How to Rank Higher on Google: All You Need to Know about Local SEO Tactics

Any business with a brick and mortar establishment needs to amp up their local SEO tactics if they want to stay relevant. Staying visible online might seem like a daunting task if you’re not particularly well versed with its technical side. And the majority of local business owners don’t have time to understand all of this anyway. But don’t worry, we have good news! You don’t have to undertake all this alone.
We have compiled the most effective and vital strategies to help you build a local SEO checklist that ensures your presence and relevance in top search rankings.

1. Conduct Regular Audits of Your Website
   Auditing your website helps you investigate why you’re not getting enough search traffic and sales. It is a systematic examination of an event, a result, a concept, or financial books that is done for figuring out where you stand and how to make smarter decisions in the future. In the SEO world, auditing is a growth hacking technique that will attract and retain customers. And reputed Tampa SEO company can quickly help you with the same, allowing you to:
   • Closely examine your overall site performance
   • Set new goals based on your findings.
   • Implement local SEO tactics to reach those goals.

   The entire process helps you increase your profits by making the best use of the content you already have.
   When you hire local SEO services for an audit, here’s what you should be looking for:

   • SEO meta titles and descriptions in all your web pages.
   • Keyword optimized content on every page.
   • Search engine-optimized URL structures.
2. Prioritize Mobile-Optimization
   While some algorithm changes remain unclear, Google has left nothing to the imagination when it comes to mobile. That is what makes it imperative to ensure that your site uses responsive web design practices. That latter helps maintain the full functionality of your web pages across several mobile devices and uses. More importantly, you must understand the strong relationship between mobile and local. Google is on a continuing quest to cater to hyper-local search, connecting consumers and brands as smoothly and quickly as possible. That brings us to our next local SEO tactic.
3. GMB Listings and Google Maps
   If you own a business selling products and services to a local audience, then becoming visible in the first three spots of Google Maps listing, also known as Google Maps Pack is immensely important. So, if you want to find out how to rank higher on Google, then Maps and GMB are the two key elements to look into.

   Google Maps results are relevant and interactive. They allow people to find directions to your business in just a few clicks and make a direct phone call from the search results. Similarly, you’ll want to create or claim all listings for your business across multiple channels.
   Each Google My Business listing and its counterparts will represent a citation. These citations are an important component used in the ranking algorithm by Google and other search engines.

4. Voice Search Optimization
   When you wonder how to improve local SEO in 2020, voice search hacks can be your ultimate allies. As part of your mobile optimization efforts, integrating better voice search functionality is an excellent idea. The ultimate goal is to be considered a source for a “Featured Snippet” – as Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa will read out information from these sources and often cite the source as well.
5. Online Reviews and Reputation Management
   Customers who land on your location pages will be looking for testimonials and online reviews to get a better idea of reputation and offerings. Hence, online reviews have become another essential component of a successful local SEO checklist.
   Online reviews also help to boost your credibility and trust and if you keep up with prompt responses, things get even better.
   To do well in local search, site owners must build signals of relevance and prominence around their particular brick and mortar business location—just like word-of-mouth. Reviews, citations, local links, and traditional organic SEO signals are essential local SEO tactics that enable a business to maintain a digital stronghold.