If you hear somebody claiming they are SEO experts them, you have all rights to contradict them. And it’s quite easy to explain why!
Google is changing its algorithm so often, not to mention the new ranking signals it introduces, that one’s level of SEO knowledge cannot reach the peak so often. Take, for example, the latest ranking signal for local SEO, prominence.
A few months ago, if somebody wanted to know more about that one local SEO tactic, able to generate some amazing results, most specialists might have recommended some serious keyword research and a unique local URL structure. But things have changed quite a lot!
Nowadays, the search engine giant makes use of a few aspects to determine local rankings: relevance, distance, and – yes, that’s correct – this prominence thing we’re talking about.
Still, what exactly is prominence?
Simply put, it refers to how well known a business is. There are situations in which some offline locations are more prominent than their online counterparts, therefore search results are trying to reflect this in their local ranking. We are talking about some of the most famous museums, as well as well-known hotels or store brands that many people know.
And that’s not everything.
Prominence is also based on all information that Google manages to collect about a business, using the World Wide Web. We are talking about things like links or articles, as well as the details it can obtain from directories.
Additionally, aspects like the review count on Google or the score are taken into account into local search ranking. Basically, the more reviews and positive ratings a business has, the better its local ranking.
How can I obtain prominence for my business?
As mentioned above, prominence should be one of the main things you are after when developing a local SEO strategy. And yes, we know, it can be a bit difficult to “obtain it”. But not impossible!
When developing the strategy, you should focus on link building, positive customer reviews, and an improved overall organic ranking. However, this is not everything, as you should consider many other aspects if you want to nail your local SEO game.
First, you must have a mobile-friendly website. After all, it is no longer a secret that it has been a few years since the overall number of searches made on mobile devices has surpassed those made on desktop. So yes, mobile-friendliness is necessary for a successful local SEO strategy.
Moving on, don’t forget to add your local keyword terms to tags – title tags, H1, H2 or image alt tags – create Schema MarkUp for each location of a business, complete the Google My Business profile and, extremely important, create local-focused content. In fact, content can be one of your main ‘weapons’ against your competitors when it comes to local SEO, as if it’s made just like it should, it can increase page views, boost social shares and attract a significant amount of organic traffic.
Yes, local SEO is evolving and it is evolving fast. But again, with Google adding new and important ranking factors so often, it can be a bit complicated to keep track of everything and implement all the required strategies in a timely manner.
But that’s why we’re here for.
If you are looking for an affordable search engine optimization company to help you with your local strategy, I SEO U is ready to take control.
Schedule a call today and let’s see how your business can benefit from our experience!