How to Increase Your Local Search Traffic For Multiple Locations
If you are a business owner, then you want to know how to increase your local search traffic for multiple locations. You may own and operate several brick-and-mortar locations or have a handful of employees who work from home and need to be found online.
Either way, it is important that people can find your business in the Google Maps search results when looking for services in their area.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to improve your presence on local search results pages, even if you have several locations. We’ll start with the first one.
Set up a separate page for each location
The first thing you should do is create a separate page for each location. If you have more than one place to share information about, don’t use the same page for all of them.
It may seem like a simple step that doesn’t require much thought, but if done correctly, it can make a difference in your local search rankings.
You also don’t want to share pages between different businesses or brands on your site.
This is because Google treats each brand as an entirely separate entity when ranking local results. So if you’re using one page to represent multiple businesses, Google will only see the data from one of them.
This means that although you may have a lot of information about each location, Google won’t be able to use it when ranking results for local searches.
Hence, create separate pages for each location so that you can share all relevant information about it. If you already have all your various locations on one page, then we would recommend moving all content onto a new directory and removing the old ones from search engine indexing.
Use local keywords on the page
To optimize your local search traffic, make sure to use relevant keywords on the page. In this case, relevant keywords are the search terms that customers are using to search for your services.
Use these keywords in the title and description. The title and meta description are what appear when someone searches for you on Google. That’s why you should ensure that itincludes relevant keywords related to your business so people can easily find you.
You can also use keywords in the URLs of your website. The URL is what shows up as a link when someone follows a link from another website or social media post about you or your business.
So be sure it includes appropriate local-specific words like “Dallas” or “Austin,” etc., depending on where your store is located.
Image alt text descriptions are also a great place to include your keywords.
This won’t show up when someone searches for your business but will show up when they see an image of yours somewhere else online.
List local information
To increase your local SEO rankings, you also need to include business information about each local business. This information includes;
- address, phone number, and directions.
- business hours and the days you are open.
- services you offer.
- products you sell.
- special offers or promotions that are going on at your store, if applicable to your business’s needs. For instance, “2 for 1 pizza Tuesdays”.
- a link to Google Maps so users can see where exactly they need to go when they get into town
All this information is especially helpful when listing multiple locations as it will help people differentiate between them.
Build Reviews to Build Local SEO Getting reviews for your business is important for a few reasons. They help visitors feel more confident about the businesses they’re looking at, which will lead them to act on your listing.
They also give Google an idea of what people think about you, which can help influence their ranking algorithm.
If you want to get more reviews than just the occasional five-star review from a friend or family member who’s decided to take the time out of their day to write one up, here are some tips:
- Ask customers whether they’d be willing to leave a review after each interaction with them. This shows that it’s not just something you’re doing because it’s good business, but it’s something you truly believe in and value as well.
- Respond quickly when someone leaves you an online review, and make sure these responses are genuine.
It is best to gather reviews from every location of your business. If you don’t have any reviews yet, try sending out a survey to your customers and asking them whether they’d be willing to write one up.
You can also offer an incentive for leaving a review, such as a discount on their next purchase or something else that is beneficial to both parties involved.
Create or Claim Your Google My Business Listing
If you want to increase your local search traffic, the first thing you need to do is create or claim your Google My Business listing.
Google My Business is a free tool that allows you to create a business listing on Google Maps. You can add photos, videos, and other information about your business as well as respond to reviews.
This free yet valuable tool helps customers find your business online, and it may also help them find it in person by including directions from within their desktop or mobile browser.
Simply sign up to Google My Business and list the various locations for your business. This would ensure that customers in the same area as your business would find you on their maps when they search.
Create a Facebook Page and Instagram Profile
If you have multiple locations, it’s a good idea to create a Facebook page and Instagram profile for each location. This helps your business appear consistent across the web.
Use the same name and logo for each location. Ensure that all of your posts on social media are tagged correctly with the correct name of your business and its location.
For example, if I had two restaurants called “Papa John’s Pizza” in New York City, then both businesses would need separate Facebook pages with separate descriptions like “Papa John’s Pizza” versus “Papa John’s Pizza NYC.”
Ensure that any content posted about specials or discounts is also tagged properly by using keywords like “location-name special” where location refers specifically to one of your existing locations. Example; “Papa John’s Pizza NYC”.
Conclusion
Local search is important for many businesses, and it can be a great way to reach customers in your area. When you show your business as part of the community, you help Google understand that you’re more than just a brick-and-mortar location. You’re an integral part of the neighborhood, too.
That way, Google would reward you with higher rankings in your business location.
With all of these tips, you should be able to increase your local search traffic if you have multiple locations.
If you have questions or concerns about how to implement these strategies in your business, please feel free to contact us. We would love to help out.
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