It is true that optimizing your website can help you rank higher on SERPs. But that’s only half of the story.

To show up in one of the coveted top listings, there are off-site optimization techniques you should take advantage of.

Whether you are a website design company here in Foxboro, MA, or a fishing lodge in Alaska, there are steps you can take to get noticed in search results.

Read on to learn more about search engine marketing techniques you can begin to implement today.

Off-Site Optimization for Better Local Search Results

Here are some actionable tips you can put into motion today.

Quick Tip: Make sure that every listing you submit has the exact same business information, including business name, address, phone number, website URL, description, etc.

1. Register with Legitimate Local Business Directories

The more local listings you can take advantage of, the more opportunity you have to get exposure for your business. But with the hundreds of business directories available, which ones are worth listing with?

There are a couple ways to make this determination:

Go to Moz Local to find specific directories and listings relevant to your business and to check your current business listings for consistency. https://moz.com/local/search
Check out this awesome post by HubSpot for a list of worthwhile business directories.

2. Submit Your Business Information to Search Engine Business Listings

Google and Bing both have business listings. Since you are trying to get noticed with search engines, it pays to have verified listings with each.

Here are the links to set up your business listings:

Google My Business
Bing Places for Business
Yahoo via Yext (Here is a helpful post to list for free.)

3. Become a Familiar Voice on the Local Scene to Get Links

Network with other members of the community (offline and online) to become a local presence. You can do this by guest blogging, attending/sponsoring community events, and becoming a go-to resource for others around you. This will create positive buzz and help get others to link to your website.

4. Content Marketing via Social Media

If you blog (and you should), distribute your blog posts and other content to social media platforms– especially Google+.

Click here to create your Google+ business page. (This is different from your Google business listing.)

In addition to social media posts, you can add your blog posts to Google’s new business posts. Here are instructions to get to your Google business page.

5. Encourage Customer Reviews on Online Review Sites

It’s no secret that social proof is an incredibly important. In fact, 3/4 of online shoppers in the U.S. stated that online reviews were important prior to making a new purchase (Statista).

For business owners, this means it is important to claim all listings on review sites relevant to your industry so you can embrace the good reviews and proactively address any negative ones that slip through. Encourage satisfied customers or clients to leave you reviews on websites related to your niche to help build positive social proof.

You can also take the next step and automatically aggregate your reviews on your website for easy viewing.

As you can see, there are many free strategies at your fingertips to help you climb through the ranks to appear at the top of the SERPs for local searches.

If you need help along the way or don’t have the time to tackle this time-consuming endeavor, feel free to get in touch with us! Whether you are in Foxboro, MA, or anywhere in the country, our local search marketing experts can help boost your rankings and increase quality leads.