, allowing you to better reach each person within your target market.
If you are interested in developing a local search engine optimization strategy to create strong mobile SEO keyword rankings in Scottsdale or wherever your business may be located, trust in the search engine optimization experts at Fasturtle. Our team specializes not only in winning traditional search engine optimization strategies, but also mobile strategies that lead to highly satisfactory SEO keyword rankings in Scottsdale. To learn more about the development of mobile websites or a custom mobile app design in Scottsdale or another city, call Fasturtle at (888) 468-8785 or contact us online.