As a business owner, you work hard to provide the best experience, goods and services for your clients and customers. You could be just starting out, well-established or somewhere in between, but one thing’s for sure: You are constantly looking for new and improved ways to get your business out there.

You likely have business coming in from referrals or walk-ins, and you’ve probably engaged in some sort of online advertising, as well as traditional strategies such as radio spots or billboards. Maybe you’ve done Facebook or Google ads.

However, if you are ignoring local SEO, you are missing out on a lot more business.

How Local SEO Helps You Gain New Customers

On any given day, people throughout your community are looking for what you have. They are looking for your services and products. But chances are you aren’t the only business of your kind in your city. When people go looking for what they need, more than half the time they open up their laptop or search on their smart phone. They go straight to Google for answers. Did you know that 46% of Google searches are local? For businesses that show up on that first page, and preferably at the top,

The following are some simple yet powerful ways to use local SEO to dramatically increase your visibility in searches. Local SEO can make the difference between a prospective customer calling you, or not even knowing you exist.

How Can You Start Using Local SEO Today?

First and foremost you’ll want to set yourself up with Google My Business. While it’s simple to set up, it’s vital you do it accurately. For example, one common mishap is incorrect information on one or more pages.  If your business address is incorrect on your Google My Business, or if it’s correct but doesn’t match the information on say, your website or a review site like Yelp, then it could impact your search engine rankings. Worst case scenario is you won’t show up in search at all!

Be sure you are using local keywords. If you’re based in San Diego, California, you’ll want to be sure you include this information in the titles of your blog posts and other online content. Use “San Diego” in your headers and in the meta descriptions of your posts. This is the blurb that shows up on search results underneath your content title. Be sure you include relevant information here, this is the first thing people see before  they click the link!

Reviews Are A Key Factor

Ideally, customers will leave reviews on Google, but you’ll also do well with Yelp, and other local directories. Making sure your business is listed with directories like Foursquare and your own local listings is important.

One way to gain reviews is to ask for them. Asking your loyal customers for reviews is okay!  People who love your business will want to support it, so let them know how they can!

Let’s review some of the key elements of good local SEO:

• Claim your Google My Business Page and fill it out thoroughly and accurately. Be sure to add quality, high-resolution photos.
• Be sure your information is correct across all channels. Check your website, be sure outside sources such as directories have correct information and while you’re at it, check all social media accounts. It’s surprising how much incorrect or outdated information is out there.
• Use your city, state and nearby cities in your meta tags, headers and titles, to increase your local visibility.
• Cultivate positive reviews on Google and other review sites.
• Submit your business to local directories.

These tips will get you started with local SEO practices. Good SEO helps your business get discovered by the people who need it.