As the marketing industry delves deeper into the depths of digital technology, more people continue to rely on the Internet for updates, trends, and news regarding current events. After all, the Internet has everything you need to know about almost anything. For that reason, small businesses should implement local SEO strategies to get ahead of the competition.
In Singapore, local SEO is the perfect digital marketing strategy for small businesses. The ability to attract customers and earn clicks based on the proximity of your location is valuable and unmatched. Local SEO could give your business the boost it needs to drive sales and reach potential customers.
However, like other aspects of SEO, you might run into a few mistakes that could ruin your local SEO strategies. The problem is that some of these mistakes could damage your local SEO rankings in the long run. Avoiding these mistakes is vital for your SEO rankings, especially when it comes to managing your online reputation.
Conducting local SEO strategies for your business is an excellent idea! But if you want to get the best results for your business, you need to know more about local SEO services, including its many common mistakes that you might encounter.
Here are the top five local SEO mistakes that you should avoid.
5 LOCAL SEO MISTAKES THAT YOU SHOULD AVOID
1. NOT MAKING A GOOGLE MY BUSINESS PROFILE
No doubt that search engines like Bing and YouTube are valuable for SEO. However, Google is still the leading search engine worldwide for many reasons. One good reason is that you can improve your local SEO rankings with the help of Google My Business (GMB).
GMB is a free marketing tool that you can use to promote your business website on Google Maps and Search. Similar to a social media profile, your GMB profile lets you connect with customers and post updates. Why is GMB essential for local SEO anyway?
Think of it this way: you own a barbershop in Singapore, and you want to promote your business online by setting up a website. Everything is going according to plan, and both your website and social media page are gaining traction. However, you are not attracting enough customers to drive sales, so what could be the problem?
The problem is that you lack a GMB profile. You will need a GMB profile for your business website to appear on local map listings. Without a GMB profile, you will lack the edge your online presence needs to improve its local SEO ranking.
For example, if someone near your barbershop is looking for your business, here or she will type “barbershop nearby” or “barber shop near me” on Google. If you have a well-optimized GMB listing, your shop will appear on the person’s search engine results page (SERP).
Your GMB profile will help your local SEO campaign by improving your web visibility on local search results. Consider making a GMB profile as soon as you decide to start a local SEO campaign so you can gain a significant advantage over your competitors.
2. HAVING DUPLICATE GMB LISTINGS
Having a GMB profile is valuable for your local SEO, but it also can complicate your local search ranking if you misuse the said marketing tool. One of the common errors when using GMB is having duplicate listings.
In the SEO industry, creating duplicate content is not recommended. Search engines find it troublesome to evaluate websites with similar or plagiarized content. Unfortunately, the same problem is common when it comes to local SEO and creating a GMB listing.
Duplicate GMB listings can harm your local SEO in a few ways. First, having the same GMB listings can confuse potential customers, resulting in lost revenue and traffic. Second, it can harm your local search ranking.
Fortunately, you can use search engine tools that will help you discover any duplicate GMB listings that may be lying around. From there, you can take down any duplicate listings to prevent your local SEO rankings from getting affected.
3. MISSING A LOCAL CITATION
A citation from a reputable establishment or person can do wonders for your business. Not only will it help you establish authority and credibility, but it can improve your local SEO ranking.
Citations are mentions of your business that appear on directories, social media, and most importantly, search engines like Google. Use your GMB profile to include a local citation from trusted sources.
Any mention of your business, such as its location, name, contact information, is beneficial to your local SEO. Nonetheless, the three essential citations for your business are its name, address, and phone number, otherwise known as NAP when combined. Make sure these three details about your business are included in your GMB to improve your online presence on local search results.
4. NOT OPTIMIZING YOUR WEBSITE
The fundamentals of organic SEO still apply to local SEO. Unfortunately, it is a common mistake to focus on your local SEO rankings while overlooking the importance of organic traffic.
Remember, your organic SEO ranking is just as vital as your local online presence. In that case, you should optimize your website for SEO by enhancing its content, meta titles, meta tags, and meta descriptions.
The best part about SEO is that you can outsource your SEO services to a digital marketing agency. In doing so, you can gain additional help with optimizing your website to improve your SEO rankings.
5. KEYWORD STUFFING
Keyword stuffing is not just an issue concerning SEO, but also local SEO in general. Using too many keywords, especially irrelevant ones, is harmful to your local online presence. Avoid stuffing irrelevant and repetitive keywords in your content and GMB listings to make sure your business website appears on top of SERPs.
Instead, limit your usage of keywords per web page to avoid making your content look spammy. Also, use the right keywords for your content to enhance its substance and make it more appealing to search engines and readers.
AVOID THESE MISTAKES AT ALL COSTS!
Avoiding these local SEO mistakes can be challenging due to the many factors that come into play. However, the results of improving your search engines rankings are worth it! Continue to avoid these top mistakes, and your local SEO ranking will surely improve in the long run.
