First of all, let’s start with what SEO means: Search Engine Optimization. As a business owner, you might have heard or been told time and again that you need to improve your local business SEO strategies. This encompasses the measures taken to ensure the maximum exposure of your website in online search results when people are searching for content relevant to your products or services.
Furthermore, “Social SEO” applies to the concept that social media engagements and interactions play a significant role in a website’s online search rankings. It may sound too complex (and it easily can be), but SEO merely is all about optimizing, or enhancing content – whether it’s on your website or a social media channel – with the aim to get to the top of a search engine results page (SERP.)
Now that we’ve covered the basic definitions of SEO and social SEO, here are some tried and tested social SEO tips that you can quickly implement to help your local business’ SEO efforts.
Profile
An SEO-friendly social media account must be descriptive. Remember to always complete all the information sections such as the “About,” “Hours,” “Address,” “Contact Numbers,” etc. Make use of words that best describe your business and the products and services you are offering. Another good tip to remember is to use terms and phrases that your target customers would use when they are searching for a business like yours.
For example, when you’re optimizing the Facebook page for your business, it is critical to include your address including the city, state, and zip code information. This will help ensure that you will appear in local searches. Also, remember to include the links to your social media profiles from your website and the link to your website from your social media profiles.
When businesses are setting up their Facebook business account, the “Category” section is often overlooked. As you enter your necessary information, check to make sure that you are listed under the correct category; this will help in mobile searches.
Posts
Optimizing your social media posts means including relevant keywords in your updates, descriptions, hashtags, etc. Always remember that sharing content initially posted on your website or blog and posting it to your social media accounts will help give your SEO a boost. On Twitter, sharing fresh content is particularly helpful because Google adds Twitter URL’s faster to their database, making Twitter links appear higher in search rankings.
Aside from using relevant keywords, always use your business’ name in all of your social media posts. Doing this step will make Google link the keywords you use with your business’ name.
Shareable Content
We’ve already mentioned that sharing content from your website to your social media accounts, and vice versa, will help in your local business SEO efforts. This is because you are mostly doing link building, which is an essential factor in SEO. When you have good quality websites linking to your own business website (also called inbound links), and you are connecting to other useful websites (outbound links), then Google will decide that your website is “authoritative.” And the more the authority you get, the higher you rank in Google search results.
In social media, comments, “likes,” retweets, etc. will affect your links. If you publish content that people want to engage with (comments, shares, likes), you also create inbound links. Contrary to what most people think, “online content” doesn’t always have to be a lengthy blog post or an elaborate video production; content also applies to simple Facebook posts or tweets. By publishing compelling and engaging social media content, you are also enhancing the value of your SEO.
Make it easy for your users to share your content by adding social media share buttons on your website or blog.
Google Local Listing
Since Google is the leading web search engine, businesses must abide by its regulations in order to rank online. A Google study revealed that up to 97 percent of consumers use the internet when searching for a product or service. Optimize your Google+ Local listing (also known as Google Places) in order for your business to perform well in search results locally. Don’t mistake a Google+ Business Page with the Local Google+ Local; the latter allows consumers to connect with the physical location of your business. Thus, it’s essential to keep the most up-to-date information about your business when you create your Google+ Local listing.