Beginning your business online doesn’t just end with setting up a website or for that matter a social media account. There is a lot of groundwork that needs to be done to attract customers on the web by doing the best India local SEO. You know there is stiff competition and how do you stay on top of Google search results when your customers begin to look for products and services that local businesses offer.
Here are eight Google search hacks to better your India local SEO efforts:
#1 Claim and Set Up Your Google My Business (GMB) Page
The best part about setting up your business profile on GMB is it is free and you can claim your business if it is already listed. When customers search for local businesses on Google, your GMB page can pop up on their screen and you can update it with the right business timings and other details to stand out from the competition. And, this brings us to the next hack.
#2 Research and Stay Ahead of Your Competitors
We know how hard it feels when your local competition gets all the business you deserve and they are in fact may be on top of you on Google search results. The best way to start beating them is by getting ahead of them. How do you do that?
Research and track your competition — know all the things they are doing right and what they are missing out on. Then you can implement a local SEO strategy that will outperform them. You can take help of professionals if needed and use the right tools.
#3 Link Building
The top websites that you see when people Google search for local businesses have done one thing without fail and that is link building. Links play a crucial role in terms of where you rank on Google search results. It can be in the form of inbound, outbound and anchor text links among others. When you want to make it big in local SEO you need to create organic high-quality links to achieve better visibility. More importantly fix any broken links and look for the best backlinks by doing an outreach campaign.
#4 Voice Search
Yes, we are talking about Hey or Hello Google. People indeed do a lot of voice searches when looking for local businesses — ‘Hey Google, can you show me up the best coffee shops near me’ and boom your coffee shop appears on the results.
Well, not so fast!
You need to optimize your GMB page and website for making it on top of the voice search results. How do you go about it? You need to always update your pages with all the information about your store and also optimize your content for voice specific long-tail keywords, which leads us to the next point.
#5 Smart Keyword Research
Google search is all about typing or voicing in keywords and your customers engage specific keywords when looking for businesses locally (your service or product + near me/close by). You need to know what they are saying or typing and you can take advantage of Google Keyword Planner to know more about them. So try using keywords that include your location name or those that have a suffix like ‘near me/close by.’
#6 NAP Consistency
No, we are not talking about that nap, but NAP the acronym (Name, Address, and your Phone number). It is important to ensure that these details are consistent on all your pages or promoting platforms. This way you send the right signals to Google, so you show up on the search results. Also, keep these details always updated, so you don’t miss out any potential customers.
#7 Proof of Happy Customers – Good Reviews
Nothing beats the reviews of happy customers — it is proof that your business is the best in your locality. Google, in fact, considers reviews/testimonials and it creates a compelling ranking signal when people look for your business online. You can ask customers to leave an online review and in return you can give them a discount or gratitude goodies.
#8 Optimize Videos and Images
Well when you search on Google, who would you visit — a cycle store that has no image or videos or the one that has relevant images of their cycle store and videos of their products or services on display. If you really think about it you would opt for the latter one as they seem more legitimate and business-friendly. It is no different with Google and it gives better ranking for local businesses that post and optimize their videos and images with relevant text and titles. So optimize them by using the right tools to achieve better visibility on Google.
In the end, it is all about attracting potential leads by keeping your local SEO simple and straightforward. You can hire a digital marketing agency that is experienced in local SEO to assist you, so you have more time doing your actual business rather than promoting it.
