Whether you offer your products and services to local consumers or nationwide buyers, it is essential that you make sure you are optimizing your website for local SEO.  When people perform a search in a major search engine (i.e. Google) for your products or services only one of two outcomes is possible: they will find your website, or they will find your competitors. Sure, you may have a loyal, local customer base, but you won't be able to attract newer and younger customers without the help of online marketing tactics and local SEO. There are several ways to approach the SEO factor for a local business based on whether you have just one, or multiple locations.

SEO For One Location

Feature your contact information notably throughout your website, including a spot on the Home page, in the header or sidebar, and on pages with high numbers of views. This will help the name of your business, as well as the city and state, display in search results when people search for local businesses of your nature.

Also, it will be helpful to feature links to social media and review sites. By encouraging users to engage with these websites directly from your Home page, you’re indirectly boosting your own social profiles and credibility.

There is one last thing to try. Bolstering your “Contact Us” page can be beneficial for SEO efforts. Once again, make sure that your contact information is featured on the contact page, as well as business hours and a Google Map so customers can easily find you in person.

SEO For Multiple Locations

If you are attempting to optimize for multiple locations, begin by creating a separate page for each business location. Write content on each page that’s specific to each physical business location, such as its history, address, business hours, local surroundings, and its Google Map location.

Make sure you create custom URLs for each location. This practice will make it easier for both Google and users to distinguish one location from the next.

Create separate online profiles for each location, if this will be helpful for your business. Create new social media profiles for each location on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram, and then include links to these profiles on each page for each location. Then, promote events specific to each location on each social media profile.

How long does it take to see results from SEO?

There are several different factors that determine how quickly results will come.

A large site could possibly see results in a few days if a search engines is crawling their site regularly. Generally, smaller sites take longer because they get crawled less frequently. When search engines look through the content on your website, they are crawling your site. As they crawl your site, they index content that will appear in the search engine. If you are nervous about the results, wait at least a week (maybe closer to a month) before you consider changing your SEO strategy.  Adding fresh and creative content regularly is the best way to guarantee results from SEO.

ImageWorks, LLC

Never depend on search engine optimization alone for the growth of your business. Often the businesses that fail are the ones that depend on SEO alone for the entire growth of their business. The companies that survive and thrive are the ones that have a solid approach and market in a variety of ways both online and offline. SEO can be a big piece; however, it is only one slice of the marketing pie.

By integrating all of today's Web tools such as SEO, social media, pay per click, and blogs, ImageWorks can provide a level of permission based inbound marketing that will turn your site into a lead generation tool. With continued nurturing programs, you become a trusted source, and prospects convert to customers.