If you own a small business in New York, you know how competitive the market is. You need to stand out from the crowd and attract more customers to your website and your store. That’s where local SEO in New York comes in.
Local SEO is the practice of optimizing your website and online presence for local search queries. Local search queries are those that include a specific location, such as “barber Boston” or “pizza near me”. Local SEO helps you rank higher in the local pack, which is a set of three local business results with a map of their locations pulled from Google Maps.
Local SEO is important because:
- 46% of all searches in Google have “local intent”
- 29% of all Google SERPs contain a local pack in the results
- 76% of consumers that search for something local on their phone visit a store that day
So, how can you improve your local SEO in New York? Here is the ultimate checklist for small businesses:
1. Claim and optimize your Google My Business profile
Google My Business (GMB) is a free tool that allows you to manage your business information on Google Search and Maps. It’s one of the most important factors for local SEO, as it helps Google understand your business and show it to relevant users.
To claim and optimize your GMB profile, you need to:
- Verify your business with Google
- Choose the right category and subcategory for your business
- Add your business name, address, phone number, website, and hours of operation
- Write a compelling business description that includes your keywords and location
- Upload high-quality photos and videos of your business
- Encourage customers to leave reviews and respond to them
- Post regular updates and offers on your GMB profile
2. Perform local keyword research
Keyword research is the process of finding the words and phrases that potential customers use to search for your products or services online. Local keyword research is similar but with a focus on location-specific terms.
For example, if you are a barber in New York, some of your local keywords might be:
- Barber New York
- Best barber in NYC
- Barber near me
- Men’s haircut NYC
To perform local keyword research, you can use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Moz Keyword Explorer, or Ahrefs Keywords Explorer. You can also look at the suggestions that Google provides when you type in a query, or the related searches that appear at the bottom of the SERP.
3. Optimize your website for local keywords
Once you have a list of local keywords, you need to optimize your website for them. This means:
- Including your keywords and location in your title tags, meta descriptions, headings, and content
- Creating separate pages for each location or service area that you serve
- Adding schema markup to your website to provide structured data to Google
- Adding a map and directions to your contact page
- Adding testimonials and reviews from local customers to your website
4. Build NAP citations
NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. NAP citations are mentions of your business information on other websites, such as directories, social media platforms, or review sites. NAP citations help Google verify your business and improve your local authority.
To build NAP citations, you need to:
- Ensure that your NAP information is consistent and accurate across all platforms
- Claim and update your listings on relevant directories, such as Yelp, Yellow Pages, or Foursquare
- Find niche-specific or location-specific directories that are relevant to your business
- Monitor and manage your online reputation by responding to reviews and feedback
5. Get local backlinks
Backlinks are links from other websites that point to yours. They are one of the main ranking factors for SEO, as they signal trust and authority to Google. Local backlinks are backlinks from websites that are relevant to your location or industry.
To get local backlinks, you can:
- Create valuable content that attracts links from other websites
- Reach out to local bloggers, influencers, or journalists and offer them something of value in exchange for a link
- Sponsor or participate in local events or organizations and get featured on their websites
- Join local associations or chambers of commerce and get listed on their websites
6. Track and measure your results
The last step of local SEO is to track and measure your results. This will help you understand what’s working and what’s not, and make data-driven decisions to improve your strategy.
To track and measure your local SEO results, you can use tools like:
- Google Analytics to monitor your website traffic, conversions, and behavior
- Google Search Console to monitor your website performance, errors, and keywords
- Google My Business Insights to monitor your GMB profile views, clicks, and calls
- Rank tracking tools to monitor your rankings for local keywords and map pack
Local SEO New York: Final Thoughts
Local SEO is a powerful way to boost your online visibility and attract more customers to your small business in New York. By following this ultimate checklist, you can optimize your website and online presence for local search queries and rank higher in the local pack.
If you need help with local SEO in New York, you can contact us. We are a full-service digital marketing agency that specializes in helping businesses improve their local SEO. We have years of experience and a proven track record of delivering results. Contact us today for a free consultation and quote.
Read more:
10 Must Have WordPress Plugins for a Website
