Local SEO in 2016: 5 Tips to Follow

Local SEO helps companies achieve a high ranking for location-specific searches. Standing in 2016, it will be foolish to focus only on Google Places for Business and Google+ Local particularly after the Pigeon update in 2014.

I have listed below five tips that would help all search engine optimizers and business owners get more local visibility this year.

1. Your Site must attain Maximum Visibility
2. Google Places for Business and Google+ Local
3. Get the Basics Right
4. Citations
5. Do Your Other Properties Rank?

1. Your Site must attain Maximum Visibility

Remember, SEO services is not just achieving a top ranking. Your site must have visually appealing images, and use AdWords with locally significant extensions, reviews, and social integrations to get maximum visibility.

2. Google Places for Business and Google+ Local

Industry experts predict reviews will soon become more important than citations. It becomes easier for your target audience on Google+ community, YouTube, or Gmail contact list, to leave a review when they are logged in.

3. Get the Basics Right

Don’t neglect custom meta description and schema markup, as they attract more visitors to your site.

4. Citations

Citations are still important as they tell Google where your business is located. For example, 400 citations will tell Google that you are based in the same place, have the same address, and in the same format. You can use Moz Local, a popular tool to add your business details to all relevant citation sources and make sure they are in the same format as your Google listing.

5. Do Your Other Properties Rank?

Local SEO means increasing your visibility in your key search results rather than focusing on ranking. You should focus on properties depending on your search terms.