If you run an online business but you want to target local customers, perhaps to save money on shipping costs or because you’re selling a product line that local customers would be really interested in, there are certain SEO strategies that you should be implementing into your website’s design so that your site will show up in search results when local consumers look for companies like yours. This is also a great strategy for business owners who operate an online shop but also have a small brick and mortar location and want the local population to know that they can shop in-store in addition to online.

Increase the Number of Sites that Link to Yours

Google loves seeing a website that has a lot of other sites linking to it. To Google, it means that the site is popular and that it’s trustworthy. If you can increase the number of sites that link to yours, you can increase the odds that your page will land higher in search results, and more people will become aware of your company as a result. Exchanging links, therefore, is a free, easy, and surprisingly effective way to build up your company’s reputation and gain a larger customer base. And if you can exchange links with other local businesses, you can directly target local customers from those other pages.

Participate in Forums and Connect with Locals

Find websites on which locals are discussing trending topics or topics related to your line of business. Make yourself an expert in your field by conversing with people in forums and offering your tips and advice, or find local review websites and see what people are looking for in small local businesses and online shops. Once you establish a positive reputation in this manner, and you provide links back to your site, you’ll be utilising SEO strategies to generate a buzz about your company on the local level as well as on the web.

Place Your Business on Local Listing Sites

People who are searching for local businesses will often find exactly what they’re looking for by visiting pages like Yahoo Local, Google’s Places for Business, and Bing Local, as well as others like Zagat and Yelp. By taking the simple step of registering your company on these sites and providing all of the necessary contact information and details about your business, you can increase the odds that you’ll show up in search engine results after locals search for companies in your industry. And this can increase the profits you make from these local customers online as well.

Finally, Use Keywords, Of Course

No SEO strategy would be complete with the proper use of keywords throughout the content of your website. As long as the keywords flow naturally and they aren’t overused, Google won’t penalize you. To make sure you show up in local search results, make sure you mention the actual location of your business on your homepage and throughout your site wherever it fits, and also use relevant keywords that people would use to search for a company like yours.