Your local SEO begins with the homepage title optimization. And there’s three ways to do it.
Keep It Short Keeping it shorta simply works. Given how search engines like Google work, you should aim for a 55 to 60-character long title.
Use Focus Keyword Your focus keyword defines your brand/company. Be sure to add it to you title, preferably as close to the beginning as possible.
Don’t Overstuff You may be tempted to add as many keywords to the title as possible. Don’t! Overstuffing can get you in serious trouble, even penalized by Google.
Meta description helps you get into the details. Make sure to optimize it with the right content and keywords. It should describe what your company is, what it offers, and end with a CTA that encourages users to click.
Use Only One H1 Be sure to use only one H1 tag. More than one H1 tag sends mixed signals to search engines, powering down your SEO.
Keep H1 Under 70 Character Just like your title, keep the H1 tag short and sweet. No more than 70 characters, for sure.
Use Primary Keyword + Location Make sure to add your focus keyword in your H1 tag.
Both H1 and H2 tags play a critical role in how your webpage gets indexed. So, you have to keep in mind to:
Your homepage needs to make a lasting impression when users land on your website for the first time. That’s where the hero image comes in. You should
Reduce File Size Reduce the file size as much as possible without affecting image quality. Try to keep it around 400 KB or smaller.
Scale the Image Scaling the image appropriately helps improve loading speed. Be sure it fits the display screen perfectly.
Responsive Image Do yourself, Google, and your customers a favor and keep the image responsive.
What’s the point of having a website, without a stunning logo? But your logo needs to be optimized as well. Here’s what you should do.
ALT Tag Add the ALT tag to your logo image to make it search engine visible.
File Name Choose the correct name for your logo. If you are a web design agency in San Diego, the name should be “Web Design Agency San Diego.”
Structured Data Use proper structured data to help Google display your logo image in the SERPs.
With proper local schema, you can tell Google and the world about the name of your site, your company logo, website URL, office/store location, contact information, and work hours. So, get it right from the get go.
Having a clickable phone number front and center, especially on a mobile phone, is an excellent way to boost your sales conversions. And all it takes is a few lines of HTML code. So, don’t miss this one out. <a href="tel:123-456-7890"> 123-456-7890 </a> <a href="tel:123-456-7890"> CLICK TO CALL </a>
Site structure is at the heart of local SEO. It’s better to have location-specific pages optimized with local keywords. For better navigation, you can add a map on your homepage. That’s like local SEO 101 these days.
Your website and social media accounts need to be in sync. To make that happen, take simple steps like keeping NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) consistent across social media, adding social share buttons to your homepage, and completing the bio on all social media accounts, among others.
Reviews are like traffic magnet for local SEO. But users can smell BS reviews from miles away. So, you have to be very careful.
Use Google Verified Review Platform Authenticity is the key here. Publish only Google verified reviews. Google has many trusted third-party review site partners like Facebook, Yelp etc.
Add Healthy Mix of Reviews You need both positive and negative reviews. It lends you authenticity. So, you should list a few four or three star reviews on your homepage.
Use Most Comprehensive Reviews Reviews like “great work” or “good food” may look fake. So, always use detailed reviews on your website.
The importance of a mobile-friendly website can’t be stressed enough. You can use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool to check how mobile-friendly your homepage is and make the changes accordingly.