As technology improves and more people become technology-inclined, it is advisable as a businessperson to give your business online visibility. This will help you connect with potential customers in your area.

As we all know, the majority of industries are already saturated, and it’s not easy to compete with the top guns to get customers that will patronise your business. The secret is to give your local business effective online visibility.

This way, your business will reach a wider audience on the internet, especially younger generations who turn to the Internet to find local products and services.

Online visibility also makes you credible and makes potential customers easily trust your products or services. When you have a website and an active social media page, your customers will believe your business is legitimate and professional.

Another positive side of having an online presence is that customers can send you questions about your products or services even outside your regular business hours and they will receive immediate response.

Being able to easily access a business owner will make you more appealing to potential customers than other business owners in the same industry.

You can also engage your customers directly on social media, and make it easy for them to find your products or services online.

For those who have tried it, the majority have confirmed that running ads online is cheaper and more cost-effective than traditional advertising.

Now that you’ve seen the importance of online visibility for your business, you need to make hay while the sun shines. In this article, we will be giving you five (5) key strategies to boost your online visibility in 2024.

5 key Strategies for Local Businesses to Boost Online Visibility in 2024

Let’s consider the 5 major strategies below:

  1. The Importance of Local SEO
  2. Optimising Your Website For Local Search
  3. Leveraging social media for Local Engagement.
  4. Effective Use of Google My Business
  5. Local Link-Building Strategies

The Importance of Local SEO

Local SEO means Local Search Engine Optimisation. This occurs when a local business owner optimises his/her business’s online presence so that it can be easily found in local search results.

The tools you can use to achieve that include Google My Business (GMB), Local Keyword Optimisation, Location Pages, Citation Building, Online Reviews, Local Link Building, Local SEO audits, SEMrush, Brightlocal, WhiteSpark, SE ranking, BiQ, GeoRanker, etc.

They are all helpful in their own way, for instance, Google My Business allows your business to manage its online presence across Google Search and Google Maps.

SEMrush offers listing management, helps you track your reviews, and also helps you monitor your Google Maps ranking.

Location pages are important for those who run their business in multiple locations and Local Link Building involves outreach to local businesses, directories and organisations to request links back to your website.

Local Keyword optimisation involves using keywords that are specific to your location in your URLs, headings, meta tags and website content.

For example, if you’re a bookshop in London, you’d want to include phrases like ‘best bookshop in London’ or ‘bookshop near me London’ in your content. This type of local SEO strategy will help your business rank well in London, in this case, and it’s a cheap SEO campaign to run compared to targeting a nationwide keyword.

Optimising Your Website For Local Search

I will now show you a step-by-step approach to how to optimise your website for local search:

  • Research local keywords using Ubersuggest or Google Keyword Planner.
  • Optimise meta tags and content by using local and concise keywords.
  • For those who operate their businesses from multiple locations, create location-specific pages.
  • List your business on Google My Business using accurate business information.
  • If you want local backlinking, reach out to local businesses or community websites.
  • Using SCHEMA markup, provide detailed information about your business to users.
  • Make your website to be mobile-friendly as more people are using mobile devices to browse the internet than ever before.
  • Ensure that your page speed is very fast and that your pages are fast-loading.

Leveraging Social Media for Local Engagement

Below is a step-by-step approach to how to leverage your social media profiles for local engagement:

  • Understand your audience and choose the right platform for them.
  • Let your content resonate with your target audience and their area.
  • Use local hashtags, geotags and location-based hashtags in your posts to increase visibility among users in your locality.
  • Collaborate with local influencers or micro-influencers who have already built a strong following in your community.
  • Make your users excited by running contests and giveaways.
  • Videos are more effective than written content and pictures, so if possible, use more video content.
  • Research what makes your competitors stand out and what they are doing wrong on social media.
  • Request for testimonials from your local customers to prove the authenticity of your brand.

Effective Use of Google My Business

I will be giving you tips on how to make the most out of Google My Business:

  • Create an account and make sure you complete every section required of you.
  • Claim and verify your listing using a verification code sent by phone or email.
  • Be active on your Google My Business profile by uploading new pictures and content weekly.
  • Upload high-quality photos and videos of your business, products, services and, if you have one, your physical store.
  • Enable messaging so that customers can communicate directly through your GMB listing.
  • Make it easy for your clients to book an appointment or a reservation online.
  • Don’t just create a listing and go away; monitor your GMB listing and respond to reviews promptly.
  • Appreciate customers who leave positive feedback and apologise to customers who have one or two complaints to make.

Local Link-Building Strategies

When websites around your area post links to their content that refer back to your site, it is called local backlinks. It signals to search engines that your business is relevant and authoritative within your locality.

What are the best strategies for getting the most out of local link-building?

  • Let your business be listed in local directories within your location or in your industry.
  • Winning local competitions and awards will earn you a backlink from the award website or local news articles.
  • Monitor already-gotten backlinks and reclaim any broken backlinks leading to your website.
  • If you want to create backlink opportunities, then reach out to local businesses, organisations, and community groups to offer collaboration on content, events, or opportunities.
  • Produce high-quality content that is relevant and useful to your local audience.
  • Promote your content with local influencers, bloggers, and media outlets.

Final Note,

Following the above strategies will help to boost your business’s online visibility this year. It’s not enough to just read and have this powerful information, you can implement it before seeing results.