SEO is incredibly important for any business to master if they want to be visible online. The only problem that comes with SEO is that many businesses will simply concentrate on keywords and content in order to come higher up on their related searches.Â
However, SEO goes much deeper than that. There is also something that is known as local SEO which can help to step up your South Africa SEO and appeal to those people who are located locally to your business.Â
So, with this in mind, how do you make sure that you use local SEO to your advantage? Here is our guide to all things local SEO and how you can use it to your advantage.Â
Have your address on the footer of your website
This might seem like a simple thing to do, but you should never forget just how important it is to have your actual physical address as a footer on your website. This address is not only valuable to your customers, but search engines will also use it to find your website and then associate it with your location. One thing to keep in mind when it comes to your address is that it should be the same everywhere that you use it, as otherwise Google might read it differently and you could not feel quite so much of a benefit.
Optimise your pages for your area
When you are writing content for your websites, there is a good chance that you are going to think about your SEO keywords that relate to the product or service that you offer and what people will search for.  You should also think about using localised keywords too. Use the area that you are in, such as the town name, add in the zip code if you can and also think about mentioning local landmarks. All of this will help to identify you to your local customers.
Go one step further and create local pages
Simply having the areas mentioned in your text is a great way to appeal to local customers, but if you want to take it one step further, then you could always create local subpages. These are often thought of as mini-homepages and each one will be targeted to one certain town or area that you can offer your service or your product.Â
Ask for reviews
We all like to know that the business we choose is one that we can trust. So, you should never forget, be it for national SEO or perhaps local SEO, the importance of reviews. Ask your customers to leave reviews on their thoughts on your business and spread the positive experiences that people can have if they come to you.Â
Brand reputation is a vital aspect of any business. I am sure you have done it in the past… Tried to find a restaurant for dinner and compared two places based on reviews? This is why we highly recommend pulling out all the stops when it comes to Brand Reputation.
As you can see, local SEO need not be confusing and seemingly impossible. Think about how you can use it to your advantage, think about how you can make it work for you and we can promise you that you will soon start to see the benefit. Whether that is in your local area, or perhaps even a little further afield.
