Every business is trying to hit the SERP. You are also trying to find a foothold in the rankings. People are also using black hat techniques with hopes of making it to the SERP.

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Without a strategy, you can’t make your site rank. If your SEO efforts are disorganized and lacking purpose, it’s going nowhere. You should be clear right from the start what your focus is. Also, be specific about how you are going to achieve it.

You will see what matters when it comes to local rankings. Before that, you should know how the local algorithm works. Knowing this will help you craft SEO effective strategies to rank higher.

Google’s local algorithm is all about three factors:

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  • Proximity: It is the distance between the searcher location and the business in question. Google uses ZIP code to understand how close a searcher is to the business.
  • Prominence: Google evaluates how important a business is. It does this by comparing the business to its competitors. It uses reviews and links to evaluate a site.
  • Relevance: It is about how relevant the result is to the query made. It uses page content, on-page SEO, and the content in reviews to determine relevance.

Local Search Results Page

There are different places you want your local business to appear. The list includes:

  • Local Organic Results: It is the first page you see whenever you make a local search on Google.
  • Local Pack Results: It appears just above Local Organic Results. Usually, it has three listings of local businesses. You will find some information about the business. Sometimes, you can also find paid ads here.
  • Local Finder Results: You can find this section if you click “More Places” in the local pack. It shows you a list of local businesses, accompanied by a map. The map guides you to the store.
  • GMB Profile: When a user searches for a company by name and location, Google shows the profile. It appears right next to SERP. You can control the profile from your GMB dashboard. It has a wealth of information about the business like photos, maps, directions, addresses, and reviews.
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Focus on the Visuals

When optimizing for local searches, don’t lose sight of the big picture. Your SEO efforts are all about the people. Getting ranked by engines is only a means to your end goal. The end goal is more traffic and more sales.

Even if you manage to get to the top, there is no guarantee that your traffic will leave the same. Customers will leave your site if your site is not pleasing enough. Or perhaps you might rank for keywords that no one is using. 

But it’s not going to bring more sales to you.

To stay afloat, you should pay attention to the web design and the visuals there. It is how you can keep your customers loyal to you. 

Getting links, optimizing content is good. But only if you make it appeal to the eye, it’s going to do good for you. 

Most people these days use their phones to search for businesses. They have smaller screens to access your site. That means you have to create content that appeals to mobile users. Work with an SEO company in Bangalore to optimize content for mobile users.

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Create Exclusive Product Pages

You might not think of creating separate product pages for your products. But there is a good reason to do so.

Separate product pages make it easy for the crawlers to scan your pages. It will also improve site navigation. Both these factors will improve your local rankings.

Write about who should buy your products. Tell them about the purpose and function of your products. Perhaps you have a product for special occasions. Tell them how your product helps them celebrate.

If you have multiple locations, you can use location pages to market your service. When you do content marketing, you should include keywords that identify your location. SEO companies in Gurgaon will help you incorporate local keywords into your content.

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Create FAQs

FAQ pages answer the burning questions of your customers. It certainly improves the user experience. If something makes things easy for your customers, you should take note. Google prioritizes its users. So whatever you do to help customers is going to increase your local rankings.

Find out the most common questions customers have about your brand. The FAQ page addresses the objections or hesitations your customers might have. They could change their mind later after reading the FAQ page.

Choose the questions your target audience is asking. Your answers should be to the point. Use words that are simple and precise. Use first-person pronouns to add a human touch. Finally, your FAQ page should have a clear CTA. For a powerful CTA, work with an SEO company in Bangalore if you live there.

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Reviews

Google uses reviews as a ranking factor. So, focus on getting your happy customers to write reviews for you. Reviews help you build credibility. If you get more positive reviews, more people will trust you. Google will also rank you higher.

You should also have a strategy for responding to reviews. Positive reviews are valuable for your business. But you will also get negative reviews. A review strategy helps you handle the situation better.

Explain to people dissatisfied with your products what went wrong. Promise them that you will make changes. When you address them politely, you will create a positive image of your brand.

More people will see your transparency and come to you. Eventually, you will overturn your negative reviews with more positive reviews in their place. Google will see it and rank you higher. SEO companies in Gurgaon will help you develop a review strategy. 

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