Local Search Engine Optimization Checklist
When optimizing a local business website, there’s a few additional things we do to ensure the site will do well. Our checklist for local SEO is below.
We define local search as either a search with the town name (“seo baltimore”) or any search that returns a pin map with local results.
Our checklist for local search engine optimization
Please note, we do these items in addition to our regular SEO checklist.
On page local optimization
- City & state in title tag
- Address in footer
- hCard microformat on contact us page
Off page local optimization
Create a neighborhood (geographic or thematic) with links and citations about your website.
- Links & Citations
- Chamber of Commerce
- Local Business Directories (search your city+directory)
- Dominate Yelp
- Other Websites in/about your city
- Links from local businesses, clients, organizations, schools, speakers, etc.
- Reviews. Start with happy customers, partners, and vendors.
- Review current listings for accuracy: phone, address, links, etc.
- Include your best search terms in the company name and description fields of your Google Maps account.
One note, with Google’s release of Caffeine, we’ve been reading more and more about the importance of citations (references to your business even if a link is not) included.
