10 Tips for Optimizing Your Business for Local Search
Local search optimization is the practice of optimizing your online presence to improve your visibility in local search results. With more and more people using search engines to find local businesses, it’s important for mortgage and insurance businesses to optimize for local search in order to attract more customers and grow their business.
In this article, we’ll provide 10 tips to help mortgage and insurance businesses optimize their online presence for local search.
Claim and Optimize Your Google My Business Listing
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool provided by Google that allows businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including in search results and on Google Maps. Claiming and optimizing your GMB listing is one of the most important steps you can take to improve your local search visibility.
To claim and optimize your GMB listing, start by verifying your business information and adding accurate and up-to-date information, including your business name, address, phone number, and website. You can also add photos, respond to customer reviews, and post updates to your listing.
Having an optimized GMB listing can help your business appear in local search results, and it can also help you stand out from competitors.
Build and Manage Citations
Citations are online mentions of your business name, address, and phone number (also known as NAP). Citations can come from a variety of sources, including directories, review sites, and social media platforms. Building and managing citations is an important part of local search optimization.
To build and manage citations for your business, start by ensuring that your business information is consistent and accurate across all platforms. This includes your business name, address, phone number, and website. Powerful tools such as 220 Local can automate this process for you across the most important platforms.
It’s also important to claim and verify your business listings on major directories and review sites, such as Yelp, Angie’s List, and Yellow Pages. Additionally, you can create listings on industry-specific directories to help improve your local search visibility.
By building and managing citations, you can help ensure that your business appears in local search results and that customers can easily find accurate information about your business.
Encourage Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are an important factor in local search optimization. They not only influence customers’ purchasing decisions but also affect how search engines rank businesses in local search results.
To encourage customers to leave reviews, start by asking for them. You can ask in person, through email, or by including a call-to-action on your website or in your marketing materials. It’s also important to respond to all reviews, both positive and negative, in a timely and professional manner.
When managing customer reviews, it’s important to follow best practices, such as avoiding fake reviews, not incentivizing customers to leave reviews, and not removing negative reviews unless they violate the platform’s policies.
Use Local Keywords
Local keywords are search terms that include a specific location, such as “mortgage broker in Los Angeles.” Using local keywords in your website content and online listings can help improve your local search visibility.
To find and use local keywords for your business, start by conducting keyword research using tools like Google’s Keyword Planner or Moz’s Keyword Explorer. Look for keywords that are relevant to your business and include local modifiers, such as your city or state.
When using local keywords, be sure to include them in your website content, meta descriptions, and online listings. However, it’s important to avoid keyword stuffing, which can harm your search rankings.
Optimize Website for Local Search
Optimizing your website for local search is another important step in improving your local search visibility. This includes including your business name, address, and phone number (also known as NAP) on your website, using structured data markup to help search engines understand your business information, and ensuring your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly.
When it comes to website structure and content, it’s important to have a clear and organized layout, with pages dedicated to your services, locations, and customer reviews. Including location-specific content, such as blog posts or landing pages, can also help improve your local search visibility.
By following these tips, you can help optimize your mortgage or insurance business for local search, attracting more customers and growing your business.
Use Social Media to Build Local Presence
Social media can be a powerful tool for building your local presence and improving your local search visibility. By creating and maintaining active social media profiles, you can engage with customers, promote your services, and build brand awareness.
To use social media to build your local presence, start by identifying the social media platforms that are most popular with your target audience. It’s important to maintain consistent branding across all channels, including using the same profile picture and cover photo, and ensuring your business information is accurate and up-to-date.
When it comes to content, focus on creating engaging and shareable posts that highlight your services and showcase your expertise. It’s also important to engage with your followers by responding to comments and messages in a timely and professional manner.
Implement Schema Markup
Schema markup is a form of structured data that helps search engines understand the content on your website. By implementing schema markup on your website, you can provide search engines with additional information about your business, such as your address, phone number, and operating hours.
To implement schema markup, start by using Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper to create your markup code. Once you’ve created your code, add it to your website using your content management system or by adding it directly to your HTML.
The benefits of schema markup for local search optimization include improved search visibility, better click-through rates, and higher-quality traffic to your website.
Leverage Local Link Building Opportunities
Link building is the process of acquiring links from other websites to your own. Local link building focuses on acquiring links from websites that are based in your local area or industry.
To find and leverage local link building opportunities, start by identifying local directories, industry associations, and other relevant websites that may be willing to link to your website. You can also reach out to local bloggers or journalists and offer to provide expert commentary on relevant topics. Our Recommended Professionals page is setup to help you provide a quality profile for these local professionals so that they are encouraged to provide a link to your site in return. Taking advantage of this tool can greatly improve your local presence.
When building links, it’s important to focus on high-quality and relevant links, rather than quantity. Avoid using spammy tactics, such as buying links or participating in link farms, as these can harm your search rankings.
By implementing these tips, you can help optimize your mortgage or insurance business for local search, driving more traffic and generating more leads for your business.
Monitor and Track Local Search Performance
Once you’ve implemented the tips outlined in this article, it’s important to monitor and track your local search performance to see what’s working and what’s not. This can help you identify areas for improvement and adjust your strategy accordingly.
To monitor and track local search performance, start by tracking key performance metrics, such as search rankings, website traffic, and conversion rates. You can use tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and SEMrush to track these metrics and gain insights into your local search performance.
It’s important to regularly review your performance data and make adjustments to your strategy as needed. This can help ensure that you continue to see improvements in your local search visibility and generate more leads for your business.
Conclusion
Optimizing your mortgage or insurance business for local search can be a powerful way to attract new customers and generate more leads. By claiming and optimizing your Google My Business listing, building and managing citations, encouraging customer reviews, using local keywords, optimizing your website, using social media, implementing schema markup, and leveraging local link building opportunities, you can improve your local search visibility and drive more traffic to your website.
Remember to monitor and track your local search performance to ensure ongoing success. With the right strategy and ongoing optimization, you can position your business for long-term success in the competitive mortgage and insurance industries.