Common Local SEO Mistakes To Avoid for Your Local Business

Despite strong SEO (Search Engine Optimization) efforts, your local business fails to rank higher in search result pages. Probably, you are not focusing on local SEO, making your business less visible in local Google searches.

Local SEO is significant for driving local organic traffic on your business website. There are 3.5 billion Google searches every day and it is where your business should be found by consumers looking for products and services like yours.

If your business isn’t appearing in Google search results, you are lacking a proficient SEO strategy. The chances are high that you’re making some common local SEO mistakes that can be avoided to see magnificent results.

In this article, we’re going to explore five prevalent local SEO mistakes to steer clear of and ensure your business website thrives in local search results.

1. Unoptimized “Google My Business” Profile

Claiming a Google My Business profile is one of the most important things to attract the local audience to your business. Having a Google My Business profile indicates that Google recognizes your business and whenever a person searches for something relevant to your business, Google will showcase your business website on SERPs.

When you proceed with setting up your Google My Business profile, it is important you fully update the profile and that all the information mentioned there is correct. Occasionally, Google also adds some subsidiary attributes about your business for improved user experience. Your task should be to check that information and update it if not correct. 

It goes without saying that Google My Business is an important element of local SEO, and having no GMB profile or an outdated one can significantly impact your website’s traffic and the business you generate from it. 

2. Inconsistent NAP Information

Among the common local SEO mistakes that business owners usually make is not taking care of their business’ NAP information (Name, Address, Phone Number). These are among the most important pieces of information from a local SEO perspective. Make sure to maintain consistency about this information on your business website, online listings, and social media. 

Furthermore, update the opening and closing hours of your business if it has physical concurrence as well. 

This information is crucial for your business and if it’s inconsistent across your directories, it will negatively impact your business reputation. If they are getting different business details on various internet platforms, it might make your business suspicious in the eyes of your potential customers.

3. Overlooking Mobile Optimization

Statistics say that over 60% of searches are via mobile devices and if you are overlooking the mobile responsiveness, you are missing substantial traffic on your website. Suppose, you were successful in making your website appear on Google search results, and the user clicks on it. 

What’s next?

Your business website isn’t optimized for mobile users, encouraging them to exit the web page immediately. To prevent this situation, you need to optimize your website for other devices as well.

Google PageSpeed Insights provides comprehensive insights about a website’s performance across all devices. Make sure you’re running a report and taking a look at which areas need improvement on your website. You can also use Google’s Mobile-friendly Test tool in Search Console to analyze your website’s mobile-friendliness. 

Once you know how well your website is optimized for mobiles, you can make it better by working on elements that are in your control. The goal here is to ensure your website is loading fast, easy to navigate, and user-friendly. 

Also read: How SEO Works: Unlocking Its Mechanism 

4. Ignoring Local Keyword Optimization

If you are not incorporating local keywords in your website copy, it’s impossible to achieve the benefits of local SEO. Generally, SEO requires adding broad and high-volume keywords while local SEO is all about what local people are searching about a specific product or service in their vicinity.

Local SEO focuses on geo-specific keywords, grabbing the attention of the local audience. For instance, you own a bakery and your target audience includes people who are looking for cookies, cakes, and breads. Instead of adding “best coconut cake” or “best gluten-free bread” on your website, add a city name with these keywords such as “best coconut cake in Toronto”. 

Now, you’re targeting local keywords on your website, making it prominent in Google searches.

5. No Social Media Presence

Social media has evolved as a cornerstone of today’s contemporary business landscape. People are greatly influenced by your social media activities. What if your social media accounts are inactive or worse is that your business does not have any? 

Almost all customers visit social media profiles and check other customer reviews before buying a specific product or service. Hence, your social media accounts and their activity are of great importance from a local SEO perspective.

How to maintain a good social media presence?

Post actively on all your profiles and interact with your followers, this will help them determine that you’re actively running your business. The best way to interact with your followers is by having a Q&A session, getting an opinion about a certain thing, and announcing giveaways. All these things will make you prominent in your industry. 

Remember that consistency is the key. Stick to your strategy for a specific period to see how it comes along. If it’s not working for your business, come up with something different for your target audience.

Bonus Tip: Common Local SEO Mistakes

Among the prevalent local SEO mistakes mentioned above, neglecting negative reviews stands out as one of the most consequential errors. Negative customer reviews are a big no for the SEO of your website. They impact your reputation among other customers and also hurt the search engine rankings. Obviously, no one is going to click on a website with one or two-star ratings.

How to tackle these negative reviews?

The best thing is to respond to these negative responses professionally with a reply tailored specifically for it. Make your customers realize that you will happily address their problems. On the other hand, if that negative review is fake and you can prove it then go for it. It will present the authenticity and professionalism of your business.

Wrapping Up

In the world of local SEO, avoiding common pitfalls is crucial for your business’s success. Ensure your Google My Business profile is optimized, maintain consistency in NAP information, and don’t overlook mobile responsiveness. 

Tailor your website with local keywords and actively engage on social media. Address negative reviews professionally to build trust. 

By steering clear of these mistakes, your business can thrive, attracting local customers and achieving sustained growth in the competitive online landscape.