Just like any type of online marketing optimization, local SEO is a very involved process. In spite of the extra work involved, any business hoping to thrive in today’s increasingly competitive market simply cannot afford to ignore local SEO. But without a background or cursory knowledge of online marketing, where do you start? Forget ranking on the first page of Google–how do you attract visitors to your website at all?
Where do you begin with local SEO? These valuable marketing tools can help you get off the ground. #localSEO Click To Tweet
Local SEO Checklists & Tools
In a stroke of luck for business owners with little digital marketing knowledge, several experts have created helpful checklists or software tools to give you a good idea of your current SEO ranking and how to improve it. None of these tools will completely fix your SEO problems. However, they are designed to meet you where you are and help you optimize what you already have to attract more local customers. See how these tools can help you:
- Local SEO Checklist
- Google Analytics
- Professional agency support
1) Local SEO Checklist
Whether you’re starting a new business, just beginning to investigate SEO, or both, Local SEO Checklist is an excellent starting point. This free resource provides a detailed checklist of everything your business and website need to rise to prominence in the Google results. You’ll also have access to an analysis of your Google My Business listing, your technical SEO rankings, and much more at no cost. Use this checklist to determine your current SEO situation and the next steps you need to take.
2) Google Analytics
A free-to-use tool from Google, Google Analytics allows you to track which keywords bring people to your website and how they interact with your content. You’ll be able to see the average time spent on each page, the demographics of your audience, bounce rates, and more. You can even observe your audience’s behavior in real-time! This is an excellent way to keep track of whether or not your updated SEO strategy is working.
Pro Tip: Google Analytics is an excellent tool to track your SEO success, but it won’t give you the next step in the process. You’ll need to continue investing time into determining how to keep your SEO progress.
3) Professional Agency Support
Not every business owner has the foundational knowledge to track SEO and website analytics. And even if you have a general understanding, what business owner has time to monitor their website in detail and do constant research and updates to stay on the front page of Google? That’s where a professional SEO tracking agency can help. They’ll handle the SEO research, keyword tracking, and analytics management for you and work to boost your SEO ranking ahead of your competition. Leave the detailed work to the experts!
Improving Your Local SEO Strategy
These tools are invaluable for local SEO and reaching a wider audience. However, remember that none of these tools on their own will completely fix your problem. Local SEO is far from a one-and-done job. To retain your newly acquired success, you’ll need to continue investing a good amount of time researching your audience’s needs, good keywords to compete for, and more. An agency can help you keep up with the ongoing demands of SEO work if you, like most business owners, can’t find the time to keep up with all of it yourself. Whatever your final choice turns out to be, remember that while these tools can point you in the right direction, they aren’t a cure-all.
Ready to start attracting your local customer base to your website? Connect with us for more information on local SEO and digital marketing.