Let’s dive right in to this. Afterall, after Google’s Helpful Content Update we know that Google wants to see quick, clear, and concise answers to questions. Is longform content dead? That’s a question for another day. Today we’re answering the question of:
What Is The Best Local SEO Strategy of 2024?
Our strategy revolves around tackling your website and various profiles in this specific order:
- Optimize Your Google Business Profile
- Build Local Citations
- Technical SEO
- Bare Minimum ADA Compliance
- Fix Your Thin Content
- Build Relevant Backlinks
- Don’t Ignore Bing
How Do You Optimize A Google Business Profile?
Isn’t it refreshing that I didn’t start this off by giving you the entire history of the concept of a Google Business Profile? Well, I would like to touch on one important thing that many people outside of the industry seem to have noticed. Google Business Profile is the new name for Google My Business (GMB). The two terms are interchangeable but for the sake of keeping Google happy let’s stick with their new name–afterall, SEO is all about making Google happy, right? We’ll touch on that later. For now we’ll focus on what’s most important and that is making sure your Google Business Profile is rock solid. There is plenty of evidence to support the claims of some SEOs that your GBP may actually be more important than your website in 2024.
Verify Your Business
Optimizing your Google Business Profile in 2024 consists of several steps but the most important is of course to ensure your GBP is verified. In the past couple of years Google has rolled out and leaned more heavily on video verification. Frankly, it’s a huge pain in the ass. Mostly gone are the days of simply receiving a postcard in the mail from Google and then entering your confirmation number. There are many great articles out there for how to get your Google Business Profile verified via video. Whitespark’s Darren Shaw made an especially good video on the process after dealing with his own woes.
NAP Consistency
Next up is another obvious one, but so many people get it wrong and that is ensuring your Name, Address, and Phone number are consistent across all platforms but especially your website and Google Business Profile. Remember that a big part of local SEO is cementing your brand’s place on the internet. Consistency is key when letting the world (or your town) know your name. This includes abbreviations, symbols, and verbatim terminology. If your website has your business name listed as “Bills Cart Co.” but on your Google Business Profile you’re listed as “Bill’s Golf Cart Company” then search engines are going to be reluctant to rank you higher than competitors who have a more consistent brand.
Use A Local Number
Using a local area code that matches the area you’ve selected as your service area on your GBP is just another step in building online brand consistency and letting algorithms know that you are here and ready to service the area that you’ve claimed.
Choose The Correct Service Area
Google will definitely allow your to select every major city in your state, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to do this. A good rule of thumb is to only choose the city or town where your business is located, and then locations within a ~40 mile radius.
Choose The Correct Business Categories
Uploading some quality photos to your GBP not only gives your customers something to look at, but also signals to Google that you’re a serious business that wants to engage with its customers. Google tends to favor profiles which get used and interacted with which brings me to the next point.
Use Your Profile
Did you realize you can use your GBP almost like a social media account? You can not only share photos, but you can also make posts. Utilize this functionality to tell your customers about upcoming promotions, sales, updates, emergencies, or just to say hello! Your customers will appreciate it and so will Google.
Reviews Reviews Reviews!
Get yourself some good reviews! But remember, Google not only frowns on incentivizing reviews, it can even be borderline fraudulent. However, there’s nothing wrong with sending your review link out to your past customers and asking them to leave you their honest feedback. Here’s how you can get your review link:
- Login to your Google Business Profile.
- Search for your business name on Google Search and click the number that displays how many reviews you have.
- Now click the “Get more reviews” button.
- This will display your review link which you can then copy and paste just about anywhere you’d like!
Building Local Citations for Local SEO
Some business directories are more important than others, and some even serve as aggregators which submit your NAP data to other directories on your behalf. Some of the most essential directories would be Yellow Pages, Foursquare, Yelp, and Data Axel.
Lastly, don’t forget to focus on your local business citations. These can be some of the most impactful as they provide some great local authority for your website. The best place to start is always your local Chamber of Commerce website. These often charge an annual fee but it’s almost always worth it.
Technical SEO
I’m not going to spend a bunch of time beating the dead horse that is technical SEO. This has not only been a part of SEO since day 1, but also should be standard practice in building a modern website. In 2024 your new website should already be scoring solidly on Pagespeed Insights on launch day. Sadly, that isn’t often the case and sites are slapped together with bloated themes or outdated page building software.
Bare Minimum ADA Compliance
Fix Your Thin Content
Build Relevant Backlinks
Stop Ignoring Bing
