Not only have we covered in detail how to shift your local SEO strategy in the “post-snackpack” world, but we have also covered some interesting statistics that show that a lot of small business owners aren’t investing in SEO as much as they should be. As with any good strategy, you need to review new details and changes, and tweak your game a little bit to stay relevant. It’s a game of adjustments, so to speak. So let’s look at some more local tips to cope with the new landscape these days.
Tip #1: Don’t tear it all up and start again
The interesting thing about this development is that Google probably got rid of local results 4 to 7 because they weren’t really producing all that much to begin with in terms of traffic. Now that doesn’t mean that being ranked there previously was a bad thing, but it does mean that just because you are no longer in the pack of local results, your traffic is not necessarily going to die off. We have a tendency to want to panic when things change, and by not doing that you will be a step ahead of the game. Instead of looking to reinvent the wheel, find other areas that you can still improve on and focus on those.
Tip #2: Get Specific
The good thing about keywords is that they are specific to your field and when people search for that, they will find you. The bad thing is that they are highly competitive. If you used to rank in the results for a competitive keyword like “magician”, then consider going more specific to try and rank for that keyword instead. You could try “kid’s magician” or “party magician.” It would be better to be in the top 3 for that one, rather than give up and fall out of the rankings for the other one. According to one owner of a local SEO company, you should “dominate a niche.” Do your best to find one that has room for one more good company.
Tip #3: Encourage more reviews
The most important catalyst for getting good reviews is providing good service. Second on that list is finding ways to encourage them. Even though Google got rid of the other info with the snackpack update, reviews are still very important. Be active on social media, try to reward people for interaction, and hand out business cards with your information on it that tells people that you want a review. Go out of your way to make each customer’s experience special. You should be focused on providing a great service anyway.
Local SEO is a new world now. And despite people’s predictions of a post-apocalyptic landscape bereft of law and order, the new local isn’t really that much different than the old one. Yes you need to make a few tweaks here and there, but you shouldn’t start to panic. Follow these local tips, and you should do just fine.
