What are the important factors of on-page SEO for local businesses?

Search engine visibility plays an important role in helping local customers find nearby products and services. If your business relies on local trade, appearing prominently in local search results can directly influence enquiries, footfall and sales. Local SEO is what makes this visibility happen. But what does this involve? And what are the important factors of on-page SEO for local businesses?

What is SEO for local businesses?

First of all, what exactly is SEO? Well, SEO is the practice of making changes to your website, and content, to make sure that your website can be indexed by leading search engines, and will appear as a result, high on the search engines results page (SERP).

For local businesses there are some additional steps that we take to make sure that your business can be found easily in a relevant area. Search engines often personalise results based on location, and it is important for local businesses to top the location based search. This is a two fold operation involving both on page SEO and off page SEO.

What are the important factors of on page SEO for local businesses?

On page SEO involves a range of steps. From organising the layout, to writing great content, these are all the on page SEO steps we take to make sure that your website gets the attention it deserves.

• The layout- Using the appropriate H1 header tags helps the search engine to understand the topic of the content and to categorise it appropriately.  Using secondary H2 and H3 tags can provide more detail for the search engine. Web pages without these headers will be difficult for a search engine to index, because there will not be enough information available. For local businesses, it is important for at least one of these headers to contain the place name of the location you wish to be found in, as this will help search engines to locate your business.
• Images- Completing the <alt> tag of an image with a description relevant to your content, as well as the image, can provide valuable information for the search engine about the content of the image. This means that it will be more likely to be indexed highly.
• Internal linking- Linking your webpages together through aspects of your written content is a great way to help direct customers around your website, and help them find the information they need. It also helps direct search engines through your website and adds value and authority to your webpage.
• Unique content- Great quality content that is 100% unique and original can really help not only add value to your potential customers, but also help Google to index your page accordingly. For local businesses we make sure that all content is relevant to the places that you want to be found in. This includes using words and phrases that will help search engines identify your desired location and index your website accordingly.

Technical on-page considerations for local SEO

In addition to content and structure, technical elements within your website also contribute to effective on-page SEO.

• Page titles and meta descriptions- Each page should have a unique title tag that clearly describes the service offered and includes the relevant location. Meta descriptions should provide a concise summary of the page content, encouraging users to click through from search results.
• URL structure- Clean, descriptive URLs that reflect the page topic and location can help search engines better understand your content. For example, including the service and town name within the URL can strengthen local relevance.
• Mobile responsiveness- Many local searches are carried out on mobile devices. Ensuring that your website is fully responsive and easy to navigate on smartphones and tablets is essential for both user experience and search performance.
• Page speed- Fast-loading pages improve user experience and can positively influence search rankings. Optimising images, reducing unnecessary code and using reliable hosting all contribute to improved performance.

For more information or advice about SEO for local businesses, get in touch with the experts today, here at Pumpkin Web Design. We are Preston’s leading web design and web marketing professionals, and we provide a wide range of website solutions and SEO services across Preston and the North West, from Blackburn and Bolton, to Southport, Wigan, and even Manchester. We work with businesses of all sizes and across a wide variety of sectors, from local service providers to established commercial brands. So, for more information about SEO, content marketing, traffic growth and web design, get in touch with the experts at Pumpkin Web Design today.